The Wicked Flea

by Susan Conant

MYSTERY/THRILLER/DOGS

The Wicked Flea by Susan Conant

Synopsis

"Holly Winter's Alaskan malamutes, Rowdy and Kimi, are as sweetly rambunctious as ever, and her cookbook-in-progress - tentatively titled A Hundred and One Ways to Cook Liver - is really coming along. But everything else is a mess. A recent concussion has robbed her of much-needed sleep - and a failed relationship has left her with a bitter, broken heart. And her incredibly overpriced therapy sessions with the improbably named Dr. Vee Foote aren't helping one tiny bit." It's not long before her friend Ceci stumbles on a seemingly perfect solution - and takes Holly to a park that's literally running over with gorgeous dogs. But the sight of so many leash-less canines makes Holly uneasy - especially after an aggressive golden retriever attacks her beloved Rowdy. And when one of the owners is found murdered, Holly has no choice but to step into the fray - for she knows better than anyone that killers are a cunning, clever breed.

Publishers Weekly

Still not fully recovered from the head trauma she received in 2001's Creature Discomforts, Holly Winter, Dog Life columnist and amateur sleuth, returns with her two Alaskan malamutes, Rowdy and Kimi, for another fun, fast-paced outing. To deal with her father's second marriage, her ex-lover's marriage and her recovery from amnesia, Holly seeks the help of a therapist in Newton, Mass., near her Cambridge home. Her "adopted" aunts, 90-year-old Sherlock Holmes expert Althea and her sister, Ceci, also live in Newton, and Ceci is determined to find another man for Holly among her dog group from the local park. When Holly takes her dogs for a walk in the park, Rowdy is attacked by a golden retriever whose aberrant behavior is not typical of the breed and whose owner, Sylvia Metzner, exhibits behavior equally as bizarre. When Sylvia is found murdered two weeks later, no one is surprised. Soon Holly innocently becomes involved in the crime investigation. While the technical dog-talk of breeds, breeders and the American Kennel Club rules and regulations can be tedious for the uninitiated, at least the dogs remain dogs, true to their natures and to their obsessive owners, Holly being no exception. In spite of her pressing personal difficulties, Holly remains an independent, witty and delightful protagonist, who maintains her cool even when faced with the most eccentric and quirky of characters

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