Breeders Books

Michael McGarrity is a retired policeman, like his alter ego, Kevin Kerney. You get the idea that the character is closely based on the writer, right down to the double initials in their names (M.M. and K.K.). Kerney has graduated in the series to the point that he's the police chief of Santa Fe, New Mexico, but since there are so few murders there, for this to be a murder mystery, McGarrity has to have Kerney go to California, shopping for horses, and stumble on a dead body.

The victim turns out to be a wealthy socialite, and at first the local authorities suspect Kerney of being involved, and investigate him. Once that dries up, the investigation turns towards the guys wife, an attractive younger woman who has a wandering eye. As the book moves slowly along, the killer becomes apparent rather early and easily.

There's a second plot in the later part of the book, involving Kerney's wife (an Army officer) and her investigation of alleged cover-ups involving Army personnel involved in sexual assault cases, some including actual rapes. This plot thread doesn't finish at the end of the book, leaving us to wonder if he's going to continue it in the next entry in the series.

I enjoyed this book, but only to a certain extent. This is by far the slowest of the Kevin Kerney novels, with virtually no suspense and no real mystery. The author has a good command of characters and dialog, and some of the interchanges between Kerney and the other characters were fun, but the plot is very slow and predictable. I definitely think that you'd be better off starting this series out with one of his other books.

Riding along with a Santa Fe police chief pursuing a luxury personal agenda of acquiring a few horses, gave an intriguingly relaxed pace for a crime novel start up. But, this is not, in any way, a typical crime novel.

I had been resistant to reading this book because the title and cover style had convinced me it was a hard-core crime novel, the type which grabs and chains a reader with shock, gore, speed, terror & pain. The detective usually has no personal life beyond detecting, except maybe succumbing to a femme fatale's wiles once in a while, with mutual lust well used and excused.

Reading the book's promo blurbs and the Amazon reviews, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this McGarrity guy had been a Santa Fe deputy sheriff writing from professional history, which is a plus in my book (as well as in many others, as reviews indicate). I appreciate "realism" backed up with on-the-ground-footprints, which is usually not hyped-up; no need for that phony push of deep, dark, action-packed edges imagined by an overcompensating author who exclusively plays observation sports.

One of the Amazon reviews mentioned that Kevin Kerney's long distance wife and child play solid roles in his novels. "Okay, great," I thought, "There's the personal life interweaving I require to warm into the sometimes too chilly pages of crime novels.

Didn't take more than a few pages to get glued to the plot and begin liking the heck out of this Santa Fe police chief. This guy Kerney has a warmth I can't explain by analyzing the author's technique. The personality glow and appeal is just there.

When disgusted with someone's scattering pompous ashes, people will sometimes spit, "Get real." Kerney does, without trying.

The story's the same way. It has a warmth, and some kind of reader's glue which I haven't been able to satisfactorily analyze to isolate its cause from something the author's doing right. The glue isn't the super type usually used to force a reader to race-pace through pages at one sitting. The hold on the reader is an easy, pleasant one, which had me reading at a quiet, soothing pace, and returning to the book sooner rather than later.

Not even a quarter of the way into the book I knew I'd be reading more in this series, purely for my own entertainment, rather than for any less appealing reason like wanting to appreciate a fantastic writing technique, a literary presence, or a clearly well-done plotting accomplishment, which has me drooling in admiration as I read; yet, for whatever reason, I pick up the book later rather than sooner for each reading session, and have to apply myself to get back in.

For me, one of life's grander pleasures is to find a novel (and a series is soooo fantastic to glom onto) which pulls me to it more often than I have time to read, with a smile on my face, with anticipation of what's going to happen next. Sometimes I think it's the writer's unique personality matched to a practiced writing technique, which gives this incessant magnetic pull of a reader to a book in progress.

I have this theory that mesmerizing books are written mostly from a Right Brain focus, whatever their pacing, from super-slow-sensual to heart-attack-warning, lightning-rushes. If my theory is accurate, speed and shock aren't the truest, most effective activators of intense interest; the activation is that the writer is tapping into the chaos of ultimate creation as he's composing.

But, enough of the esoteric effects of storytelling on its author and audience.

The way Kearney follows leads in his investigative process is so naturally logical it defies definition, won't submit to a precise description of technique. He often moves ahead on one of those intuitively logical threads even as his Left Brain warns that the effort might prove to be a "wild goose chase." This guy is S M O O O T H.

I realize that one of the captures of this particular plot is likely not present in other McGarrity offerings, that of a police chief with a flawless, hard-earned reputation on his home ground being suspected of a crime which occurs outside his jurisdiction when he's off duty on a personal pursuit. (Note that this is also a police chief who could write the most effective "how to" for using supervisory techniques which get his staff to work very willingly, and to work together.)

Loved this statement (need to check it for quote being exact; wrote it from memory):

>> I don't mind her shining her badge. I just don't like her doing it by tarnishing my reputation. <<

This guy is always right on target, on base, on center, yet he's soooo appealingly S U B T L E about it.

Loved the way Kerney allowed himself to fall into a successful, spontaneous interview with an employee, as the chief arrived at a delivery gate, paused at the barrier to the victim's quite elaborately expensive residential property.

This guy has low key honed to the ultimate; he gets in before anyone knows who he is, or that he's been welcomed into the other person's space as an intimate friend.

Love the way McGarrity shows Kearney detailing his changing environment and temporary bases, providing crisp responses to the lack (or luster), enabling himself to shift within the setting, as a grounding point for exploration and expansion of plot machinations.

This novel was recommended to me by Alice Baldrey-Kelley, a bookstore owner in Montrose Colorado, SAGEBRUSH BOOKS. I'd like to thank her for the recommendation, though I wasn't initially convinced beyond my personal preference against grittier types of "cold" mysteries. I decided to explore the draws for readers of this series, realizing that, on my own, I might not have gotten beyond the title, which proved to be interestingly misleading, but perfectly descriptive of the crime in unanticipateded ways.

I've admitted to a fleeting concern about books set in Kearney's home base appealing to me as actively as his vulnerability of having to defend himself in a place where he has no established friendships and his reputation from "elsewhere" is suspect. However, since I believe it's McGarrity's background, personality, and writing techniques which are at cause for this series to have whatever popular draw it does, I'm holding great hopes to be as enthralled by his other books.

McGarrity uses his police background very well in this novel, and in many ways beyond the obvious.

Having "been there, done that" doesn't guarantee that the veteran will be able to translate that background into an engrossing novel. In fact, having too much knowledge can hamper the creative flow of a born storyteller, an artist who achieves a writing stride most often by a Right Brain, non verbal processes. Reporting from experience requires a focused, controlled Left Brain process (the Right Brain is usually chained in a dungeon so as to avoid the tarnish of tangents, the un-manageability of unbridled, unplanned inspiration).

McGarrity appears to have no problem using the heck out of both sides of his honed brain, achieving a naturally shifting balance of blazing intuition and crisp reason, which shows in the interviewing, investigating, and personal living skills of Kerney and his people. In fact this easy brain balance shows through all of the skills a true novelist applies. It shows in flowing, realistic dialogue; in laying out various types of scenes and sidetracks; in dramatizing the amount of paperwork and process involved in reality police-work; in describing setting and environment with the abandon and abundance of a more literary type novelist; in developing and driving characters the reader never thinks of as characters-in-a-novel. I particularly like the way McGarrity dramatizes the decision making processes of his characters, exposing the fluky, brilliant, stream-of-consciousness, split-second-choices which can solidify an irreversible fork-in-the-road, leading to goal success, or dead-ending in a forever lost cause.

There's a lot at stake in a stake-out. No steak intended.

My two favorite scenes involved Joe Valdez, in which a cultural graciousness was exposed so beautifully I'd like to gilt-frame each of those scenes, with the caption, "Here we see how honorable and honored people relate to each other." History of a neighborhood and family endures when it uses change without rushing or losing time. A stone wall is not a stone wall unless it's built right.

The ending scenes, in stride with McGarrity's backed-up, smooth style of a storyteller who's "been there," did not slide into an ungrounded author's insecurity, overcompensating as mentioned above. The scenes fit like a treasured glove collection, snugly seated within the ambiance of the rest of the novel, though Chief Kerney might shoot me for mentioning gloves, given his condition at the end of the story. Curious? Get the details. Read the book.

McGarrity has an unusual but highly successful blend of the necessary dryness of a true scribe accurately documenting the daily routine, living reality of police procedure in investigation; and the surging spark of genius in a born storyteller constantly cajoling readers into his tale.

I see why he has so many. Readers. That he does. (Have.) Hungry and willing, readers.

"You have the right to remain silent..."

That I have. Not. Done. Who could, with Kerney asking the questions?

Linda G. Shelnutt

McGarrity has disappointed the reader in his last two books, this one especially. The plot and storylines have not been up to par with his previous books, which I enjoyed immensely. His ending in Slow Kill does not wrap up the loose ends and appears hurried. His ending in his last book also seemed "hurried".

I have read McGarrity's other Kevin Kerney mysteries, so I was looking forward to this one. The book has McGarrity's easy-going style that brings in a lot of the New Mexico atmosphere. That style was the strongest thing about the book. The plot (you can get summaries of the plot in other reviews) is convoluted. That is not necessarily a bad thing in a mystery novel. But it is a horrendous thing in a novel that seemed to be operating under limited space requirements, as if the author were under pressure to keep the book under 280 pages (it's 278 pages in hardback). The ending was rushed. Not all of the loose ends got tied up, at least not to the satisfaction of this reader. Perhaps McGarrity will revisit some of these plot elements in a later work. But the result was a book not up to the level of the rest of the series.

In the ninth novel in the Kevin Kerney series, Michael McGarrity stretches his writing ability along with the patience and stamina of his protagonist. Kevin Kerney, one of America's favorite cops, is a suspect in a homicide and the investigator who has Kerney in her sights is not one to let go easily. But is it even a homicide? There are no marks on the body, no obvious signs of a struggle, but the deceased didn't just die all by himself, did he? Then, there is that younger wife to consider. Could she and Kerney have conspired to kill the aging husband for his money and his land? Would Kerney's wife be happy about the whole thing? And what is all this about a secondary mystery that goes all the way back to the Vietnam War? McGarrity weaves a dense and devious plot, but the path of discovery is well worth the time it takes.

Wow! There are 45 horses who are personal friends of mine, and after reading this book, I feel that I know them so much better now! I had already figured out many of their quirks and cute personality traits, and now I have a whole new insight. For example, now I understand that the reason Image is "attitudinal" is because his mama was lead mare when he was born, and he's not about to let anyone forget it. And Casanova is the "class clown" who, if he likes you, will entertain you for hours with his (sometimes annoying) antics like knocking the hat off my head, over and over again -- and if he doesn't like you, don't turn your back on him, or he'll nip you in the butt (but never hard), and by the time you turn around, he's looking the other way, as if to say, "Who did that? Not me!" There are stories in the book to match and top any I have to tell, including a senior horse who liked to play jokes on cows. It's a terrific read and very educational as well. If you are looking to buy a horse, there are tips for selecting one. And for those who enjoy horse racing, there are tips for betting on horses, based on observing their behavior before the race. There's something for everyone in this book.

I personally felt that this book is an awesome introduction to horses and their behavior. No, it does not go into great detail of body language, and it is not for the experienced horseman (I only bought this book because it was required for a class), BUT the book is worth your time. I think that this book offered an excellent perspective on undertanding the horse and why they do what they do. For example, just because the horse isn't doing what you want, doesn't necessarily mean that it's being a "bad" horse- there is an incredible array of things that could be the 'problem'; even though as I said this book will offer no new insights to experienced horsemen and women, it can be a very good reminder of why our horses do what they do. All in all, if you are a beginner to the horse world, pick this book up, and take a few hours to read it, it'll be worth the time and money.

This is an excellent resource for a person who hasn't had much exposure to horses or has trouble interpreting the meaning of equine body language and sounds. Although, it was well written, and made some excellent points, it seemed quite basic and I didn't come to any new revalations about horses that would help or change my relationships with them.

I'm a young horse lover and I spend much more time reading and studying horses in books, magazines, and other sources of trustworthy media than I do actually experiencing these beautiful animals up close. Nor am I lucky enough to be able to regularly work with them. I recently received "The Body Language of Horses" and I have blazed through this small book and found that it is very informative, observant, and suitable towards an aspiring horsewoman or horseman. It gives out clear, though thick, digestible pieces of horse psychology and body language offering ways to understand and `connect' with the equine. I give it a rating of four stars out of five because there is further searching in different books about horse language I have yet to discover and the horses themselves.
Thanks!
Sarah

I was rather disappointed with this book for several reasons. First and foremost, the bulk of the book does not, as the title would have us believe, focus on the body language of horses. A couple of chapters devote themselves to brief descriptions of horse behavior under different circumstances (when happy, angry, frightened, bored, tired, hot, cold, hungry, thirsty, etc.), but the largest sections of the book concern curing problem horses and training foals. At the end there is a chapter on observing the body language of racehorses in order to pick winners, and two appendices on how to buy a horse.

Not only does the book stray from it's purported topic, but the information that IS given about equine body language is so basic and obvious that any true horseperson would already know it, and any aspiring horseperson could learn it all in a matter of a few weeks spent around the creatures. Of course a nervous horse will work up a sweat, a bored horse will get mouthy, and a horse that is irritated by a fly will swish its tail and twitch its skin. There are really only two forseeable uses, in my mind, for this book. The first is as a reference for those who know next to nothing about horses and wish to learn. The second, a slightly different version of the first, is as a guide to non-equestrian racegoers in order to pick winning horses on which to place their bets (and this is not surefire or guaranteed in any way, since pre-race behavior is only one of many factors that determines the outcome of a race).

The book is also considerably old, and a bit dated. It was written and first published in 1980, more than two decades ago. While the basic behavior of horses hasn't changed in that time, much else in the horse world has, including attitudes toward the care and training of horses. There are now many more effecting training methods than those presented here, and one passage in the book even alarmed me. Though they pronounce it a "dubious last resort," the authors nevertheless included the following method for "[teaching] manners to a resistant horse":

". . . dramatic effects are obtained by striking the animal over the poll bone with a fragile wine bottle filled with a slush of sand and warm water. When the bottle breaks and the warm, moist substance dribbles down its head, the savage horse becomes a trembling wreck. A gestured threat to repeat the treatment is usually enough to terminate subsequent misbehavior" (pg. 49).

While this is the only place in the book where the authors propose such blatantly inappropriate methods, I nevertheless cannot give a vote of confidence to anyone that would condone striking an animal with a wine bottle to elicit compliance. In addition, the authors make a great many generalizations about equine behavior and do not allow much leeway for differences in personality. As any person who spends much time around horses knows, one can be vastly different from the next. I said earlier that this book had two conceivable uses, but even for those I would not recommend purchasing this book. There are other books out there on the behavior and training of horses that are more current, more accurate, and more effective.

Never received the book. No emails and notice, no nothing!
Very Disappointed.

I referred to Moe's book to confirm that my fish had Black Ich (my first experience with a fish disease). The book stated clearly the proper treatment,and I even carried the book into the fish store to confirm what needed to be done. I'm happy to say, fish are now Ichless. This is the kind of book you would want to have nearby, so diagnosis and treatment can happen quickly.

Moe covers most of the parts of setting up a first-time marine aquarium with aplomb and humor (his troubleshooting section includes "water pooling around tank" and "cookie floating in tank"). The only drawbacks to this book are a lack of illustrations and there is no real species profile to speak of. Since many, if not most, people start with an idea of what kind of fish they want to keep and work (backwards?) from there, a section would be helpful. But the information in the book will complement a species-focused book quite nicely.

This book helped me setup my first marine aquarium. The advice on setup, run up and maintenance is well written and interjected with great wit every once in a while. It is packed with very useful information. The book is very close to a perfect marine starter manual. It's only flaws lack of some graphics (such as the disease section) and in organization. That is the only reason I did not give the book a five star rating. These minor flaws are easily overlooked and overshadowed by the wealth of the book. If you are a first time marine aquarianist (as am I) this is a well-written, excellent book to start with. If you have been in the hobby for a while, it is an excellent reference.

This is an excellent book to use as background and reference for marine aquarium keeping. There are other books that cover species identification, and I would not buy this book for that purpose. You need this book to understand the principles of filtration systems, recognition and treatment of disease and all of the underlying knowledge that will allow you to be successful in maintaining a marine aquarium. It is in need of revision to cover more recent advances in reefkeeping, though.

One of the best beagle books ever! I have read and refer to it daily.

This is an excellent book for those who have loved beagles for years, and for those who are just finding out how great beagles can be! Here is a small testimony to the research involved with this book. Imagine our surprise when we found out that our female has a living legend for a great-grandfather!!! You would never know from just the Pedigrees from the American and Australian Kennel Clubs!!! It's a pleasure to see the authors make so much effort to produce very intelligent and informed material to the public.

Of the four major Beagle books I've read ("The New Beagle" by Judith Musladin; "Beagles" by Beverly Pisano; and "The Beagle: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet" by Richard Roth) this one is clearly the worst. There is nothing of relevance to a pet owner in the "real world" - for someone who is looking for some common sense tips on how to care for and understand their pet. Chapters include such useless topics as@"Beagles in Hawaii," Hound Shows and National Beagle Club Recognized Packs," and "Gun Dog Trials." The countless dated black and white photos are all nearly identical - the usual champion's pose on the winner's podium - page after page of them. I don't think there's a photo taken after 1950 in the entire book. If you're just a regular pet owner who would like to learn more about where your Beagle is coming from and how to take the best, most practical care of it - read Richard Roth's book "The Beagle: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet."

I, too, was a little disappointed in this book. Although I loved the photographs of the beautiful little hounds, I was dismayed that the book contained nothing recent. The book was little more than a step-by-step manifesto on how you, too, can enter your beagle in a show and the issues concerning dog shows. I was disappointed that very little was offered in the way of the care of the hound and that the book was really directed towards showing the hounds as opposed to regular owners. Although information about showing beagles is all very well and good, I did not feel this work did a good job in presenting that information.

I gave this an extra star because the photographs (although dated) of the hounds were very appealing.

I Read this book when it was published and over the years lost my copy.This book is for the exibitor,I believe,specifically for those who look at pedigrees and like to match photos to names of dogs you were not able to see personally either because you were not exibiting at the time the dog was shown,or were not in the same geographic area... I would also recommend their previous book Beagles and Beagling....jfahrlen@bellsouth.net

First off, DJ Short is an unbelievable breeder. This guy is an artist, really, and I've been reading his stuff for years. So I guess you could complain that a lot of what's in here has been published elsewhere but even as a fan of the guy, I'm not going to spend all my time flipping through hundreds of magazines trying to find all his articles. So if you want to hear what Short has to say about anything and everything- and believe me, you should- this book is where to find it. Also, the pictures are phenomenal and only DJ Short would have a flavor and olfaction chart centerfold. You've got to love this guy.

This book has good information from a solid breeder and it looks good too. A crazy purple budding plant wraps around the entire cover and it looks tasty. Inside there's useful charts and illustrations. PLUS, the color photo section has some nice photos.
Sure, this information has been in Cannabis Culture Magazine, but I don't have time to read through back issues and find all the articles (if I even saved them all). I like having all this information in one place.
I like this book. If you want to know how to go about breeding and stabilizing marijuana, you will like this book. DJ Short knows what he's talking about. His writing style is casual and straight forward. The book answered all of my questions about breeding and had some interesting asides and thoughts from DJ Short. Good stuff.

Before you condsider wasting your money on Dj Short's book consider this: This book has nothing new it is just a compilation of Dj's articles that he wrote for cannabis culture, thrown together in an effort to make money. All of these articles can be found online at CC. The book looks as if it were thrown together in an hour, there are pages with only a sentence or two. There a few pictures that were also already in CC. Dj Short is respected in his trade as one of the best but he is not an author. If you want detailed information, this book is not the right one. I suggest reading one of Mel Frank's or one Ed Rosenthal's books.

This book will lead you to the bushel of buds at the end of the rainbow! It takes you through all of the necessary (and not always obvious) measures you need to take to grow some utterly mind blowing pot. DJ Short takes you on a magical cloud walk through the realms of safety and sprouting. From there you fly through the land of the dirt covered hands where you learn about all the aspects of raising a pot baby of your very own. Then, as you stroll across that wonderful rainbow, DJ discusses the many aspects of curing, and enjoying the bushel of pot that you are about to harvest. If you so desire you can stay and soak up DJ?s knowledge about breeding or cloning your little ladies, and even learn something about choosing the color of your flowers.

I Give this book five stars from my cannabis sky because I?m on my way to the bushel at the end of the rainbow! Thank you DJ, I'll see you there!

The book has great photographs very informative, it has lot of important information well organizet easy to read and understand. I found the information I needed for the problems that can be prevented from puppyhood through senior years. Is very practical informative and still fun to read.

I purchased this book because I own a Collie. I am dismayed at the amount of misinformation and disinformation contained within this book. The book is poorly written in parts, which creates contradictions from chapter to chapter. A novice would not be able to purchase and care for a Collie based on the information as it is presented.

I am convinced that the author never owned a Collie, nor even spent much time with one. The author states that the Collie requires more exercise than most breeds; this simply is not so. The Border Collie does, but not the Scotch Collie. It requires exercise, to be sure, and it is a large breed dog, but it is less active than a Parson Russell Terrier half its size.

The author is most egregious in the health chapters. The author is pushing a personal agenda that is not only dangerous for the dog, but could result in a dog being impounded by municipal animal control. In one sidebar, the author recommends against monthly treatment with a heartworm preventive, yet almost every municipality (or breeder contract, or adoption/rescue contract) requires the treatment with vermifuge. The author refers to the medicine as "poison" (does she even know that Ivermectin is used in people?) and recommends using the vermifuge every other month or every three months. A dog in poor health due to heartworms may be removed from its owner by local human authorities, and unfortunately, at this stage the treatment may very well kill the dog (the dying worms put the dog into shock). The author also recommends that in place of conventional veterinary medicine (again, see stipulations regarding dog health that originate from municipalities and contracts) owners should use homeopathic nostrums, which are nothing but water (something diluted millions or billions of times in water is water; someone who had only high school chemistry can tell you that). She also recommends against the use of prescribed flea and tick preventives, yet never mentions Lyme disease by name (although she identifies the bacterium that causes it). Lyme disease is a menace to people as well as to dogs, and the use of Frontline Plus or something similar on the dog is essential throughout the US.
Yet, she does not mention that the Collie breed is sensitive to certain medicines. Collies are prescribed a non-Ivermectin vermifuge (mine gets Interceptor), Colies should not be given Pepto-Bismol or other bismuth-based anti-diarrheal medicines, and so forth (great information is available on the Collie Health Foundation website, which is not mentioned).

Buy the Collie Concept by Bobbee Roos, it remains the standard book on the Collie breed.

I own two rough collies, a tri-colored and a blue merle. This book had great photographs and information regarding the collie. It has great information on plants that collies should stay away from such as the common daisy. Also, it praises the crate method, something I was against until I tried it with the collies and determined they love having their own space.

This book is full of good information about every aspect of owning a collie.

it was on back order from another place, i finally got it and its this little book......not worth the wait, was upset about all the stuff i knew already was in it, it was supposed to be this great book......if you already have an understanding for genetics and diseases then dont bother paying for this book. for the novice person, its a little over whelming i think....informational for them but not for me.

This is a very straightforward book which details every aspect of feline genetics. It is very readable and informative on the facts and also on breeding theories. The writers coming from four different disciplines is helpful, along with a glossary which explains the terminology. It would be a very good investment for an experienced person or novice breeder (me).

The authors of Robinsons' Genetics for Cat Breeders and veterinarains are two breeders who have written on breeding and showing (Vella and McGonagle), a geneticist (Shelton) and a practicing veterinarian (Stanglein). This book simply and directly covers the subject of genetics, incorporating the lastest scientific advances, while at the same time reflecting the practical knowledge of experienced breeders.

The whole subject of genetics is covered: principles of heredity; breeding systems and inbreeding; coat and color inheritance; color variations; breeds; and genetic anomolies. The heart of this book is the material on breeding systems and practices, and selective breeding and inbreeding. The evaluation of cats for breeding purposes and comparisons between possible mates are explored in considerable depth. The chapter on genetic anomolies is up-to-date and quite comprehensive.

The new Fourth Edition is good news for all serious fanciers. Not only does it continue Robinson's work, it actually makes the best guide to feline genetics better!

There is alot of god info in between, and the book i a must if you have the first 2 books.

The "new" strains in the book could in my opinion have been better selected.

An excellent, comprehensive encyclopaedia of the variety of marijuana available around the world. For anyone (especially here in CA, where medical cannabis is legal) who has access to purchasing pot, this is a serious guide book -- attractively designed, with ample color photos for identification of dozens of strains. Valuable and fascinating.

I really enjoyed reading this book.It was loaded with practical information and a lot of the authors personal insights.I would suggest this book to anyone interested in this subject.

As a llama owner that is always looking for more information I found the first half of this book to be very interesting. However the last protion of the book got into a lot of personal beliefs of the author and was a complete waste of time. I could care less about her belief in psychics as well as her dreams. There are a lot better books on llamas I would suggest you save your money and shop for other books.

This is my fourth Hammond novel and I didn't find it to be of the same high quality as the other three I have read. This story is about a kennel owner, John Cunningham whose car is stolen from out front of his business with a quarantined dog named Jove in the back. Jove's owner Noel Cochrane was moving to America and his briefcase containing important papers was also in the vehicle along with John's shotgun. The cops aren't too happy with John, Noel disappears and bodies keep appearing while searching for the car and possible rabies filled Jove.

Sounds exciting you say. Well yeah it is in parts but there are a lot of boring needlessly lengthy chapters in between the good stuff. I have also read the Dirty Dollar, The Snatch and A Running Jump which are sensational five star rated thrillers by Hammond. This book however is not in the same league as them.

Poor Cochrane has just retreived his pooch from quarantine only to have the poor doggie stolen along with his briefcase. Not only that, but the kennel owner's missing car and shotgun make the authorities jumpy. When the events lead to a murder case, as a woman's battered body is found near the burnt car, the kennel owner finds himself embroiled with trouble.
Lovely outdoors adventure in Scotland with a clever mystery involving a dog... who could ask for more?