The Dog It Was That Died

by H.R.F. Keating

With this dazzling off-beat thriller, his fourth, which appeared in 1962, Mr. Keating had achieved his very top form. Who wanted him? What for? Why was Roger Farrar (if that was his name) on the run in Dublin? Was he a traitor and deserted? The innocent target of a kidnap plot? Or a lonely persecuted paranoiac? A thriller edged with doubt and menace.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Crime

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Henry Reymond Fitzwalter Keating was an English writer of crime fiction most notable for his series of novels featuring Inspector Ghote of the Bombay CID.

H. R. F. KEATING was well versed in the worlds of crime, fiction and nonfiction. He was the crime books reviewer for The Times for fifteen years, as well as serving as the chairman of the Crime Writers Association and the Society of Authors. He won the CWA Gold Dagger Award twice, and in 1996 was awarded the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for outstanding service to crime fiction.

Series:
. Inspector Ghote
. Harriet Martens

Series contributed to:
. Malice Domestic
. Perfectly Criminal

Reviews

[Nona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well what an interesting read. The beginning was easy to follow, but the middle became laborious and repetitive, with too much devoted to petty descriptions. The final was a bit bewildering. BUT taken in the context of when it was written it is a great story.
Sort of like Agatha CHRISTIES' novels. They would not work with today's technology, but in the years she wrote them they were very relevant.
Not highly recommended but well worth a go!!

[Les Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not in my list of favourites by H R F

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Buchan meets Richard Condon, or to be more precise The 39 Steps meets The Manchurian Candidate - a strange (and entertaining) collision of 1950s Dublin with 1960s Cold War paranoia. At its best in the disturbing solitary confinement scene.