Roll Over and Play Dead

Opening Sentence: “…One of these days I am going to take a three-day seminar in assertiveness training …”

The reason Claire Malloy wants assertiveness training is because she has been unable to say no to a retired school teacher and has ended up agreeing to care for Emily’s African Violets and two Basset Hounds. It is the second part of the chores that has Claire up in arms – she is not a dog person. Nothing personal against dogs of course, as she isn’t really what you could call a cat person either. Come to think of it she is not sure how she feels about African Violets! However she has to get over her lack of interest a few days later because the two dogs disappear along with a couple of neighbourhood pooches and a show more bad-tempered cat. Claire goes to the local animal shelter and learns that an unscrupulous animal dealer, Newton Churls, is in the area and while he is licensed to obtain animals for medical research, he is known to mostly obtain them illegally and run a dog fighting ring.

Claire and her motley crew of daughter, friends and neighbours drag the local sheriff out to Churls’ property to find the missing animals, however there are no sign of them, the general feeling is that they have been hidden, but Claire refuses to return without the back up of the police. A day later Claire’s motley crew turn into a makeshift ‘commando’ group and do a midnight raid only to find Churles is dead – he has been ripped apart by his pit bulls. Trouble is Churles is inside the cage and the cage has been locked from the outside, not an accident at all, this is murder. Now Claire not only has to find the missing animals, she has to find out who the killer is as her daughter and new friends are now suspects.

I have enjoyed all of the books that I have read in this series so far, and ROLL OVER AND PLAY DEAD is no different. I find I can relate to the heroine, Claire Malloy, on so many levels. She deals with her teenage daughter’s dramas without batting an eyelid, is witty but not mean, and has mastered the art of being sarcastic without the intended victim being aware of it. As with the other books in the series this story is light and fluffy; but has an edge. In this story the edge is maltreated animals and illegally obtained animals being used for scientific experiments; subject’s that tear at people’s hearts but handled well by Joan Hess. The result is a story that packs an emotional punch, makes you aware of animal testing issues in the USA and has you laughing at the same time. show less

Opening Sentence: “…One of these days I am going to take a three-day seminar in assertiveness training …”

The reason Claire Malloy wants assertiveness training is because she has been unable to say no to a retired school teacher and has ended up agreeing to care for Emily’s African Violets and two Basset Hounds. It is the second part of the chores that has Claire up in arms – she is not a dog person. Nothing personal against dogs of course, as she isn’t really what you could call a cat person either. Come to think of it she is not sure how she feels about African Violets! However she has to get over her lack of interest a few days later because the two dogs disappear along with a couple of neighbourhood pooches and a show more bad-tempered cat. Claire goes to the local animal shelter and learns that an unscrupulous animal dealer, Newton Churls, is in the area and while he is licensed to obtain animals for medical research, he is known to mostly obtain them illegally and run a dog fighting ring.

Claire and her motley crew of daughter, friends and neighbours drag the local sheriff out to Churls’ property to find the missing animals, however there are no sign of them, the general feeling is that they have been hidden, but Claire refuses to return without the back up of the police. A day later Claire’s motley crew turn into a makeshift ‘commando’ group and do a midnight raid only to find Churles is dead – he has been ripped apart by his pit bulls. Trouble is Churles is inside the cage and the cage has been locked from the outside, not an accident at all, this is murder. Now Claire not only has to find the missing animals, she has to find out who the killer is as her daughter and new friends are now suspects.

I have enjoyed all of the books that I have read in this series so far, and ROLL OVER AND PLAY DEAD is no different. I find I can relate to the heroine, Claire Malloy, on so many levels. She deals with her teenage daughter’s dramas without batting an eyelid, is witty but not mean, and has mastered the art of being sarcastic without the intended victim being aware of it. As with the other books in the series this story is light and fluffy; but has an edge. In this story the edge is maltreated animals and illegally obtained animals being used for scientific experiments; subject’s that tear at people’s hearts but handled well by Joan Hess. The result is a story that packs an emotional punch, makes you aware of animal testing issues in the USA and has you laughing at the same time. show less

Some clever, humorous writing about a woman who solves mysteries in her small town. This is book is the middle of a series. Claire Malloy owns a bookstore, has a teenage daughter who acts like a teenager, and has promised to watch two dogs while their owner goes on vacation. Alas the dogs go missing, as do other neighboring pets, and she and their owners search for them. Eventually, there is a murder. This warm cozy manages to raise serious issues like post-traumatic stress, animal testing and the sometimes shady ways in which animals are acquired for it, and dog fighting. And, of course, our heroine puts herself in dangerous situations without even telling anyone where she is going.

Joan Hess is always a fun read. I think I've read this one before. Claire Malloy runs a bookstore and lives with her teenage daughter, Caron who is the type of teenager who speaks in all caps. Claire agrees to take care of Miss Emily's two pampered bassets while Miss Emily is out of town on a long trip. MIss Emily leaves 6 pages of instructions for the dogs and plants. The dogs vanish and when she checks at the animal shelter, she is told of the usual destiny of kidnapped dogs. Other people in the same area lose their pets and now 5 are missing. A real low-life named Newton Churls controls the market in stolen and homeless animals and dog fighting. Churls is found dead when Claire and the others who have missing pets try a late night show more raid at Churls' home to look for their pets. The Sheriff is unhappy with Claire involving herself in the case and Caron's biology teacher is calling about Caron's refusal to participate in dissecting a frog. show less

I'm not sure about the stories, this one about stolen animals, but I like way Hess writes - there are lots of sentences that raise a laugh, e.g. 'Your moustache is twitching like a dear little caterpillar', page 176 and 'I dislike catch-22 situations, and this one was a doozy', pages 34/35.