Suspect, by Robert Crais

I've been a long-time follower of Crais.  His police and private detective novels are always compelling reads.  Suspect, kept me going!  I "read" this on my iPod.  I got lots of housekeeping and garden work done so that I could finish the book!

There are two main characters in the book; Scott James, a LA Policeman and Maggie, a German Shepherd who has retired from military work.  They work together to attempt to solve the murder of James' partner.

Crais tells the story with three narrative voices.  Each is strong and pulls the reader into their perspective on the events (I'm avoiding spoilers here--I don't want anyone's enjoyment of this gripping story diminished by "tells.)  My favorite are the narrations by Maggie the dog.  I am a dog owner and can enjoy greatly the accurate description of the dog's point of view.  Of course we are always tied to the human imagination--but I think Crais has the dog view pretty accurately captured  here.  My dogs are more "sight" dogs--miniature Australian Sheperds, so I really enjoyed learning more about a scent dog's perspective.

Even if you're not a dog lover you will enjoy the plot line.  Classic police detective work!

Cesar's Way : The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems

One of the few tv shows I make a point of viewing is "The Dog Whisperer" (Fridays on National Geographic Channel). We've been dog folks for quite a while. I really appreciate his outlook on working with dogs (that means I agree). Barnes & Noble is running a book discussion group about the book after this in October. So--I'm sort of lurking in the discussion and reading the first book.

We have miniature Australian Shepherds at home. I've been using some of Cesar's techniques to get them to stop harrassing the mail carrier.

On a side light. My children are making me watch the South Park episode in which Cesar comes to help a single mom learn to discipline her child. Very funny--but sad at the end.