The Last Song Dogs

Trade Ellis mystery #1

by Sinclair Browning

Trade Ellis' part-time P.I. practice is as dry as the desert -- until bull rider J.B. Calendar marries a candy heiress who's crazy to turn cowgirl. Abigail Van Thiessen has thirty-two years -- and a few hundred million dollars -- on her husband. So when she meets her untimely death on a romantic horseback trip with her newlywed stud, the cops suspect foul play. J.B. hires Trade to prove his innocence. Then Trade discovers another murder in town the same night Abby died -- and suddenly her investigation could come to the very deadliest of ends.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery

273 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 6, 1999

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kinda interesting about contemporary Arizona and some Apache res lore but too buck up, single-female-40-something-still-looks-good-in-tight-jeans whiney(the up side of being 40 something is you don't have to wear tight jeans, bras, make-up or any thing else any more if you don't want too)

[Glen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty dull mystery about someone killing all the cheerleaders in the PI's graduating class.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the Arizona book in my new project to read a mystery from every state, by an author new to me. It's set in Tucson and the surrounding area. I know a lot of people who now live there so it was interesting to read about the setting, as well as the mystery. Trade Ellis is both a working rancher and a private investigator. This book, the first in the series, finds her being asked to investigate a homicide or perhaps more than one, with the victims being members of the cheerleading team during her own high school years. The class reunion is coming up and Trade is fascinated by the huge changes some classmates have undergone. The solution is quite surprising. One thing I really liked about this book was that Trade does not drop everything to pursue the killer -- she still has other commitments including her ranch work, a cow-penning contest, and making tamales for a coming-of-age ceremony. (100 dozen tamales! She does it with her cousin, but still -- I'm impressed.) I thought it was a good device to have her already be a PI but not have been in on a homicide investigation before -- it allowed her to make mistakes without seeming stupid. I'm sure I will read more books in this series.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

School spirit only last until the twenty five year reunion. The cheerleader are being murdered and Trad Ellis in addition to running her ranch is also a private eye, who is over her head in trying to solve the murders.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is interesting. It kind of lopes along like a coyote in the desert. Something to gaze at but it's easy to look away and then back again. I believe I could watch a coyote for hours.

But still, this book is worth reading. The plot moves along much like Trade explains gathering cattle.. Slow and easy...until the last few chapters. The ride is well worth the time in the saddle.

The horse and cattle ranching terms and experiences in this book make are good reason for this book to be read if you're one who likes to read about how others live. I love seeing and experiencing, through books, other cultures and ways of life

I don't know how many people get to see an eternity pool, which is described in this book as a "negative edge job" that looks like..."the waterfalls off the end of the world", but they are stunning, especially up close and personal.
There is a privately owned
one (of course) in Pittsburgh's Grandview neighborhood high above the Fort Pitt Tunnels looking down onto the city and it's three rivers. It takes your breath away.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

1st in TGrade Ellis series -- rancher/PI -- Song Dogs are the cheerleaders from HS who are being killed off prior to 25th reunion. Everyone had something to be guilty about.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the Trade Ellis Mysteries set in Tucson, AZ. The series is fun to read, and the author's depictions of Tucson are great.

[Toni Kania · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another older series hanging around. Liked the protagonist, but story was a bit shy of being complex enough. I'll give the second a try and then decide what I'll do then.

[John Devlin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read compulsorily, utterly hackneyed at points, utterly unbelievable at others.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: his part-time PI practice is failing until Trade gets hired by the husband of a murdered rich heiress to prove his innocence.