The Wicked Flea

Don't get me wrong. I'm a confirmed cat person. But a dog-loving friend who's never read my cat mysteries mentioned Susan Conant. Out of curiosity, I picked up THE WICKED FLEA. I think I'm hooked. Susan Conant tells a good story, and she tells it well. Her Holly Winter is chatty, opinionated, feisty, and downright likeable. I can't wait to devour another Conant book, rather like Kimi the Malamute and the rat-tail-infested french fries. [That's all I'm going to say about that particularly satisfying sub-plot]. So, cat-lovers of the world, let's step for once out of our self-imposed cat-book limitations and read a GASP!! doG-centered book. It's worth taking the leap.

Does Holly get Steve back? Does he at least dump the dog-hating witch? Does Holly recover from her concussion? Does Ceci get a new Newfie? Is there really a dangerous pervert haunting the dog park? What's wrong with the golden retriever at the dog park? Is Holly's new therapist any good? How's Leah doing at Harvard? What's Kevin up to? How great a dog is Rowdy really? Does Kimi finish her championship? Some of these questions get answered, just enough to keep us satisfied until the next Holly/Rowdy/Kimi/Leah adventure comes out, but enough of these questions go unanswered to make us eagerly antisipate the next book Conant comes out with. It didn't take me long to finish, but the solution to the mystery came as a complete but pleasant surprise.

This book, 14th in the Holly Winter series, carries over many of the characters from her previous books--Holly, her vet and love interest, Steve; her friends Rita (tenant and psychotherapist) and Kevin (the cop next door); her courtesy aunts Ceci and Althea; the Massachusetts cities of Cambridge and Newton; and last but not least the well drawn Malamutes Rowdy and Kimi. The identity of the killer is genuinely mysterious and the victim's life is explored in detail. Much intelligent information about dogs, dog shows, and dog obedience is imparted but the book is never preachy-Holly is just completely obsessed and shares her obsessions with the reader. I believe that a reader who hadn't read any of the preceding books would enjoy this as much as those of us who have read all fourteen.

Holly Winter, proud owner of two beloved malamutes Kimi and Rowdy, is going through some hard times. She is recovering from a case of amnesia and related neurological problems, while trying to adjust to the fact that her long time lover and vet, Steve Delaney, married somebody else. To add injury to insult, Steve's wife is somebody Kelly absolutely despises for good reasons. To get her mind off her personal problems, Holly spends some time with a group of pet owners and their dogs in a beautiful park in Newton, Mass. One of the members, Sylvia has a golden retriever named Zsa-Zsa who is rambunctious to the point of being dangerous. It is a shock when Holly and some other member of the group find Sylvia dead in the park, killed by a bullet in her chest. Holly goes into her sleuth mode and tries to ferret out the perpetrator. It has been a long time since Susan Conant has written a book about everyone's favorite malamutes but the poignant mystery was well worth the wait. The relationship the heroine and her canines share is precious to behold while Holly's sense of justice encourages her to take risks that most people would not. THE WICKED FLEA is a delightful whimsical and humorous mystery that shows off the attributes of humans and canines that are rather similar in nature.Harriet Klausner