Dogged Pursuit

Jack and Jamie #5

by Lee Charles Kelley

In this suspenseful fifth book in our wonderful series created by veteran dog trainer Lee Charles Kelley, a clever kennel owner, his lady love, and his loyal canines must solve their most disturbing mystery yet!

It's October in Maine and ex–cop/criminologist turned dog trainer Jack Field and his fiancée, Chief State Medical Examiner Dr. Jamie Cutter, are getting married in a few weeks. But fate puts a wrench in their plans when the police find a young woman's body in a secluded lake. Jamie asks Jack, who's been appointed her civilian advisor, to come to the scene. Seeing the body sparks a memory of a case Jack studied while taking a seminar at the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit. He suspects the death is the work of a serial killer and as the mystery unfolds, it becomes clear that suspects abound, including a sleazy private detective, a well–respected botanist, recruits in the upper echelons of the FBI, and even the wealthy husband of Jack's ex–girlfriend. Add an adorable Dalmatian named Daisy and a wedding ceremony like no other you've ever seen, and you've got Kelley's most touching, heartbreaking, suspenseful, and downright hilarious book yet!

Genres: Mystery, Dogs, Fiction

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 27, 2006

About the author

I'm a dog trainer, songwriter, voiceover actor, and bestselling mystery novelist* living in New York City. I've been using Natural Dog Training techniques since 1992. I write words and music, mostly for Sinatra-style songs and have a few minor songwriting credits (very minor, I'm afraid) including the libretto for a full-length musical comedy. I've been doing voice work since I was 17 (I'm now in my mid-50s) and still do radio commercials and TV voiceovers. I also write a series of dog mysteries featuring ex-NYPD detective turned dog trainer, Jack Field, and his smart and sexy ladylove, state medical examiner Dr. Jamie Cutter. My books are best described as a combination of murder mystery, romantic comedy, and dog training manual, all rolled up into one great read. *(My 4th novel, TWAS THE BITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS was a bestseller.)

Reviews

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had such a loose plot with a lot going on that it was hard to really figure out the focus. The book starts off with narrator Jack, a former detective who is now a dog trainer, being kissed by one of his employees, who happens to be the stepdaughter of an ex-girlfriend. Jack is engaged to be married to his girlfriend Jamie, so the kiss takes him by surprise, especially because his adopted son Leon seems to have taken a shine to the girl. Later on, the girl goes missing, which is not out of character for her, and her stepmother fears the worst when reports come in that a young woman's body has been found in a local lake. Jamie is a forensic investigator while Jack holds some unofficial role in Jamie's department, so they both go to the scene and discover that while it's not Jack's employee, Jen, the woman may be the victim of a serial killer. Somehow it comes out that the serial killer might have also killed Jen's aunt 12 years ago, which Jen witnessed, so Jack focuses on finding Jen in hopes of her somehow leading authorities to the serial killer.
It was just a weird book that jumped all over the place, and while I believe I own one more book in this series to read, I'm not sure I'll seek out more in the series. Have to check my review of the first book of Kelley's I read, because if that one left the same blah feeling behind after I read it, then it may not even be worth reading that last book I have.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.
This series likes to have about 175 plot lines running in the same book. It gets a little muddled and none of them get enough attention to really flesh them out. And again, 1 billion coincidences make everything interconnect.

[Lillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable. Easy to read.

[Randi Ellingboe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok for a lazy read of a contemporary mystery. Lots of dog stuff, which always works well on me. Writing to choppy to really take me in, but I would read more in the series (if I didn't have anything better to read and it didn't cost much).

[Nancy Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author tells a good mystery and along the way gives some laughs and good info on dog training! Much fun to read.

[Natalie Ethington · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mystery--nothing special

[Maddie]

enjoyed the series for dog training info - different technique than most trainers

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful read!