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Eli Paxton #1
Dog in the Manger
Hired to investigate the disappearance of a Westminster winner, Eli Paxton stumbles into a web of intrigue. A down-on-his-luck private eye is hired to find the number one Weimaraner in the country. A dog is missing. It turns out to be anything but a routine case. People start dying in mysterious ways, a cargo plane goes missing, and someone is taking shots at him. It makes no sense. Even a top show dog isnt worth that much. Now the hunt is on. Paxton needs to find this dog to save his own skin.
201 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1996
3 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
About the author
Mike Resnick
815 books554 followersMichael "Mike" Diamond Resnick, better known by his published name Mike Resnick, was a popular and prolific American science fiction author. He is, according to Locus, the all-time leading award winner, living or dead, for short science fiction. He was the winner of five Hugos, a Nebula, and other major awards in the United States, France, Spain, Japan, Croatia and Poland. and has been short-listed for major awards in England, Italy and Australia. He was the author of 68 novels, over 250 stories, and 2 screenplays, and was the editor of 41 anthologies. His work has been translated into 25 languages. He was the Guest of Honor at the 2012 Worldcon and can be found online as @ResnickMike on Twitter or at www.mikeresnick.com.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
July 6, 2019
Thoroughly enjoyed this little novel. It was a good mix of noir and paranoia. I live in Cincinnati so it was lovely to see tributes to the city in this book — the Reds, Skyline/Gold Star Chili, and overall descriptions of the city and its inhabitants. I enjoyed Resnick’s wry sense of humor, I didn’t come close to guessing the whodunit, and overall I was again pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.
February 8, 2013
Eli Paxton comes across as a typical old-fashioned hardboiled detective, living from case to case, barely able to pay his phone bill. He is all that, but a 1990s version. Author Mike Resnick wrote this novel in the 90s, but it has only recently been released. Detective Paxton is a Cincinnati native, and along with his obsession with the Cincinnati Reds baseball team, the setting provides the atmosphere of a small city on a big river, where everyone does not know everyone, but they know someone who does.
Paxton has been hired to solve what appears to be a small crime. A dog trainer with a prima donna attitude wants him to find a lost dog, but not just any dog. Baroness is a number one Weimaraner and Westminster dog show winner. Somehow the dog has disappeared between Cincinnati and Arizona, where her owner awaits her return home, and the assistant who drove the dog to the airport has died in a tragic car accident.
There is plenty of action as Paxton begins the mundane investigative tasks of interviewing employees of the kennel, employees of the shipping company responsible for transporting the dog and the puddle-jumper airline that flies to smaller towns in the Southwest. But the case becomes much more serious, and dangerous, when witnesses either cannot be located or turn up dead. Paxton travels from Cincinnati to Arizona, to Mexico and back to Cincinnati, where the trail of the lost dog leads to a web of crime involving a leading citizen of the city.
Resnick writes in a style that moves the reader along from one tense situation to another. He has created a character who has the uncanny ability to land on his feet and maneuver his way out of the most harrowing situations. But he refuses to take life too seriously, reminding a police official that “Nobody is ever late at six thirty in the morning.”
Dog in the Manger is a roller coaster of a novel. I look forward to the next Eli Paxton mystery.
(As published in Suspense Magazine)
Paxton has been hired to solve what appears to be a small crime. A dog trainer with a prima donna attitude wants him to find a lost dog, but not just any dog. Baroness is a number one Weimaraner and Westminster dog show winner. Somehow the dog has disappeared between Cincinnati and Arizona, where her owner awaits her return home, and the assistant who drove the dog to the airport has died in a tragic car accident.
There is plenty of action as Paxton begins the mundane investigative tasks of interviewing employees of the kennel, employees of the shipping company responsible for transporting the dog and the puddle-jumper airline that flies to smaller towns in the Southwest. But the case becomes much more serious, and dangerous, when witnesses either cannot be located or turn up dead. Paxton travels from Cincinnati to Arizona, to Mexico and back to Cincinnati, where the trail of the lost dog leads to a web of crime involving a leading citizen of the city.
Resnick writes in a style that moves the reader along from one tense situation to another. He has created a character who has the uncanny ability to land on his feet and maneuver his way out of the most harrowing situations. But he refuses to take life too seriously, reminding a police official that “Nobody is ever late at six thirty in the morning.”
Dog in the Manger is a roller coaster of a novel. I look forward to the next Eli Paxton mystery.
(As published in Suspense Magazine)
April 13, 2014
This fast-paced mystery is a lean 184 pages and combines classic private eye with a bit of paranoia thriller with a touch of Hitchcockian "man on the run". Ex-Chicago cop Eli Paxton, too honest and too decent, is a not very successful private eye in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is hired to find a missing show dog, a simple enough task that is enormously complicated by the deaths of those who witnessed the dog's journey back to Arizona. This "what is the case actually about?" puzzle takes Eli to Arizona (he has a lot to say about the heat) and to Mexico and back to Cincinnati. Eli, who reminds me a bit of Parnall Hall's Stanley Hastings, is professional and - refreshingly - well-liked by the police. Supporting characters are sharply drawn as are the locales (especially Cincinnati with the viaducts, the Reds, and a loving salute to the town's signature chili). This book (including the introduction where author Mike Resnick discusses his writing) is highly recommended.
August 29, 2017
I have had an advanced reading copy of Dog in the Manger on my shelf for several years. Eli Paxton used to work for the Chicago Police Department, then the Cleveland one and finally the Cincinnati one where he decided to settle. His wife divorced so he was living alone in his department. He describes himself as a good cop in the past, not a heroic one. He is barely making it on his income so he was very happy to have a new client walk in the door.
The case starts out with a missing weimeriner show dog and leads Eli into Arizona and Mexico. He gets shot at, badly beat up several times. Some people die and he has a casual romance with a person who shows the dog and has a retired show dog.
There is a lot of danger involved but the book is still not that exciting. It is OK for a short mystery. I was missing more depth and maybe a little more information about the dog.
The case starts out with a missing weimeriner show dog and leads Eli into Arizona and Mexico. He gets shot at, badly beat up several times. Some people die and he has a casual romance with a person who shows the dog and has a retired show dog.
There is a lot of danger involved but the book is still not that exciting. It is OK for a short mystery. I was missing more depth and maybe a little more information about the dog.
October 17, 2021
This author is extremely skilled at tying his plots into knots.
When some of the knot is untied, more complications appear. These characters are more the hardboiled types of the thirties and forties. This a quick read but the readers will feel as if the journey were longer and much action has taken place.
When some of the knot is untied, more complications appear. These characters are more the hardboiled types of the thirties and forties. This a quick read but the readers will feel as if the journey were longer and much action has taken place.
March 3, 2019
I kept waiting for this to be leading somewhere.....but it never happened and so after 196 pages i just said....enough!
October 4, 2022
Nice little mystery ending up somewhere unexpected.
April 17, 2016
PROTAGONIST: Eli Paxton, PI
SETTING: Cincinnati, OH; Arizona; Mexico
SERIES: #1
RATING: 3.5
A private investigator’s working life is definitely not the way that it is portrayed in many books and movies. Generally speaking, the kinds of jobs that a PI takes on involve cheating spouses or inglorious matters. Eli Paxton’s latest assignment involves trying to find a missing dog, a Weimaraner and winner of the Westminster Best in Show award. You would be wrong if you thought that made the dog very valuable. Unlike horse breeding, breeding dogs isn’t very lucrative. However, to Maurice Nettles and his wife, Baroness is priceless. She was a difficult dog to raise, and her value is emotional rather than financial. When she fails to arrive on a flight from a show, Paxton is hired to find her.
Most of the leads that Eli follows are dead ends. There is no evidence that the dog was ever shipped in the first place. When Paxton uncovers information that shows somebody falsified the records, he finds himself embroiled in a situation far more complicated than finding a missing pet. The investigation leads to a Mexican drug operation, and several people who were associated with the transportation of the dog are murdered, with Eli almost joining their ranks.
DOG IN THE MANGER is well plotted, although it seemed to me that there were far too many murders for the situation. The most appealing part of the book is the character of Eli Paxton. He is presented in a very realistic way—no beautiful blondes coming in to his office or him engaging in grand heroics. He reminds me very much of one of my favorite PIs, Nameless, from the series by Bill Pronzini. He works with the police and doesn’t engage in reckless behavior.
Resnick is best known for his work in science fiction for which he has won many awards. DOG was first published in 1995. However, Resnick had a lot of commitments for science fiction works and couldn’t afford to invest time in developing the book into the series that he envisioned. Fortunately, Seventh Street Books rediscovered the work, and Resnick is on target to write at least three more books in the Paxton series. That’s good news for fans of PI crime fiction.
SETTING: Cincinnati, OH; Arizona; Mexico
SERIES: #1
RATING: 3.5
A private investigator’s working life is definitely not the way that it is portrayed in many books and movies. Generally speaking, the kinds of jobs that a PI takes on involve cheating spouses or inglorious matters. Eli Paxton’s latest assignment involves trying to find a missing dog, a Weimaraner and winner of the Westminster Best in Show award. You would be wrong if you thought that made the dog very valuable. Unlike horse breeding, breeding dogs isn’t very lucrative. However, to Maurice Nettles and his wife, Baroness is priceless. She was a difficult dog to raise, and her value is emotional rather than financial. When she fails to arrive on a flight from a show, Paxton is hired to find her.
Most of the leads that Eli follows are dead ends. There is no evidence that the dog was ever shipped in the first place. When Paxton uncovers information that shows somebody falsified the records, he finds himself embroiled in a situation far more complicated than finding a missing pet. The investigation leads to a Mexican drug operation, and several people who were associated with the transportation of the dog are murdered, with Eli almost joining their ranks.
DOG IN THE MANGER is well plotted, although it seemed to me that there were far too many murders for the situation. The most appealing part of the book is the character of Eli Paxton. He is presented in a very realistic way—no beautiful blondes coming in to his office or him engaging in grand heroics. He reminds me very much of one of my favorite PIs, Nameless, from the series by Bill Pronzini. He works with the police and doesn’t engage in reckless behavior.
Resnick is best known for his work in science fiction for which he has won many awards. DOG was first published in 1995. However, Resnick had a lot of commitments for science fiction works and couldn’t afford to invest time in developing the book into the series that he envisioned. Fortunately, Seventh Street Books rediscovered the work, and Resnick is on target to write at least three more books in the Paxton series. That’s good news for fans of PI crime fiction.
Read
February 19, 2013Dog in the Manger
By Mike Resnick
Eli Paxton comes across as a typical old-fashioned hardboiled detective, living from case to case, barely able to pay his phone bill. He is all that, but a 1990’s version. Author Mike Resnick wrote this novel in the 90s, but it has only recently been released. Detective Paxton is a Cincinnati native, and along with his obsession with the Cincinnati Reds baseball team, the setting provides the atmosphere of a small city on a big river, where everyone does not know everyone, but they know someone who does.
Paxton has been hired to solve what appears to be a small crime. A dog trainer with a prima donna attitude wants him to find a lost dog, but not just any dog. Baroness is a number one Weimaraner and Westminster dog show winner. Somehow, the dog has disappeared between Cincinnati and Arizona, where her owner awaits her return home, and the assistant who drove the dog to the airport has died in a tragic car accident.
There is plenty of action as Paxton begins the mundane investigative tasks of interviewing employees of the kennel, employees of the shipping company responsible for transporting the dog, and the puddle-jumper airline that flies to smaller towns in the Southwest. But the case becomes much more serious, and dangerous, when witnesses either cannot be located or turn up dead. Paxton travels from Cincinnati to Arizona, to Mexico and back to Cincinnati, where the trail of the lost dog leads to a web of crime involving a leading citizen of the city.
Resnick writes in a style that moves the reader along from one tense situation to another. He has created a character that has the uncanny ability to land on his feet and maneuver his way out of the most harrowing situations. But he refuses to take life too seriously, reminding a police official that “Nobody is ever late at six thirty in the morning.”
“Dog in the Manger” is a roller coaster of a novel. I look forward to the next Eli Paxton mystery.
By Mike Resnick
Eli Paxton comes across as a typical old-fashioned hardboiled detective, living from case to case, barely able to pay his phone bill. He is all that, but a 1990’s version. Author Mike Resnick wrote this novel in the 90s, but it has only recently been released. Detective Paxton is a Cincinnati native, and along with his obsession with the Cincinnati Reds baseball team, the setting provides the atmosphere of a small city on a big river, where everyone does not know everyone, but they know someone who does.
Paxton has been hired to solve what appears to be a small crime. A dog trainer with a prima donna attitude wants him to find a lost dog, but not just any dog. Baroness is a number one Weimaraner and Westminster dog show winner. Somehow, the dog has disappeared between Cincinnati and Arizona, where her owner awaits her return home, and the assistant who drove the dog to the airport has died in a tragic car accident.
There is plenty of action as Paxton begins the mundane investigative tasks of interviewing employees of the kennel, employees of the shipping company responsible for transporting the dog, and the puddle-jumper airline that flies to smaller towns in the Southwest. But the case becomes much more serious, and dangerous, when witnesses either cannot be located or turn up dead. Paxton travels from Cincinnati to Arizona, to Mexico and back to Cincinnati, where the trail of the lost dog leads to a web of crime involving a leading citizen of the city.
Resnick writes in a style that moves the reader along from one tense situation to another. He has created a character that has the uncanny ability to land on his feet and maneuver his way out of the most harrowing situations. But he refuses to take life too seriously, reminding a police official that “Nobody is ever late at six thirty in the morning.”
“Dog in the Manger” is a roller coaster of a novel. I look forward to the next Eli Paxton mystery.
December 24, 2012
Dog in the Manger is a reprint of a book first published in the mid-1990′s and I’m just so glad somebody decided to dust it off. I’ve been familiar with Mike Resnick‘s work for many years but it was his science fiction that I knew—I had no idea he’d ever written a mystery.
Eli Paxton seems like the typical down-on-his-luck private eye and, in many ways, he is but there’s more to him than that. Whether he wants to or not, Eli cares about his cases; they’re more than just a paycheck. When he first agrees to find out what happened to Baroness von Tannelwald, he almost sees it as having sunk as low as the low can go, a desperate move by a man having a little difficulty making his income stretch to cover his bills and allow the occasional good seat at a Reds game. It can’t be all that hard to find a dog, especially when her handler, Hubert Lantz, is willing to pay a tidy sum for Eli to track her down, right?
But wait, why has everybody who’s been connected to Baroness in the last few days disappeared—or turned up dead?
Mr. Resnick may not have spent his authorial career writing mysteries but Dog in the Manger shows that he clearly knows how to do it. This book has nasty criminal stuff going on as well as a good deal of sly humor and a true puzzle and Eli is a guy I’d like to hang out with. Luckily, we’ll get to see Eli again when his second book, The Trojan Colt, comes out next June and I must say I’m delighted to know he’s in my future.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, December 2012.
Eli Paxton seems like the typical down-on-his-luck private eye and, in many ways, he is but there’s more to him than that. Whether he wants to or not, Eli cares about his cases; they’re more than just a paycheck. When he first agrees to find out what happened to Baroness von Tannelwald, he almost sees it as having sunk as low as the low can go, a desperate move by a man having a little difficulty making his income stretch to cover his bills and allow the occasional good seat at a Reds game. It can’t be all that hard to find a dog, especially when her handler, Hubert Lantz, is willing to pay a tidy sum for Eli to track her down, right?
But wait, why has everybody who’s been connected to Baroness in the last few days disappeared—or turned up dead?
Mr. Resnick may not have spent his authorial career writing mysteries but Dog in the Manger shows that he clearly knows how to do it. This book has nasty criminal stuff going on as well as a good deal of sly humor and a true puzzle and Eli is a guy I’d like to hang out with. Luckily, we’ll get to see Eli again when his second book, The Trojan Colt, comes out next June and I must say I’m delighted to know he’s in my future.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, December 2012.
December 29, 2012
Mike Resnick has written a number of very successful science fiction books, but this is his first major foray into the mystery genre. He wrote this book quite sometime ago but was too busy to agree to the three-book series that his publisher wanted so the book went on the shelf. The publisher has now issued it with the promise of more to come. Hero Eli Paxton is one of those people like Steve Berry's Cotton Malone, whose body can take a tremendous beating and keep on ticking. Eli is hired to find a missing show dog. The dog turns out to be only the tip of the iceberg in a crime spree. The investigation takes him from his home base in Cincinnati to Arizona and New Mexico, where his welcome is less than friendly. While a little over the top, this is a fun hard-boiled mystery. It does seem a little dated since it was written in the early 1990's, but it's kind of fun to step back into that era before the Internet and cell phones ruled the world.
November 16, 2012
Former Chicago cop Eli Paxton is now a Cincinnati private eye (somehow turned into a Reds fan) when he's hired to find a dog. But it's not just a lost pet, it's a valuable Westminster dog show winner. Still, the value of the dog is not so great as to account for the dead bodies that start turning up as Eli follows an almost nonexistent trail first to Arizona, where the dog's owner lives, and then to Mexico. He's beaten up and threatened, and the only thing he can figure out is a drug deal gone bad. Then things get worse...
December 2, 2016
First entry in the Eli Paxton series. Eli is a private eye who is an ex-cop from Chicago; he is hired to find a missing show dog (he needs the fee), and the case rapidly expands into something a whole lot bigger, leading him from Cincinnati to Arizona to Mexico, and finally back to Cincy.
Mr. Resnick made his well-deserved reputation in SF, but, as he states in the Introduction, he has always been a fan of the mystery. He has done a good job of creating the atmosphere, and has done a fine job with the mystery itself.
Mr. Resnick made his well-deserved reputation in SF, but, as he states in the Introduction, he has always been a fan of the mystery. He has done a good job of creating the atmosphere, and has done a fine job with the mystery itself.
December 12, 2012
This is an enjoyable mystery by Mike Resnick, who is known better for his science fiction. Eli Paxton, your typical sad, cynical sack just trying to do his job but too honest and bullheaded to avoid trouble, is investigating the disappearance of a prize show dog. Loved the characters in the novel, both major and minor. Liked the plot twists, too, as Eli heads down to Mexico to investigate further. Good book.
December 7, 2013
Good read. Was written in 1995, and the cover makes it look like pulp fiction. But, the story was much better than I expected after seeing the cover. Eli Paxton was an honest cop, and it got him fired. Still honest, he turns to private investigation, and gets a client referred to him by a very successful PI friend...chasing down a missing show dog. This turns into a much more serious and involved case. There is a bit of humor, a bit of romance, and a lot of excitement.
June 16, 2013
I picked this up at the library because of the title. I love reading & dogs, so why not?
It was a total failure as a dog book, the "bonus short story started out as my type but that quickly bit the dust.
The actual mystery was nicely twisted.
Basically, I would call this a nice little detective mystery.
It was a total failure as a dog book, the "bonus short story started out as my type but that quickly bit the dust.
The actual mystery was nicely twisted.
Basically, I would call this a nice little detective mystery.
April 1, 2013
I have never read anything by Mike Resnick that I didn't like. I like the new character... Eli is a believable kind of guy - down to earth and easy to like. I look forward to the next book in June. :)
August 1, 2013
A fun, old-fashioned mystery story (with a really ingenious way to select houses to burgle), set in Cincinnati, Ohio. Eli Paxton, a former Chicago cop, is a hard-luck, old-school private eye with a heart of gold. It's a light, fast entertainment.
December 7, 2012
Good pacing, good characters, very enjoyable read
December 22, 2012
This was a nice, quick read--the first in a a newly revived series. I don't think I'll read any more in the series, though.
October 17, 2015
Resnick's science fiction is much better than this. What isn't formulaic goes unbelievelably far in a different direction.
My copy included a "bonus" short story that was even worse.
My copy included a "bonus" short story that was even worse.
February 9, 2015
Proof even I could get published. Or, a tome on how NOT to write.
June 8, 2015
I thought it was a good old-fashioned detective story. I enjoyed it and would read more Eli Paxton mysteries.
March 21, 2013
Reviewed at Crime Fiction Lover (www.crimefictionlover.com)
September 9, 2016
I liked this quite a bit. It featured some interesting plot twists coupled with fast moving action.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews