Bark M for Murder

I enjoy reading a book that has mulitple short stories in it & J.A. Jance is top notch.

It is rare to have a collection of stories all about canines. This book has four of them. I enjoyed all four fairly well, but I did have my favorites that I cheered for as the stories progressed. "Red Shirt and Black Jacket" follows two bloodhounds as they search for a murderer through the backwoods of Georgia. The dogs and their handlers are not afraid of the culprits but the criminals in hiding were sore afraid of them. "Nightmare to Nowhere" tells of a woman that had an accident, or so she thinks, whom a German Shepherd leads from the scene of that accident into a mystery life. The Shepherd knew where he was going but how far dare this woman trust him? "The French Poodle Connection" was perhaps my least favorite. This could be because I have never really adored Poodles. The story is interesting and canine lovers will find it interesting as the story traverses through a mystery. "The Case of the London Cabbie" is very good. J.A. Nance keeps the story moving and interesting. Two Golden Retrievers share a story of "who is what they say they are" and "who do we believe?" You will find this mystery fast moving and intriguing as you watch the characters weave their way to deception. All in all, if you like dogs and mysteries, you will not want to put this book down.

J.A. Jance and Lee Charles Kelley are two of my favorite authors. However, I was eager to buy this book because of a different name: Virginia Lanier. I loved her Bloodhound series and was sad it had to end. Her short story in this compilation is a flawless little gem. Now I'll have to read her novels all over again.

I was surprised and thrilled when I got an e-mail from my editor telling me about this project, and asking me if I wanted to be involved. I was also a little nervous. I'd never written a short-story (not since a couple of stupid, silly, arty college stories, at least), and if I accepted the project I was destined (or doomed, perhaps) to have my writing stand side-by-side with two modern mystery legends: J.A. Jance and Virginia Lanier. I had two advantages (I thought) going in: I'm an expert dog trainer (which neither Jance nor Lanier are, or were) and I'm also a dedicated student of the form, meaning the Black Mask short-story from the 1920s. The thing is, when I was in college the BYU library not only had every novel ever written by Dashiell Hammett, they had every short-story of his as well. Even today there are certain stories of Hammett's that I've read and that have not been published in any collection (at least none that I'm aware of). No one else has ever read some of these stories, at least not since the 1920s, but I have. (For die-hard aficionados, the books I found in my college library were actually hand-bound editions of actual Black Mask pulp originals.) Well, I thought, that's kind of what I have to do, then, isn't it? I have to honor the spirit, style, and power of Dash Hammett. I mean, after all, aren't Jack and Jamie just my feeble attempt to create a 21st Century Nick and Nora? So, I thought, if I can't do this, then what the hell did I spend all those days in class for? So, that's how "The French Poodle Connection" came about. It was my attempt to not only tell a great tale (tail?) but to be as punchy and grabbing and compelling a storyteller, while being as facile with language as Dash had to be when writing his Black Mask stories at 2 cents per word. Oh, and there's one other part: there actually IS a French poodle named Charlie. Her owner e-mailed me after reading my first novel and said that the poor dog had been mis-diagnosed by his vet and a previous trainer as having "classic alpha tendencies." Reading A NOSE FOR MURDER helped her solve this doggie's dilemma. He's the real hero of this story.

"Red Shirt and Black Jacket" by Virginia Lanier- Two robbers kill a convenience store clerk and the police send Jo Beth Sidden, Jasmine Jones and their bloodhounds to scent out the killers. The dogs steal the show in this exciting mystery that has a very big chase scene. "Nightmare in Nowhere" by Chasse West. Duke the German Shepard wakes A.J. up by licking her; she carefully gets out of the backseat of a car that looks like it is going to drop into a deep river. She has no idea where she is or why she was in the car or who was the driver. The dog takes her to Jake, a police officer vacationing in Maryland but he has no phone to call for outside help. Jake tries to help the amnesiac but someone keeps shooting at them forcing them to run from the cabin. Chassie West has written an exciting tale with realistic characters. "The French Poodle Connection" by Lee Charles Kelley. Former cop turned dog trainer detective Jack Field is at Cady Clark's home teaching her dog not to bite people when her ex-husband turns up with a gun because he just robbed a bank. Cady gets the gun after Jack knocks her ex unconscious and holds it on Jack forcing him to go to a deserted area while she frees her ex. This is the beginning of a crime spree that ends with four dead, five if you count Cady, who Jack doesn't because he believes she is alive. Lee Charles Kelley has written an entertaining mystery filled with twists and red herrings. The Case of the London Cabbie by J.A. Jance- Septuagenarian Maddie Watkins plans to prove that the twenty nine year old man her sister loves is a con artist after her fortune. She hires him under a false name to drive her around to look at properties that supposedly belonged to her later husband. Catching him in many lies, she follows him in her car only to be threatened by him when he catches her and her sister becomes his hostage. JA. Jance has written a fantastic mystery with a heroine who deserves her own series. Harriet Klausner