Heir
of the Dog
A
Dogwalker Mystery with Ellie Engleman
Judi
McCoy
Signet
(Mass Market Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-451-22847-2 (0451228472)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22847-5 (9780451228475)
Publication Date: October 2009
List Price: $6.99
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Professional dog walker Ellie Engleman is more than
just a pal to her pooches -- she can also read their minds. When Ellie
and her terrier mix Rudy find the corpse of a troubled-but-harmless
park-dweller in Central Park, the dog walker becomes a prime suspect
for murder.
When it turns out Rudy is the sole beneficiary of the victim's
inheritance, Ellie, Rudy, and Detective Sam Ryder follow the trail of
clues to a key to a safety deposit box that just might point to the
motive and help them sniff out the real killer.
Review:
Professional dogwalker Ellie Engleman and Rudy, her "yorkiepoo", a
Yorkshire terrier/poodle, find murder in Central Park in Heir of the Dog,
the second mystery in this series by Judi McCoy.
One evening Ellie and Rudy run across the lifeless figure of Gary
Veridon, a homeless park dweller that they had befriended and often
stopped and talked with. Since she had found the body (actually Rudy
did) and reported it to the police, Ellie naturally comes under
suspicion. Ellie has a bit of history here, having been involved in a
dognapping homicide a few months ago. She becomes even more
apprehensive when a vendor hands her an envelope addressed to
“Ellie and Rudy” that had been written by the
deceased. Contained in the envelope were a will and a key.
Gary’s will left his entire estate to Rudy, with Ellie as the
executor. What? Did that mean that Rudy was the sole owner of the trash
Gary collected and kept in his beaten down cardboard box shelter that
he called his home? Rudy thought there had to be more to it than that.
And he was right, there was. The key was to a safety deposit box at a
local bank. Sam, the police detective she had worked with on the
dognapping case, went with her to the bank. There they find that Gary
at one time had an estate of over two million dollars. He had, however,
given large sums to various charities, leaving a balance of over
$650,000. He had written a note for Ellie telling her that if she had
the box she should know that he had been killed by his older brother,
Thompson, who had spent 30 years in prison for the murder of their
parents. When Sam checked the police files he finds that thirty years
ago Thompson Veridon did murder his parents while his young brother,
Gary, watched. Gary became a witness for the prosecution and Thompson
was found guilty and sentenced to thirty years in prison. Now Thompson
has been released from prison and is surely in search of Gary. He wants
to collect the inheritence which he believes belongs to him. Did
Thompson find Gary in the bowels of Central Park? Was it Thompson who
killed Gary? If so, who else will he kill in order to obtain what he
believes is his?
Heir
of the Dog is an enjoyable,
amusing mystery. Ellie is indeed in tune with Rudy; their conversations
are comical and witty. But they aren't alone: the repartee between
Ellie and Sam is also amusing. In fact, there is a lot of funny dialog
between Ellie's friends, Sam, and the dogs she walks. But there's also
a murder to be solved, and when Rudy is abducted and kept hidden by the
killer for ransom, Ellie is ordered to deliver the inheritence for his
safe return. Now it's personal: no amount of money can compare to the
love shared with a canine buddy. In the end, Heir of the Dog
is a charming and winning whodunit.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Heir of the Dog and to Penguin Group for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Heir of the Dog? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series …
Hounding
the Pavement
Signet (Mass Market Paperback), February 2009
ISBN-10: 0-451-22631-3 (0451226313)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22631-0 (9780451226310)
Heir of the Dog
Signet (Mass Market Paperback), October 2009
ISBN-10: 0-451-22847-2 (0451228472)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22847-5 (9780451228475)
Omnimystery
keywords for Heir of the Dog
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Location(s) referenced: New York City.
