Watchdog

by Faith Sullivan

You’re left a young widow, husband killed when his van went out of control on a rain-slick pavement across the street from your house.

What’s left? Two young children whom you love dearly, the veterinary hospital your husband owned, and an Irish setter, a survivor of the van crash, who was to be introduced for the first time as a family pet that fateful night.

Thus begins the dilemma of Louise Andrews. She had always thought that she and Jack were an ideal couple—happily married, sharing the same point of view about anything that really mattered. But as grief begins to recede and Louise must start to put her life back together, she realizes that Jack alone ran the family, beguiled or maneuvered everybody into accepting his point of view.

On her own now, she starts to develop confidence in her ability to deal with day-to-day problems. But as she begins to emerge as her own woman, she is increasingly conscious that with each independent decision she makes, the Irish setter follows her every move more and more closely. Gentle with the immediate family, he is the malevolent enemy of the man with whom Louise becomes emotionally involved several months after Jack’s death. Fido is alternately a lovable house dog and a killer.

With this novel’s hair-raising grand finale, you’ll want to read this book in a well-lit room with all doors securely locked.

Cover Artist: Tom Hallman

Genres: Horror

240 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published February 1, 1983

About the author

Faith Sullivan was born and raised in southern Minnesota. Married to drama critic Dan Sullivan, she lived twenty-some years in New York and Los Angeles, returning to Minnesota often to keep her roots planted in the prairie. She is the author of Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse (2015), Gardenias (2005), What a Woman Must Do (2002), The Empress of One (1997), The Cape Ann (1988), Mrs. Demming and The Mythical Beast (1986), Watchdog (1982) and Repent, Lanny Merkel (1981). A “demon gardener, flea marketer, and feeder of birds,” Sullivan lives in Minneapolis with her husband. They have three grown children.

She is the winner of the Midwest Book Award, the Langum Prize for Historical Fiction, the Milkweed National Fiction Prize and the Ben Franklin Prize, and is a Minnesota Book Award Finalist.

Reviews

[Molly]

This is a pretty good thriller that kept me guessing.

[Tara Hall]

A nice thriller with an interesting twist.

[Liz Sypek]

Did not like the killing of animals

It started out good but then got me disgusted with the killing of dogs thought this would be totally different

[Jackie]

I

was drawn into the story for awhile but then it just became strange and not interesting. It went downhill quickly with an ending that went south.

[Linda]

This thriller involves a jealous dog.