Paws & Claws: A Three Dog Mystery

Paws & Claws #1

by Ralph E. Vaughan

Chula Vista, California is a city infested with outlaw gangs. Not a segment of the town escapes their touch, whether nouveau riche Eastlake, working class Castle Park or socially blighted Otay. No matter where you go in Chula Vista there is either a pack of dogs or clowder of cats demanding tribute...or else. While the K9 officers of the Chula Vista Police Department try their best, they cannot be everywhere at once. Only in one small neighborhood do law-abiding pets have someone to stand up for them, to fight back against a tide of lawlessness. From Fourth Avenue west to Broadway, from G Street north to E Street, the operatives of the Three Dog Detective Agency do their dogged best to keep the evil cats of Feral Gang in their place, to promote a sense of lawfulness and goodwill, and to sometimes save the world. When the felonious felines of the Feral Gang try to sink their claws into the innocent and gentle, their heinous actions do not go unanswered. The neighborhood animals, both domestic and wild, know they can turn to Levi, Sunny and Yoda for help. This is the story of the Three Dog Detective Agency's final battle with the Feral Gang, a story of action, of mystery, of redemption...a story of Paws & Claws.

Genres: Animals, Mystery

148 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2012

About the author

Ralph E. Vaughan is the author of several books combining the worlds of Sherlock Holmes and HP Lovecraft, such as "The Adventure of the Ancient Gods" (first story to combine Holmes & Lovecraft), "The Dreaming Detective." and "Sherlock Holmes and the Terror Out of Time." A longtime fan of the steampunk movement, he expressed that fondness by writing "Shadows Against the Empire," an epic Victorian interplanetary adventure, followed by its sequel "Amidst Dark Satanic Mills." He is also the author of "HP Lovecraft in the Comics," an exhaustive examination of the works Lovecraft's works as they were adapted into the medium of comic books, and "Reflections on Elder Egypt." a collection of essays about various aspects of Ancient Egypt and how that lost civilization is viewed by modern culture. He is the author of "Paws & Claws: A Three Dog Mystery," first in the Paws & Claws Series, in which three amazing dogs protect their neighborhood, thwart the evil plans of the nefarious Feral Gang, and occasionally save the world. This was followed by additional books, including "K-9 Blues" and "The Death and Life of an American Dog." He is a long-time resident of Chula Vista, California, which is the setting of the Paws & Claws Series. He has been married for more than 40 years, and has two children, a daughter who is a playwright, and a son who is a conductor for the BNSF.

Reviews

[Gina]

I received this book as a result of winning it here on Goodreads and can't wait to read it. I thank Mr. Vaughn for sending it to me.

[Ralph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review reprinted from Amazon.com with permission of author.

Reviewed by Katladies (Amazon Verified Purchase, Kindle Edition), on 6 December 2012:

"Paws & Claws is a book that begins as an engaging story and grows into something much more. The characters that make up the Three Dog Detective Agency are so finely drawn, and so engaging, that the reader is immediately enmeshed in their world. Vaughan deals with the very real problem of gangs from an unexpected perspective, portraying the gang members with the unflinching clarity of Dickens' Oliver Twist or Asbury's Gangs of New York. What elevates this book from being just an appealing work of fiction, and a suspenseful mystery, is the possibility of redemption that shines through and informs the work. Levi, Sunny, Yoda, Kim, Little Kitty, and their friends are compassionate, vulnerable, amusing, intelligent, and unbelievably human. They deal with issues of trust, forgiveness, friendship, growing old, loneliness, acceptance, and difficult choices. What starts as fantasy and moves to suspense, ends as a fantastic read for all ages. Paws & Claws deserves a place beside such classics as The Last Unicorn and The Neverending Story."

See review here... http://www.amazon.com/Paws-Claws-Thre...