Bloodlines

A Dog Lover's Mystery #5

by Susan Conant

Normally Holly winter wouldn't be caught dead in a place like Puppy Luv -- a mall pet shop that's no doubt an outlet for the puppy mill industry and a hotbed of forged papers, broken promises and mistreated animals. But a hot tip on a malamute pup suddenly has Holly charging to the rescue and panting to put the owner out of business. Trouble is, she's not the only one who has a bone to pick with Diane Sweet. in a matter of hours the puppy love proprietress is gruesomely murdered. When Holly links the killing with the disappearance of another malamute -- an adorable live wire named Missy -- she digs up startling evidence that soon leads her into the fiercely competitive and deadly underworld of dog breeding. A place where her biggest fears are realized. And where her animal instincts are all that can save her.

Genres: Mystery, Dogs, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Animals

272 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 1992

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
(1)mysteries

Mother of author Jessica Park aka Jessica Conant-Park

The photo is of Jessica Conant-Park and Susan Conant, daughter and mother.

Reviews

[V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really surprising. She has an interesting style that I have never come across before. The book was a little confusing though. And she’s a real animal activist but that’s not a flaw. This book is for dog lovers. It’s educational as well as exciting .

[Regan · Rating 3 out of 5]

My book club is reading this series and I'm enjoying how Conant builds the relationships in each book. I'm more of a cat person, but like Holly, I have a hard time saying no to a cat in need. This one had some scenes that upset me because you just don't to do animals what some of the characters did. There's a special place in hell for people like that and sadly they are real.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Rowdy and Kimi. They make it one of my favorite reads.

[Ed · Rating 2 out of 5]

#6 in the Dog Lover's series. Goodreads has Bloodlines (1992) listed as #5 before Gone to the Dogs (1992). All other sources I've found reverse that order. Cambridge, MA magazine writer Holly Winter writes on subjects canine. Mysteries ensue and Holly turns detective - that's fine and enjoyable. Sometimes, however, author Susan Conant decides to use Holly as a pulpit and preach about her causes, in this case puppy mills - I resent using my recreational reading time reading a sermon.

Dog Lover's series - Holly Winter can't resist passing along advice to dog lovers. A dog lover tells her that a pet shop is selling a malamute that appears to have been obtained from a puppy mill. Holly urges a boycott of retailers that do business with them. Holly doesn't mourn when the pet-shop owner is murdered, but she investigates the crime for the sake of the affected animals.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

So-so mystery in the dog loving Holly Winter series. Holly becomes involved with pet stores selling puppies from puppy mills as she tries to find dogs gone missing. There are the usual murders which Holly helps to unravel as she looks for the missing dogs. There is not a bad mystery in this one, but there is too much Holly dog loving patter and anti puppy mills and pet store rantings that it distracts from the story for me.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a so-so mystery story. The actual mystery seemed glossed over in favor of telling the reader about the evils of puppy mills. In fact, the tone of the book seemed a little too preachy for me. I wanted to read a light mystery, involving dogs. I did not need to be lectured to. I have read the previous 4 in the series, and this is by far the preachiest.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the series decades ago. In this one the author clearly started to struggle with the "dog fancy" about not taking puppy mills and rescue seriously enough.

These books are much more about dog ownership than they are about murder mystery. And that's why I and a lot of other people like them. They murder mystery is just an excuse to talk about another aspect of dog ownership and training.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a hard read because it involved puppy mills and all of the horrible details. God save us all!!!

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't read this genre normally but coming across a series focused on dogs seemed amazing at the time. I don't know about the other books but I get the feeling we really aren't supposed to care about the humans at the heart of these mysteries...? Annnnnd yes, I didn't, I DID only want to know what happened to the dogs in the end, but I don't know if that's a sign of a good story or not, or simply that this series is exactly you expect it to be - one that gives as much information about dogs/breeding/organizations as it can possibly fit into a relatively short mystery, and when the main character is away from her dogs she is constantly thinking about her dogs. We hear more about the dogs sex lives than we do about her own! She apparently has good sex with a hot vet who she doesn't see as much as her cop neighbour who clearly thinks he has a shot with her no matter how many times she's internally judging his future weight gain, but this is a clean story, not even a fade-to-black make out scene.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Positives: the narrator/ amateur detective (whose occupation is "dog writer"--who knew?) is reasonably appealing, and the writing style isn't actively annoying. The dogs aren't supernaturally clever mystery-solvers, they're sweet and occasionally goofy dogs.
Negatives: there isn't really detection. The dog writer tries to right wrongs and help dogs, and bumbles into the solution to the murders. I learned a LOT about dogs. I like dogs; I have one--but I felt as if I was teleporting in and out of a dog magazine, instead of a novel. And there was also a lot of "addressing the reader".

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read for dog lovers. This book does use some "dog speak" in terms of breeding, showing, and competing with show dogs. If you aren't familiar with the sport of dog shows, it may get confusing.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the book and the characters.

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another well written book that I cringed my way through. Puppy mills. I hate hearing/reading/seeing anything about puppy mills. If there was a place to donate that would guarantee a law with teeth to outlaw puppy mills...I would do without books for a year to give to the cause. I do not shop in pet stores that sell any kind of animal life...let alone dogs. I pass the word. But, it is not an enjoyable read, not matter how much other good stuff is in the story. Chunks of this book got skimmed as quickly as possible.

Normally Holly winter wouldn't be caught dead in a place like Puppy Luv -- a mall pet shop that's no doubt an outlet for the puppy mill industry and a hotbed of forged papers, broken promises and mistreated animals. But a hot tip on a malamute pup suddenly has Holly charging to the rescue and panting to put the owner out of business. Trouble is, she's not the only one who has a bone to pick with Diane Sweet. in a matter of hours the puppy love proprietress is gruesomely murdered. When Holly links the killing with the disappearance of another malamute -- an adorable live wire named Missy -- she digs up startling evidence that soon leads her into the fiercely competitive and deadly underworld of dog breeding. A place where her biggest fears are realized. And where her animal instincts are all that can save her.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 5th in the Dog Lover's Mystery series by Susan Conant. This one focuses on the murder of a pet store owner and Holly's subsequent search for not only the killer, but a malamute who has disappeared. It takes her into the horrible world of puppy mills. The one thing I've noticed about Conant's books are how preachy they can get. Puppy mills are horrible. Pet stores are not a place to buy a puppy because they come from puppy mills. I'm totally with her there, but really, most people who read a dog mystery book are probably crazy dog people and therefore know this. Maybe they don't, but still, she gets a little overly preachy for a mystery novel. Other than that, I do enjoy the books. They're not my favourite dog mysteries out there, but they're a nice enjoyable read.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the 5th installment of Susan Conant's A Dog Lover's Mystery series, Bloodlines, Holly Winter returned to save dogs for another day in this mystery. When Holly received a tip about Puppy Luv, a small pet shop being an outlet for a puppy mill, she had a bone to pick with Diane Sweet and want to put her out of business, when it dealt with a Malamute pup. Hours later, Diane Sweet was found murdered. It was now up to Holly to link her death with the disappearance of a Malamute pup, when she dug up evidence that lead her to the underground dark world of dog breeding. Only Holly's instincts can save her, when it was something she feared the most.

[crayolaab · Rating 3 out of 5]

The focus of this book is on pet stores and puppy mills. It's up to Holly Winter to track down the mystery of the source of Malamute puppies in a local pet shop. At first convinced that the puppy had to have come from the midwest, she later realizes that the actual problem is much closer to home.

One thing I have noticed in these books is that they are definitely written in the 90s. It's interesting how just the slightest things really highlight that!

[Lora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book even though the author is too 'over the top' about Alaskan Malamutes. All breeds have their good, bad and special atributes but... The story was interesting and had some unexpected turns.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you don't have an opinion of puppy mills yet (or the AKC).....you will.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 3 out of 5]

grisly puppy mills but good suspense

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amoung my favorites. I love the ending. Go Holly!

[Terri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as others of this author I have read. The story teller gets off subject very easily and you just have to keep reading to find the story line again.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was strong emphasis on the evils of puppy mills and less on the murder mystery.

[Chris Leuchtenburg · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was looking for a light mystery and saw this on the library’s dog-themed shelf. Didn’t finish it -- insipid plot about dog breeders.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Preachy and way too chatty. I've liked her books in the past, but not this one.

[Vicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cozy mystery based on Holly Winter… who is a magazine writer who gets involved in mysteries and has her malamutes with her…. always interesting but again light reading.