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A Nose For Justice (2010)

by Rita Mae Brown(Favorite Author)

3.32 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0345511816 (ISBN13: 9780345511812)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Ballantine Books

series

Mags Rogers

review 1: In Rita Mae Brown's latest murder mystery, she heads out West--Reno, Nevada, to be precise, for a potboiler of a mystery in A NOSE FOR JUSTICE. With water rights, a one hundred-year-old skeleton, and the history of the Old West teeming at the surface of the story, Brown writes with a deft hand as she rounds up her suspects and killers into a compelling, nonstop action adventure that readers will lasso into one afternoon of reading.With a list of characters and a backdrop to relish like fine wine, A NOSE FOR JUSTICE will appeal to a wide-range of readers. Fans of Brown's Mrs. Murphy novels, however, might find the new mystery a tad frustrating. But don't give up just yet. This new outing promises a new horizon for Ms. Brown as an author, and a sniffing good time for King, a... more four-year-old Shepard mix, and his soon-to-be partner, Baxter, a three-year-old Dachshund who King calls a "fuzzy sausage". Yes, the animals do talk to one another in their dog language. It is quite amusing to see them play off each other in a no-nonsense way. At times, the book has its laugh-outloud moments between the two dogs. Enjoyable. As the story progresses and the air of mystery unfurls, the two four-legged mutts become friends and help their human owners, Aunt Jeep and her great-niece, Mags, rope themselves a cold-blooded killer.Social issues, like water rights, may, at times, drown out the mystery and keep readers anxious about turning the pages and finishing the story. But this latest novel proves potential for an ongoing series. Too, the illustrations by Laura Hartman Maestro, which are beautifully rendered, depict moments of Baxter and King in both quiet and dangerous situations.Also, the long list of characters, though occasionally puzzling to follow, are an interesting bunch of political astute, caring, and sometimes mysterious individuals whom many readers hope to revisit in a future novel. If so, maybe Ms. Brown can include Baxter and King in a much larger role in the mystery.
review 2: I wanted to like this book. In fact, parts of it I liked very much, but..The "core dump" feeling that other reviewers expressed was valid. I believe this is because the author feels that the setting is also "a character" in the book. While Reno, NV does seem an interesting place, I wish she would have revealed the quirkiness and major issues of the setting more slowly. Say, over the first couple of books (since it was indicated that this was the start of a series.)The two mysteries (the dead Russian and the Water RIghts stuff) really didn't have much to do with each other (except for a reference that the real killer thinks is about him.) It would have been nice if there had been SOME parallels between the historic case and the "present day" case.There was WAY too much discussion of politics, especially when the characters seemed to voice the same viewpoint over and over.Catherine was a waste and probably shouldn't have even been introduced in this book (or at least not "appear" in it.) The killer was given a very sketchy motivation and no character development. He was referred to several times, but I don't remember him interacting with the "main cast" more than once or twice.That said, I did like the dogs and Jeep, although not as much as Mrs Murphy and her "crew". I felt Mags and Pete were revealed more in a "talked about" fashion rather than an "observed actions" fashion, but that might just be a quibble. The WASP angle was fun. Enrique and Carlotta appeared often, but really weren't given much chance at character development. They were likable enough.I felt this was kind of a rocky start to a series and I'm not sure I liked it enough to read the rest (although I didn't hate it enough to put it in my "don't-finish-series" bookshelf.") less

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