Oh, Henry

by Joanne Alain Cook

It’s all fun and games in the dog park until someone gets killed, then it’s murder and mayhem...After moving across the country, Sarah finds herself lonely and babysitting a shy bloodhound. Luckily the dog park across from her front door offers not just help, but new friends and a possible romance. As Sarah is lured in by the dogs and people, she inadvertently becomes the center of a suspicious death investigation and wonders which of her new acquaintances could be the killer... It's a murder mystery full of dogs, booklovers. It's funny and scary, and full of mirth...and for the love of dogs, you must read it!

Genres: Mystery

255 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 15, 2021

About the author

Joanne Cook earned her M.A. in education from Sacramento State University and her B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of California in Irvine. She has taught Chemistry and Physics for the past 20 years and is retired from the AF reserves. For half of her military service, she served as a C130 Navigator flying from Japan to Georgia to Alaska to the middle east and back again. She enjoys reading, writing, drawing and music.

Reviews

[Heather Barksdale · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Oh, Henry” introduces Sarah, a young woman training to become a pharmacist. She’s a bit of a loner, but all that changes when she meets a man at a pharma conference. Josh is funny, a little chatty, and handsome. Sarah can’t help but to think their meeting may be destiny. But when he goes to Tokyo for a two-week trip, he leaves his dog with her.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It was the perfect amount of fun, mystery, and romance. It’s a fast-paced tale that I basically could not put down. The main character of Sarah is likable and relatable—- self-conscious, damaged, and second guessing every decision she makes. She’s also smart, witty, and caring which is how she gets herself into doggie-sitting mode without having a whiff of experience with dogs. Find the rest of the blog review at heatherlbarksdale.com

I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.

[Heather Zipser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness- what a wonderful story!!!! I absolutely loved this story so very much. The Author has such a great writing style. Smart, funny and also such a unique and wonderful story. I really loved all of the characters portrayed in this book, and fell in love with O’Henry! Ha! I cannot wait to check out more books by this Author. This was probably the best book I’ve read all year!

[Lara (Atlas Of Stories) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, Henry is a book I did not expect to like as much as I do now. It had dogs, romance, a mysterious murder mystery, and a cute main character who loves the dog park, chewing on stuff, and his owner Sarah.

Sarah is an interesting (human) main character to who I relate a lot. She is shy and reserved. She has just moved to a new location and has no friends or family in the new neighborhood. The only person she has met so far is a dog, Henry. Henry opens up a whole new world to her. As a new dog owner, she learns from her brand new and sometimes annoying experiences, but it also gave her the chance to meet new people in the dog park across the street from her house.

The people and their dogs in the dog park have their own funny, charming, sometimes mysterious, or creepy personalities, which makes this a very entertaining story. And it turns into a mystery when one of the people in the dog park is found dead, and everyone is a suspect. Gossip and dog treats are commonplace in Oh, Henry.

I love almost every book I read where there are dogs involved. And the fact that this book had multiple dogs and a dog park just makes it so much better. Overall the storyline is fast-paced, funny, mysterious, and enjoyable to read. The characters have their own personalities and work well on their own and in groups (such as in a dog park). The main character is kind of like an observer who is overwhelmed by everyone and everything that is happing around her. And Henry is a dog you will fall in love with.
It ended exactly how I wanted it to end, and left me excited to reread it again!

I loved it! And would recommend it to anyone! Especially dog lovers and romance/mystery readers.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up for Henry being the bestest boy.

This was a fun and unexpectedly wholesome read for a murder mystery.

While Sarah grapples with being socialable, I found her to be highly likeable and pretty sweet. There's a nice array of characters frequenting the dog park and thought the park interaction was pretty spot on: some people only knows the dogs names and not the owners, some know a lot on every body, and others just are really snarky / gossipy about other dogs and their owners.

The pacing is more of a slow burner, but it was nice to settle into Sarah's view of the world and her wants so I didn't mind so much - getting to know the characters kept me interested enough to keep going. Also, I wanted to see what other mischief Henry would get into.

The murder mystery itself was pretty interesting and had you guessing with everyone else.

Seeing Sarah slowly fall in love with Henry was absolutely sweet.

George was probably my most disliked character - what a smarmy jerk. I wished Sarah would have been more vocal about him forcing that kiss on her, as well as creeping into her house in the middle of the night (what the heck was that about?! So gross). I guess it would have seemed a bit out of character for her to do that.

Poor, poor Caroline. The scene where Sarah realised Caroline wasn't in the house was actually quite scary - I wasn't sure how far Eric would go and I had no doubt he wouldn't have any qualms going after Sarah and Henry either.

Actually, scrap my previous statement: Eric was my most disliked character overall, but George was right up there.

Thanks to BookSirens for a copy of the book.

[Delphia Von Heeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, Henry is a novel by Joanne Alain Cook. I felt that this cozy mystery was wonderful. It was fun with a hound dog, Henry, and Sarah. Sarah works at CVS in the pharmacy and she agreed to dog sit Henry ; although she did not know what she was getting into. I enjoyed this book that had a dog park with quirky characters and a murder. The only sad thing is so far the book is NOT part of a series. Joanne Alain Cook, please write a sequel. I fell in love with Henry and I need to know what happens between Officer Bane and Sarah… we need a book 2! I received an arc for free and am leaving my review voluntarily.

[Charm The Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I comfort read ! I did enjoy finding out the killer (which I didn’t btw). It’s just fresh read and I really enjoyed Henry & Sarah’s friendship. They both started as a not-so-good company to each other but they did eventually work things out. I need a dog like henry (minus the mess definitely).
This book had some jaw dropping scenes which made me put the book down to just walk around the house and pick it up again.b

[K.C. Bellinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was honored to read this book as an ARC before it was published. I fell in love with the characters (especially Henry) immediately. As my new favorite mystery, I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good cozy mystery or anyone who loves dogs. I hope Sarah and Henry find themselves on a new adventure and let us come along for the ride.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC free from BookSirens and this is my voluntary honest review.
Dog lovers beware! You can't resist!
You will fall in love with Oh, Henry!
A great action packed, fast paced, masterful mystery!
Quirky characters that will charm you!
Wonderful! An easy one setting read. So, hard to put down!
Enjoy!

[Lauren Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story had a unique premise and enough twists and turns to keep me guessing! Every time I thought I had the characters figured out, they surprised me. It was a fun read.

[Terri Swick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book because it was about dogs and I love dog stories. After a few pages I wasn't sure about it, but the further I got into it the better it was. It turned out to be a page turner for me, and will be looking for more from this author



I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. It had murder, mystery, romance and dogs! Sarah moves in across from a dog park and loves watching the people with their dogs. When a guy she is kind of dating has a business trip, he asks her to watch his dog. She gets to know all of the dog park people and then one of them gets killed and then another. Great characters and great ending!

I received an ARC and am leaving this review voluntarily

[A.L. Tippett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny, doggy murder mystery
I found the story a little slow to kick into gear since the murder doesn’t take place until halfway through the book. In saying that, the delay in the action meant we got to know all the characters well, making it a real challenge to figure out who was the murderer! I was left wondering right until the end. A cleverly written story with a loveable hound and sweet romance.

[Casandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, fast paced read!

Perfect book to read after a stressful weekend. I finished it within a couple of hours; it has a light, fun mystery with dogs that are characters just as much as the people are! You'll finish this book with a smile on your face.

[Kristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 3.5 I picked this book up from a little free library. I love dogs and a who done it murder so why not. It was neat to read all the references about the Sacramento area because I live in the area I knew all the places mentioned in the book. I couldn’t get into the book like I was hoping. Not because it’s a bad book , I think because my life was just so busy this week i was reading on and off . I felt maybe I didn’t connect with the characters like I normally do. I will be passing this book on to my other book loving friends.

[Jeri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nerdy pharmacist has a summer job in a neighborhood where everyone goes to the dog park and gossips. When an on-again off-again boyfriend leaves his bloodhound “Henry” with her, she joins the dog park gang and is soon up to her eyeballs in intrigue. Some missed opportunities to flesh out characters and too many characters with similar names made this book occasionally difficult to follow. Calling Pharmacists “Doctor” was disconcerting.

I received this book at no charge from BookSirens and the author, but all opinions are my own.

[Derrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful book I stumbled upon browsing through the book tabs of Amazon. The plot had me engaged from the very beginning, hooking me due to my love of canines! There are so many surprises that had me on the edge of my seat reading this book, really fulfilling my love for Thriller Books! This is up there with my favorite books of all time, definitely a 5/5. Highly recommend to any book-lovers seeking a way to spend time over their summers.

[V. C. Sanford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, gawd, Henry!!!

This is one of those heart tugging stories that start out slow, but build until you can't put the book down. It was easy to identify with the recent pharmacist graduate who relocated and knows no one. That she was asked to babysit a bloodhound with known behavioral issues ( but not told of them)was more than enough to deal with, add in a few murders, a drug ring,a dog park filled with personalities, and a possible romance and you have a really unique story. It wasn't perfect, but it was definitely better than average. It is a perfect light read for someone who is tired of the same old plots. 

[Jacquii John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, Henry! The entertaining story of quiet, shy, introvert Sarah and how her life is changed when she babysits for her boyfriend’s bloodhound Henry. The dog park opposite Sarah’s house brings friendship, love interests, mystery, mayhem and murder. The great plot is full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing right to the end. Lovely book, great characters, and I’m sure, like me, you’ll fall in love with the loveable, misunderstood ‘Oh, Henry’. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[P.G.R. G. R. Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mystery with Henry

This was a cool mystery that kept you guessing. Sarah is left to look after her boyfriends dog. A simple task that soon turns a thrilling story of murder that keeps you on your end of your seat. Oh Henry is different as its fun and the characters are well developed. Enjoyed this one.

[Ann Tosti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting story that left me, like the police kept saying, seeing EVERYONE has a suspect (even the character we're told is out of the country and I don't think the police even considered...yeah, my mind was coming up with a lot of possibilities just in case).

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute cozy I received to read and review for Book Sirens. I liked it, but the formatting could have been better, as well as the punctuation, particularly the lack of semi-colons. Recommend.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

O’Henry Yes!

Loved this book! The characters were well developed. The twists were great! I would recommend this for a quick fun read.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny, and so mysterious. It took me forever to figure out who dun it . . . and I'm the author! But seriously, even my dog loved this story. It was fun to write and, now, I sometimes wear a lepidolite gemstone, like Sarah in the story. It helps with my stress and anxiety in regards to putting a novel out there.