Murder Unleashed

I actually wrote the first novel in this series in 1997 but it wasn't until almost five years later that I finally got a publishing deal. That deal was eventually signed in mid-November of 2001 and included deadlines for two more books, and the first had to be delivered by February! Luckily I'd written a basic outline for MURDER UNLEASHED (which I originally called BEAGLE TROUBLES), and even had five or six chapters under my belt. Still, it's one thing to leisurely write your first book with no deadline and no pressure and to be able to allow yourself the luxury of taking nine months (or six years) to do it, and it's something else to suddenly have to finish your second novel in less than three months! Needless to say, once the deal was signed and the advance check was in my pocket, I worked non-stop on MURDER UNLEASHED. I wrote chapters on subway trains, on buses, on park benches (when the weather was nice), and took my powerbook with me everywhere I went. I remember very clearly writing one very funny yet suspenseful chapter where Jack and a couple of local cops are trying to apprehend a fugitive who's fleeing down a fire escape. The final scene of that chapter was written while I was riding the M-57 bus, crosstown to Sutton Place. The ending cracked me up so much I was laughing out loud, almost uncontrollably, in fact, while all the other passengers were giving me strange looks and wondering, "What's WRONG with that guy?" A substantial portion of MURDER UNLEASHED was also written over the Christmas and New Year's holiday, while I was dog-sitting for one of my training clients' dogs, Achille, a blue Dane, who lived in Chelsea. (His owners were in Paris.) I remember the long, quiet afternoons spent at their kitchen table, between his morning and evening walks, when I sat looking out over 23rd Street, with Achille snoring on his bed in the living room, and how the character of Hooch, a Dogue de Bordeaux, magically showed up on my computer one day and wouldn't leave. At any rate, I completed the manuscript on schedule and was glad to learn that I still had a chance to make further revisions during copy-editing and galley-proofing. (I was a novice to the publishing industry and I'm still not sure if those are the correct terms.) I was just glad to have finished the thing but felt, quite honestly, that it was nowhere near as good as my first novel. Imagine my surprise when my editor said she thought it was a lot better. "You've really grown as a writer," she said. "Yeah?" I wanted to say. "Tell that to those people on the bus!" I've since come around to her point of view. I think it IS better than A NOSE FOR MURDER. I hope you enjoy it!

Why is it that sexy ladyloves of tough burned-out ex-cops have to hit their men to keep them in line? Maybe it's because Jack Field knows dogs better than he does people. He's also prone to an occasional slip of the tongue over billiards. (ie. on marriage: "Thankfully the subject has never come up.") By the end of the book, however, he undergoes a transformation and, complete with a Tiffany diamond, proposes to the small town medical examiner, Dr. Jamie Cutter. That is, if she can get him away from his dogs, especially ones accused of murder! Jack not only has A Nose for Murder (title of the debut novel of the series), he has a nose for quality. He defends a bloodhound against murder charges, and saves Tulips, an Asian-American singer and illegitimate daughter of a murdered judge, against the abuse of her drug-running boyfriend. Unfortunately, a shady sergeant, the murdered judge's even more shady in-law sniffing around Jamie tend to raise Jack's hackles and make him more dangerous than a dachshund that can't reach the Puppy Chow. But the pair who burglarizes together stays together. How can a man write realistic male-female relationships? The answer's easy: Borrow some of the sense God gave a dog, and like Jack Field, you'll sniff out and uncover what's really important in life, even without a rolled-up newspaper.

I read and enjoyed Kelley's first book, A Nose For Murder, as I'm a murder mystery fan and avid dog adorer. In this new book, Kelly seems to be settling down and getting really comfortable with the world and characters he's created. It was a great read, and I can't really explain, but while the voice is intelligent and knowledgeable, it's also light and humorous. I guess that's from Kelley's getting comfortable like I mentioned above. I just got totally absorbed in the novel, and the ingenious plot had me guessing till the last minute which part of me whished would not soon come. The book was just so funny and engrossing, I didn't want it to end.

Jack Fields is a former NYPD Detective. Now he and his god son Leon run a dog kennel in Maine. His girlfriend, Dr. Jamie Cutter, is the part-time medical examiner. When she gets called out to examine the body of the judge who had been missing, Jack must drive her because her car gets blocked in by debris from a storm.He had planned to drop her off and leave, but when he heard there was a dog involved, he became involved. Much to the chagrin of Sheriff Flynn. They had run ins on a previous murder investigation. Of course, it probably didn't help that Jack had solved that one instead of the sheriff.A boxer, Roark, was found inside the car with the judge. As yet no one has been able to get to the body because Roark was attacking them. Jack, using his alternative dog training methods, coaxed Roark out of the car with a tennis ball.The police believe that Roark killed the judge. Jack gets permission to house Roark at his kennel overnight. He does not believe Roark killed the judge. The next day Jack takes Roark to a local vets to hide him. He gives the dog a phony name. The vets office recognizes Roark, but as soon as they find out that Grant Goodrich was trying to get Roark to put him to sleep for killing the judge, they agreed the dog wasn't Roark.Farrell Woods' ten beagles come to stay at the kennel. Eventually Farrell Woods came by and Jack was able to get some much needed information about some things going on in town recently.Jamie and Jack keep digging and the identity of the real killer and the truth about what happened begin to come clearer.I truly enjoy this series. Jamie and Jack are great characters and their interaction is so well written. I love all books set in New England so the setting in Maine just adds to the story for me.The plot is always well constructed and there are plenty of twists and turns.I highly recommend this book and series. It is a great cozy mystery.