The Wrong Dog: A Rachel Alexander Mystery

Rachel Alexander & Dash #5

by Carol Lea Benjamin

From former detective turned noted author and dog trainer, Carol Lea Benjamin, comes the fifth book in the critically-lauded Rachel Alexander mystery series, for the first time in mass market.

Sophie Gordon didn't let her epilepsy get in the way of her life as a teacher of deaf children. But without her trusty canine companion, an indispensable service dog named Blanche, she wouldn't be nearly as well-off. A service dog that can perform the difficult tasks that epilepsy requires--sensing when a seizure is about to occur and fetching life-saving medication--is extremely rare, so when a veterinarian's office promises that they can clone Blanche, Sophie jumps at the opportunity. Her former worries can now be put to rest, knowing that now she'll have a replacement for Blanche when the time comes.

But the puppy they provided didn't have what it takes to be a service dog, and when Sophie visits the vet to alert them of the problem, none of the staff is anywhere to be found--they've disappeared without a trace. To get to the bottom of this clone-by-night operation, Sophie hires P.I. Rachel Alexander and Dash, her pit bull partner. And two days after meeting with Rachel, Sophie is found dead, apparently of a seizure, but it didn't take Dash's sensitive nose to tell that something doesn't smell right, and that the missing vets definitely need further examination.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Dogs

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2000

About the author

A noted dog trainer and former detective, Carol Lea Benjamin is the author of books on canine behavior and training as well as the Rachel Alexander and Dash mystery series. She has been honored by the International Association of Canine Professionals with her election to their Hall of Fame. Ms. Benjamin lives in Greenwich Village with her husband and their dogs.

Reviews

[Tejas Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very likeable book on the whole. While I enjoyed the characters and story premise, the book began to drag around half-way through when it could have used a shot of inspirational B-12 to liven it up. The action comes primarily in the form of accompanying the detective on her errands and sleuthing jaunts, but we the readers aren't provided with much in the way of meaningful clues that point to the solution. Trying to solve the crime is part of the fun in my opinion, which this book doesn't allow much opportunity for doing. A little disappointing since it had so much potential. Would give 3.5 stars if possible.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of a detective series featuring Dash and his person (I've not read the earlier books). The initial problem is intriguing--a woman with a seizure-warning dog allows her dog to be cloned, under questionable circumstances, in hopes of being able to recreate the seizure-warning capabilities of the dog to help others. She becomes concerned, however, that the new puppy (one of a litter of clones, her reward for contributing her aging dog's DNA in the first place) doesn't seem to have the ability. Unfortunately, she cannot locate the organization that did the initial cloning to follow up with them. So she hires a detective to track down the company (in the interest of science). The story has some nice points (descriptions of a dog park, for example), but the writing is so-so (something a good editor might have helped with--the detective narrates the story, but it is not always obvious when the first-person narrative is the detective speaking and when it is someone speaking to the detective; likewise, flashbacks are clumsily handled; both of these problems could have been solved by an attentive editor making some minor suggestions for punctuation, formatting, or transitional phrases). The main flaw, however, is that the solution seems a bit overblown and requires analysis of the psyches of characters who are not even introduced until presented as the movers behind the scenes (at which point the mystery is already solved, right?). I would read another of her books again if there was nothing else to read, but there are enough really good books out there that I haven't yet read, that I think that I could probably find a better one.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one a lot. There was some great Dash and Rachel interaction.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a bit too slow but still good.

[Kristin Luker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A page turner

Lots of mystery and lots of dogs. What could be better? I’m happy this author had more books in the series.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute short story about dogs and pitties!

[Cheekyxika · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one’s dated. Published around the time of Dolly, the cloned sheep. Seems less reason to kill for in 2020, but who knows?

[Maria L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got it for the cover always wanted a bull terrier but ended up being a good story also

[Marylou Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It stayed with me after I finished it. I would recommend this series.

[Shazza Maddog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rachel Alexander, a private detective, gets a call one day from a woman named Sophie, asking to meet her about a case. Taking her partner, a pit bull named Dashiel, to meet Sophie, Rachel meets her newest possible client and her dog, Bianca, at a local dog park. Bianca is not quite two years old, a bull terrier, and Sophie has quite the tale to tell about her dog.

It seems she was approached by a woman who asked if Blanche, Sophie's previous dog, might be cloned. Blanche, a rescued bull terrier, had turned out to have a rather interesting quality - she could alert prior to Sophie having an epileptic seizure. This is something that allows Sophie to feel she can live a normal life - Blanche warns her in full advance, so Sophie has time to take her medicine prior to the seizure happening. This could be something marvelous if it could be cloned to allow other people to have the same sort of experience Sophie has with Blanche. Sophie agrees to the idea, and Blanche has a mouth swab taken for her genetic tissue, in an area of town known more for its meat markets (of either type) than a veterinary office.

Seven and a half months after Blanche's tissue sample was taken, Sophie gets a phone call and is told to meet Lorna West (the woman she'd met earlier) to pick up her puppy. Bianca looks just like a baby Blanche, and Sophie is taken with her puppy up until the point she realizes Bianca doesn't alert when she's about to have a seizure. She wants Rachel to find the company - Side by Side - to let them know there's something wrong with the puppy, and that the cloning experiment wasn't a success.

There is, of course, a flaw in the ointment - Rachel tries to contact Sophie to get further information and, when Sophie doesn't answer, Rachel and Dash go to Sophie's apartment to find Sophie dead, with Blanche and Bianca doing their best to keep her safe. It looks as if Sophie has had a massive seizure, one that killed her. The problem is, she's never mentioned any family members to anyone, and Rachel will not let Blanche and Bianca get turned in to the pound.

With the help of Sophie's dog walker, Mel Sugarman, Rachel is determined to find a good place for these dogs to live - and figure out why strange things keep happening in and around Sophie's apartment.

Rats, iguana and dogs round out the cast, reminding me again why I like Benjamin's work so much - her dogs are very intelligent but always dogs, and Rachel makes mistakes that show her to be a realistic heroine, rather than someone no one could even think about emulating. The novel was published in 2000, and the storyline works very well for that time period (and even now, it still has resonance).

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first mystery I have read by this author. It took me a chapter to sort of catch up because I hadn't read the first books in the series but it wasn't a serious disadvantage. I intend to look for the other books in the series.

I happened to come across this book at the library fair and picked it up with two other good mysteries featuring dogs. The mystery, essentially involving a mad scientist funded by a criminally rich egotist, was pretty interesting, the detective is suitably amateur and the dogs were pretty much perfect. I look for mysteries involving cats and dogs but I have some preferences. I want the animals to be smart but I really wish they wouldn't be psychic, narrate the story, or solve mysteries on their own. The animals in this book were, in spite of everything, satisfyingly normal. And they go on the paper.

[Laura (Kyahgirl) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first mystery I have read by this author. Years ago I read her non-fiction dog book called 'Mother Knows Best' and knew she was great writer and dog trainer. Her mystery, starring Rachel Alexander and her canine partner, Dashiell, was excellent as a mystery, detective story, strong female protagonist fiction, etc. I really enjoyed it.

[Daniele]

Good cozy series for dog lovers. This is miy first to read of the series and I feel it would have been better had I started with the first book. Not muh is explained from previous plots. That said, this plot, though far fetched now, could one day be a realitiy. Ok, easy read with a moderate mystery.

[Kathleen O'Nan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 5th Rachel and Dash book and as fun as the previous ones. This involves clandestine cloning - of dogs with special in-born talents. Rachel winds up with the aging dog who was cloned and one of the puppies that is the result - and a lot of trouble! I like the fast pace and the fact that there is a lot of humor in her books. I'll order the next one.

[Woodwonk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book just makes me want to run out and adopt any dog I see. I know it's a mystery with people in it but, the dogs are the best characters

[Marsha Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rachel newest client is a woman who is looking for the person who cloned her dog. Yes, cloned. A mystery wrapped in the controversary surrounding the cloning issues.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

cloned pooches and greed

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

1st book I've read from this series. I would read more. :)

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy the characters from her book and her story lines. Hard to put down once you start reading.

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rachel and Dash are incomparable.

[Julia K. Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clones are Cool

This was a detailed mystery. Only a little science was involved. The story unfolded very slowly. However there were enough dog details to keep me entranced.