Hounding The Pavement

A new series starring a dog walker who just happens to understand canine talk...Interesting. Bonus: it's written by Judi McCoy.

Here's the blurb for Hounding The Pavement:

Ellie Engleman, the newest dog walker on Manhattan's swanky Upper East Side, has a talent - besides scooping poop. She can hear what her canine clientele are thinking. So when an owner is killed, Ellie must perk up her ears and bone up on her sleuthing.

Ditching her dog-eat-dog career and cur of a husband, Ellie happily trades her power suits for a panty hose - free wardrobe and her dream job. And she couldn't be happier - unless, of course, Mr. Right shows up at her door with apint of Haagen-Dazs.

But when she stumbles upon dead client, Ellie becomes a suspect in an investigation led by smoking-hot, if cocky, Detective Ryder. Ellie wouldn't exactly mind staying in custody - if it meant sticking close by him 24-7 - but she worries about deceased's missing prizewinning bichon. Did someone steal him? If only she could find the dog, he'd tell her who the culprit is. But a killer wants Ellie to let sleeping dogs lie...or else.

I've had a love and hate "relationship" with "talking" animals in books. They are some that I love (like Susan Wittig Albert's Beatrix Potter series) and others I just can't get into (like Rita Mae Brown's Mrs. Murphy series - please no rotten tomatoes!), so I was a little hesitant about reading this book, but it is written by an author that I enjoy so I gave it a try and ...

Two words: cute and entertaining. It was fast paced and interesting. I enjoyed the way that Ellie talked and took care of her charges. I loved the banter between Rudy and Ellie. Plus there's a promising romance going between Ellie and Detective Ryder...even if Ryder can be somewhat an ass. Can't wait to see what will happen next!

Hounding the Pavement by Judi McCoy (3.5/5) Contemporary Mystery; Published: Obsidian (3/2009); Series: # 1, A Dog Walker Mystery; 2009 100 + Reading Challenge (43); 2009 Support Your Local Library (37); 2009 Pub Challenge (12);