A Dog Among Diplomats: A Bull Moose Dog Run Mystery

by J.F. Englert

Book Overview

He reads Proust. Surfs the net. Is the soul of diplomacy. And when it comes to solving crime, Randolph is the dog for the job. Murder has come to Manhattan's East Village. And when detectives call... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440243645
• ISBN13: 9780440243649
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Bantam Dell
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.9" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Great read!

If you love dogs and love mysteries/suspense novels, this is a great book for you!

That's SOME dog: Randolph

A really worthy successor to A Dog About Town, this further account of a portly Labrador's adventures leads to spies, the UN, murder, a knife-wielding chef and the thrill of ordering books on the internet. Randolph, the aforesaid Labrador, is the narrator of the book and is still worried about finding his vanished mistress, Imogen, and protecting and communicating with his somewhat gormless human companion, Harry. Harry and Randolph's adventures are sometimes terrifying, sometimes hilarious, and always a great read.

A Great Book

Randolph and Harry are back for more! A great follow-up to A Dog About Town, J.F. Englert picks right up where he left off with A Dog Among Diplomats, keeping the pace going and the characters strong. Imogen's story is moved forward as the motives behind her disappearance become clearer. It appears that she is involved in much a much bigger picture than first thought possible, and this time it's possible that she's involved in a murder. It's Randolph's job to put the pieces together to help Harry find out what's going on and clear his mistress' name. I really like the fact that Harry and Randolph's characters are clearly growing both emotionally and as individuals. They both are coming to terms with Imogen's disappearance, possible betrayal and what that means in their lives and how they need to move forward. Jackson returns to give Harry some much needed focus in a new art project, and Zest Kilpatrick is back to try to lead Harry's heart astray. I like to see Englert moving forward with these aspects of the story, and not letting Harry and Randolph wallow in misery. The characters are clearly becoming their own. There is also the addition of a great new cast of characters, including Harry's sister, Iberia, her husband Tony, and their daughter Haddy McClay. There is a murder, of course, and Randolph is up to the challenge again. Englert leaves Randolph to his own devices this time and creates new ways for him to communicate with Harry, and even lets his more doggie attributes take over, helping him gather the clues through his own cunning. I think Englert has paid attention to his own dog in creating Randolph; there are so many doggie attributes (the snout stamp, for instance) that I can see in my own dog. I like seeing Randolph handle things in a very doggie-fashion (surfing the net and reading aside). It's an original idea that Englert handles perfectly. The ending is left wide open for another, and I can't wait to run off with Randolph and Harry for more adventures.

Excellent DOG ABOUT TOWN

Randolph the Labrador is considering a post dinner nap once the Chinese spareribs settles in his abundant stomach as staying awake proves difficult because his master Harry is dozing while some narcoleptic butchers the narration of the life of van Gogh. However, NYPD Detective Peter Davis calls bringing both Harry and Randolph out of their TV induced comas when he mentions "her". Peter is the lead detective on the disappearance of Imogen, who rescued Randolph from the pet ship morons and introduced him to her beloved Harry. Harry and Randolph quickly rush from their Upper West Side apartment to the East Village. Trusting but naive artist Harry and doubter Randolph are informed that their mutual significant other is tied to a homicide that is linked to the U.N. Randolph somewhat because he reads the Post and knows cops are either heroic, on the take, or idiots. Whereas Harry turns to a medium for guidance from the spirit realm, Randolph figures his buddy is acting too human. He goes undercover as a "therapy" dog to anxiety ridden U.N. diplomat Leopold Maranovsky of Near Upper Pilasia, a nation that is currently not annexed by its neighbors though Randolph knows that region keeps mapmakers employed. The canine must keep Harry safe as someone has to humiliatingly escort him when he does 1 and 2 and pick up the poop after him, and prove Imogen is innocent (hopefully alive too) by identifying the real killer; now he has a chance as he has broken through the sanctimonious U.N. dog run barrier. Randolph continues to be A DOG ABOUT TOWN as he investigates the East Village homicide by infiltrating the U.N. Once again Harry assumes some spirit is guiding his canine as Randolph follows the clues. Readers who appreciate a different type of whodunit will want to read the tale of a genius dog living in a human world especially inside the U.N. where prejudicial diplomats from Near Upper Pilasia and Near Lower Pilasia interact with scorn. Harriet Klausner

"To be underestimated is to remain free." - Randolph

A Dog Among Diplomats could definitely be enjoyed on its own, as a quick recap of the backstory is provided at the beginning of the novel--but it is a series after all, so I would still recommend beginning with the first book, A Dog About Town (which I also reviewed). I called the first book a fun read--which it was, and this one is too (If you like Vespas, I think it's not spoiling the plot to say that one takes a prominent role in this novel. Has product placement $s begun for books now?). --But I would also add that these light-hearted elements give the book a deceptively simple air. In this sequel, Englert introduces a whole cast of additional characters, and the plot (mystery) as well as the themes grow more complex. Englert's writing skill is seen in that the plot does seem to unfold so effortlessly (it's a quick read), when in fact he is juggling dozens of plot threads and characters at a time. My favorite part of these novels, though, is probably not the plot itself but Englert's prose and his wry commentaries, such as his tongue-in-cheek defense of obvious distortions of history, filtered through a character who intends no irony, "Leopold was merely taking the ideal sentiment of human brotherhood and rescuing it from the sordid march of history." (This said just before a senseless murder occurs..) One more philosophical take-away, filtered through, Randolph (labrador-cum-detective and avid reader): "Writing is the craft of the illusionist. A writer frames and reframes reality, and soon this mirror trick becomes the world."