Susan SlaterCritiques

Pretty good story, the writing is detailed but distant. I am happy to read this author's works, but I don't seek them out.

Psychologist Ben Pecos has just returned to his birthplace, the Tewa Pueblo in New Mexico, to intern with the Indian Health Service. He was adopted as a young child, growing up outside the Pueblo. Unfortunately, just as he returns, Tribal elders begin dying from a mysterious illness that kills quickly. Ten tribal members, including Pecos' grandmother, die from the virus. The IHS and an investigative reporter from Albuquerque work together to discover the source of the upper respiratory illness and how to stop it. During their investigation, they discover that the outbreak might not be accidental and that land fraud, murder and greed are behind the deaths.

I enjoyed the descriptions of life in the Pueblo and Tewa traditions. But, the mystery portion of the plot just seemed a bit too contrived. The virus is spread with tainted pumpkin seeds by men who want to build a casino in the Pueblo. The whole time I was reading I kept thinking to myself that in real life if a tribal elder stood in the way of major criminals there would be an easier way to murder him than to give him a packet of pumpkin seeds tainted with manufactured hantavirus. The plot wound around and became unnecessarily convoluted because the murder plot itself was ridiculously melodramatic. People with greedy, evil intent don't cook up devious plans to kill people with a virus....they just kill the person outright, or make it look like a simple accident. An over-done murder plan with too many people involved just increases the chances of something going wrong.....and in this case, that's the very thing that happens. Instead of killing only the one tribal elder they wanted dead....they killed 10 people. Then they had to kill more people to cover up the fact that they had killed people. That does help an author round out a 250 page book, but it's obviously fiction and not something that would realistically happen. I almost stopped reading the book when someone with the IHS called Ben Pecos to tell him that she had found micro-punctures at the base of the pumpkin seeds where something had been injected. It was like bad CSI-style pseudo-science.

The romance angle between Ben Pecos and Julie Conlin, a reporter from Albuquerque, seemed a bit forced to me. It was a bit like the author knew she needed to have some romance in the book so just conveniently dropped in a cute, anglo female reporter and *poof*.... insta-romance! Bit meh on the lovey-dovey portion of the plot, too.

There are two more Ben Pecos mystery novels by Susan Slater. I like the tribal lore and descriptions enough to read the next book. I hope the mystery element is better in the remaining books. That portion of the plot really fell flat for me in this first book. If the second book, Yellow Lies, is as overly melodramatic as this one, I won't read the third and final book of the series.

All in all, this book was ok. I much prefer Tony Hillerman.

My rating: 5/10
Ages: 13

Set in a New Mexico pueblo, this novel gives an interesting view of Native American customs and beliefs. I picked it up largely because of the recommendation by Tony Hillerman whose Navaho stories I find totally fascinating.

The plot focuses on a series of sudden deaths among elderly members of the tribe, including the grandmother of the leading character, Ben Pecos. Ben is a psychologist serving an internship at the local Indian health centre, returning after many years to the place of his birth, and uncertain whether he wants to stay there. He becomes involved in the search for the source of the deaths. I’m not clear how a psychologist fits into the situation - that part of his background doesn’t enter into the story at all.

I found it interesting, but not gripping, The characters did not come to life for me, except for one minor character, a very old man who is unable to communicate verbally, but is nevertheless endearing.½

It’s supposed to be kind of their practice honeymoon. Soon to be married, Dan entices his fiancee Elaine to spend some time with him in tropical Florida. He works an an investigator for United Life and Casualty. They have a case he needs to check out. Five prized dogs were lost in a fire at the Greyhound Racing Park. Things look all in order and Dan can steal some quality time with Elaine. Should be an easy wrap.

That is until Elaine stumbles upon a stray dog while taking a walk and the dog has a clue in it’s mouth.

I was drawn to this book because of the Greyhound racing. I live in Alabama and we don’t have horse racing, which I love. I was introduced to the Mobile Greyhound Racing Club and found it just as fun and exciting. I was an amateur and chose my bets by catchy names for the dogs. Never did win much but I loved watching those elegant, sleek dogs chase that rabbit.

I did enjoy the characters. Each had their own mysteries. Dan had to determine if the insurance company should pay off on the fire and the lost greyhounds. Elaine was getting her P.I. license and working a case for her mother-in law, Maggie. And Maggie was worried that her new fiance, Stanley, might be someone other than he who says he is.

In an area renowned for ex mobsters provided with new identities from the witness protection agency, who knows who Stanley really is. About to uproot herself and move to Palm Beach, Maggie wants to make sure she doesn’t have a rotten apple from the barrel.

And lets not forget Fucher. What a sweetie. He’s a bit slow but loves the dogs and taking care of them, especially his beloved Sadie. An employee at the track, he’s the perfect patsy for the cops to arrest. It’s not just arson either. Kennel owner, Jackson Sanchez, was found stabbed to death with the word thief carved into his forehead. Could Fucher have done it? He recently came into a lot of money and perhaps he loaned some to Jackson , and he wasn’t paying it back?

The police believe they have their man and are content to look no further.

Mystery upon mystery, the plot is afoot. I was kept on my toes, for sure. The author had me going in circles and, until the smoke cleared, I had no idea who the true culprit or culprits were.

I chased that rabbit and got my reward.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Poisoned Press Ink for the opportunity of providing me with a copy to read for my honest review.

I've not read any of the Dan Mahoney mysteries and it's my lose. Dan's sense of justice is another one of the reasons I loved this book. I really loved the way the book flowed with a lots of humor and plus a couple of other plot lines going on. One involved Dan's finance and his mother which was quite funny.

Dan is an investigator for an Insurance company that is sent out to a dog track that has been burnt down and several greyhounds have supposable been killed in the process. They also find a very nasty man had been murdered in the process, was the fire to collect on the insurance or to cover up the death? The police are sure they have their man who is considered slightly slow that works the dogs out at the kennel and sometimes he stays late into the night taking care of them so he ends up sleeping in the kennel office. That night he did and he saved most of the dogs and risked his own life doing it. He stumbles over the body of a very nasty man who is fellow breeder and racer who loves to cause trouble. He tries to pulls him to safety then finds there is a butcher knife in his back he pulls the knife out of his back which of course is then covered with the young man's prints. But when he returns to get the man the man had been moved. The police of course doesn't believe him and arrests him for the murder and arson. Dan doesn't believe the young man did it for a minute and tries everything he can to prove it. The young man just doesn't have it in him.

Susan, Dan's fiancee is looking into getting her PI licence because she is getting tired of teaching. So she's starting getting her credits and her first job is to help her future mother-in-law in finding out about her new fiance. Susan finds out that he is no where close to being who he seems to be.

I loved this book and if you love dogs and mysteries as much as I do I think you will too. I can wait to read more about Dan and Susan.

Hair of the Dog by Susan Slater is a cozy mystery that is not quite so cozy. If you are a dog lover, this one is for you. It has a cast of characters that will have you sifting through the evidence in search of the guilty party. Susan did not make it easy for me to find the answers I was looking for, but she did make the journey enjoyable.

Fucher Crumm most always has his faithful dog, Sadie, at his side, until now. She has been missing since the murder of one of Daytona’s biggest kennel owners and the fire at the Daytona track. Aww no. I don’t want anything to happen to her.

Fucher had won a settlement against the city when he was hit by one of their trucks. He is a bit slow, friendly and generous with his money, but his main love is the dogs at the kennel. He loves working with them and went above and beyond to save them during the fire. Now he is accused of causing the fire and murdering Sanchez. Is he an easy target for a frame-up or is he guilty?

Dan was on his honeymoon with Elaine in Daytona. When his boss, United Life and Casualty called about the fire and the missing dogs, he figured he could mix business with pleasure. Elaine was game, in fact she was ready to make a career change and thought now was the perfect time. She was going to train to become a private investigator and they could team up. Her job is snooping and she thought that quite funny.

I loved Dan’s description of his dog’s, Simon’s, doggy resort. A bed, a pool and plenty of toys for the pushy Rottweiler.

Susan Slater mentioned that Elaine was surprised at all the pine trees in Florida. I thought that was funny, because I marveled at the same when I moved here. Florida is so much more than sand and palm trees.

Dan went to the track and Elaine went for a walk, thus we meet Sadie and the picture on the cover delivers a clue.

The treatment of Fucher by the guard in the jail really pissed me off. It is deplorable and mean and I would like to reach into the pages and punch him. The warden seems okay, or is he just covering his butt?

Dixie Halifax is a co-owner of the track and has five of her dogs kenneled there. Now they are missing. Bit suspicious don’t you think? I love Susan Slater’s description of Dixie, she has the characteristics of a greyhound. Isn’t it a common theme that owners take on the looks of the critters they own? What about if you own a lizard? LOL

Susan Slater proves she is a talented author by including so many plots and subplots into a Hair of the Dog, her latest cozy mystery. The cast of characters are interesting and the murderer…well, Susan had a surprise or two for me. I enjoyed the humorous writing and lively banter that comes with a cozy mystery, making it easy to relate to the characters. I look forward to reading more of her work.

I received an ARC of Hair of the Dog by Susan Slater in return for and honest and unbiased review.

I'm not really sure why this mystery fell flat for me. The plot(s) are intricate and twisty, and I generally love that!

I think it was the tone. Even the exciting parts were written in a very plain, matter-of-fact way with almost no tension.

Similarly, all the characters are ciphers, or maybe puppets going through the motions. Even in highly emotional passages, their actions and reactions fall flat. I think Slater probably did see all these characters as vibrant individuals, but did not communicate this to the reader, which meant that many of their actions and choices seemed random.

It could have used a good editor, both to point out these problems and to correct many of the errors in grammar (and sometimes in sense). Plus, there were some interesting threads that were not followed, and these might have been advantageously excised.

I doubt I will read more by this author.

Rollover is based on an actual bank robbery in Wagon Mound, New Mexico, that is unsolved to this day. (Yes, the place actually exists.) Slater went there to interview residents and discovered that interest in the event was still intense. This book is her version of what she believed could have happened, and it's a fast-paced, engrossing story.

I enjoyed watching how Dan interacted with the residents of Wagon Mound as he tried to find out what really happened in that bank. He became very unpopular, very quickly. The bank heist was difficult to solve and kept me guessing till the end, due in part to the fact that the suspect list contained people of all ages, genders, and walks of life. Having Dan's fiancee Elaine there added some badly needed normality to the story because the author made it extremely difficult to pin any of the suspects down. She also uses the New Mexico setting to good effect, stirring emotions and increasing tension.

What I couldn't believe was how quickly I devoured this story. I'm definitely looking forward to more insurance investigations by Dan Mahoney!½

Susan Slater's Rollover is an excellent mystery. It doesn't just involve murders; there is so much other stuff going on in a seemingly sleepy small town!

The writing is very solid, the plot intricate and baffling -- though it did resolve neatly -- and the pacing excellent. All the characters, major and minor, are well-written and very real, and while the ending resolved the plot, there was left a lot of believable ambiguity among various people's motivations.

The premise is based on a true crime that (unlike in the book, which is pure fiction) remains unsolved. Intriguing!

This is the second book in the series, and I am eager to read the first. The first is definitely not required -- Rollover is a fine place to step in.

I received this book from rambles.com, an online reviewing magazine, in exchange for an honest review.½

This was my first Ben Pecos novel. Ben is a young psychologist, half native, but not raised on the reservation. He is doing a four year internship in New Mexico to pay back his student loans. His first night at the trading post does not bode well for a peaceful beginning, for a body is found after dinner. The story revolves around a master carver who is making amber and selling it as authentic, his strange landlady who runs the trading post and her mentally and physically challenged son. Ben and his love interest, Julie, try to unravel the threads that bind these three together, hoping to solve the murder before more occur.

An easy, pleasant read, this had enough details of the culture to keep me interested and nice descriptions of the landscape. Ben is not overflowing with personality, but he and the other characters had interest. The end was a bit dulled for me because one of the characters was used to wrap up the story and the "voice" didn't match the quiet, stoic man he was earlier. To tell anymore would be spoilerish, but I felt the author tried a bit too hard to tie up all the ends and became repetitive.

I have to say that I absolutely loved this book. How would any woman deal with her husband leaving her after 35 years of marriage? How does one start over at 60? That's exactly what Shelly Sinclair has to deal with. I love how Ms. Slater develops Shelly and how through time Shelly begins to find herself. Of course she has to navigate a lot of dating setbacks and an ex-husband with a younger wife and child and her children too. One child who sticks with her and one who sides more with her ex-husband. The book feels very true to life.

It's very entertaining. There is humor, there is sadness and through it all Shelly perseveres. I think this is a wonderful women's fiction book. Shelly is a strong character, there are some twists and turns, but you stick with it through it all and hardly want to put it down. In fact when it ends I wish it would keep going - I have fallen in love with Shelly as a character and want to know more about her. The book ends like it should though and I like the ending.

I will be looking for more books by Ms. Slater in the future and hope she continues writing women's fiction.½

OK, not great. The story is too convoluted.