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Who let the dogs out?! It was you, wasn’t it Barry. We’re not mad, just disappointed. Which everyone knows is worse.
Anyway – in this post, we’re focusing on books with one thing in common: dogs on the cover!
Also, a fox is considered a dog – I Googled it.
Don’t let these canine companions fool you – the stories inside are anything but your typical tail-wagging tales. From supernatural beasts to hardboiled detectives, each novel unleashes its own unique brand of suspense, thrills, and unforgettable narratives.
Stephen King’s Cycle of the Werewolf sinks its teeth into a small town terrorised by something more sinister than a stray pup. Dick Lochte’s Sleeping Dog tracks a grizzled PI and a street-smart teen as they sniff out a deadly mystery. Meanwhile, Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka shows how even the darkest of human minds can be humanised.
Get ready to be enthralled, because these stories will leave you howling for more!
Happy Reading, friends!
Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"Cycle of the Werewolf" Book Blurb:
Something inhuman has come to Tarker’s Mills, as unseen as the full moon riding the night sky high above. The first scream came from the snowbound railwayman who felt the werewolf’s fangs ripping at his throat. The next month there was a scream of ecstatic agony from the woman attacked in her cosy bedroom. Now scenes of unbelievable horror unfold each time the full moon shines on the isolated Maine town of Tarker’s Mills. No one knows who will be attacked next. But one thing is sure. When the full moon rises, a paralysing fear sweeps through Tarker’s Mills. For snarls that sound like human words can be heard whining through the wind. And all around are the footprints of a monster whose hunger cannot be sated …
What did we think?: 3.5 Stars
I’m not sure why I missed this one, in my lifetime of reading Stephen King – but glad that I can now check it off the list. While it didn’t rock my world, this is a solid werewolf story that will scratch the itch for anyone looking for a quick King fix and a gnashing wolfish tale. I got a kick out of the illustrations by Bernie Wrightson too – full-page cover art that complimented the story. The town of Tarker’s Mills is featured in King’s ‘Silver Bullet’ and ‘Under the Dome’ – for those looking for easter eggs. As an added bonus, I learned a new word – ‘glissade’ (a sliding or gliding step).
“Watch for the Beast, for he may smile and say he is your neighbour, but oh my brethren, his teeth are sharp and you may mark the uneasy way in which his eyes roll. He is the Beast, and he is here, now, in Tarker’s Mills.” (p46)
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone? :
This is Book One in the ‘Leo Bloodworth And Serendipity Dahlquist‘ Series.
"Sleeping Dog" Book Blurb:
Serendipity Dahlquist is a headstrong roller-blading teenager living in LA who has lost her dog. She asks private investigator Leo Bloodworth to help her find the missing pet. In what proves to have been a moment of madness, Bloodworth agrees to take on the case, unleashing an appalling–but also extremely entertaining–series of extremely homicidal events.
What did we think?: DNF 50% Mark
I listened to a large chunk of this one via the Audible version, and I don’t think that did it (or me) any favours. Told in alternate chapters, the narrator voicing Serendipity was so grating that I just wanted to blast through her chapters – she was also creepily sexualised for a 14 year old, I think in an attempt to make her seem older and quirkier. The story held my interest until the half-way mark, but I was teetering on the edge of a DNF when the dog-fighting scenes started and tipped my hand. While this wasn’t really my bag of hammers, I’m glad I have a copy to add to my green-spine Penguin Crime & Espionage collection.
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"Notes on an Execution" Book Blurb:
Ansel Packer is scheduled to die in twelve hours. He knows what he’s done, and now awaits the same fate he forced on those girls, years ago. Ansel doesn’t want to die; he wants to be celebrated, understood. But this is not his story. As the clock ticks down, three women uncover the history of a tragedy and the long shadow it casts. Lavender, Ansel’s mother, is a seventeen-year-old girl pushed to desperation. Hazel, twin sister to his wife, is forced to watch helplessly as the relationship threatens to devour them all. And Saffy, the detective hot on his trail, is devoted to bringing bad men to justice but struggling to see her own life clearly. This is the story of the women left behind.
What did we think?: 5 Stars
This was a surprising 5 stars for me, in that I didn’t really have an idea of the plot before I picked it up. The story can be confronting as Ansel is a sociopath who grew up in a house of neglect and abuse, and started harming animals at a very young age. The author does a great job of highlighting all the things that could have made Ansel what he is, while not excusing or pinpointing a tipping point. I left this book feeling hollow and sad for most of the characters – which is a testament to the writing, if not a feeling I was particularly looking for. By focusing on the women in Ansel’s life, it sometimes felt like the author was pointing blame at their part in his trajectory and the ramifications of his absentee mother – which didn’t sit well with me, but definitely makes for interesting discussion.
“No one is all bad. No one is all good. We live as equals in the murky gray between.” (p45)
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