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A Big Mike Mystery #5
Dinosaur Cat
Mystery bookstore owner Penelope Warren and her intrepid feline co-sleuth, Mycroft are on the case, after the discovery of a baby Seismosaurus Rex fossil in Empty Creek, Arizona, leads to the murder of a young scientist.
- GenresMystery
427 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
41 people want to read
About the author
Garrison Allen
7 books12 followersaka Gary Amo
Gary Amo is a past-President of the SoCal/MWA and has written several BigMike books under the pseudonym "Garrison Allen." He's also written a fewthrillers under his Amo moniker, including one that was nominated for an Edgar.
Gary Amo is a past-President of the SoCal/MWA and has written several BigMike books under the pseudonym "Garrison Allen." He's also written a fewthrillers under his Amo moniker, including one that was nominated for an Edgar.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 5, 2023
If the ratings had half stars, I would have given this #5 in the series 3 1/2 stars. Like the last book which had too many quirky characters, this book is over the top with sexual innuendoes and sly remarks. It slows the story down at times. The theme is paleontology and is a light, zany, and very cozy read. My favorite quote is "Her own hunger had always been for books and reading...it was physically and mentally impossible for her to doze off...without reading, no matter how tired she might be." The author could have been talking about me!
Red the Rat is returning from a prospecting trip, riding his horse on a hillside, and thinking about his lady love when he hears a shot shattering the silence. At the bottom of the canyon, he spots a woman lying face down and shot in the back. A small pick hammer and a paintbrush are lying next to her hand. She wheezes out the words "It's mine" before Red the Rat rushes her to the hospital where she dies on the operating table. The victim turns out to be Millicent Deforest, an associate professor of geology with an interest in paleontology. Penelope Warren, an honorary member of the Empty Creek Police Dept., notices a tour jeep race by with Red the Rat in the backseat. She follows and immediately gets caught up in the investigation. In this quirky little town, the police chief welcomes any help he can get. Penelope spends very little time in her mystery bookstore Mycroft and Co. Her faithful companion, Mikey the cat, is always at her side.
The body was discovered on Lonesome Bend Ranch, newly owned by Cricket (new character and A.K.A. Sally Ann Hacker). While visiting the scene of the crime, it is discovered that Millicent was uncovering some dinosaur bones. Someone shouts "Fire in the hole!", an explosion occurs, and the excavation site is covered up with dirt. While excavating the crime scene again, a human skull is found with a bullet hole between the eyes. Later the reader finds out that the skull belonged to Cornelius "Pop" Hacker, Cricket's father, who vanished 30 years earlier. Andy, Penelope's boyfriend, hires a romantic balloon ride so they can neck while flying over the crime scene when a shot fired by a sniper disturbs the tranquility of the evening. The plot turns convoluted at this point - good luck keeping track of what's going on.
Some extra quirky characters begin filtering into town. The news of the dinosaur's discovery brings a horde of dinosaur seekers who were already at a nearby annual gem, mineral and dinosaur show. They are 1) Boris and voluptuous Natasha are bumbling Russian detectives who like to quote Dostoyevsky and who are searching for some stolen Russian dinosaur fossils, 2) Hiroshi Ishii is a former Yakuza member (who's left little finger keeps falling off) and a purveyor of fossils, and 3) Yitzhak Cohen who is an Israeli fossil hunter who is also selling Dead Sea Scroll fragments to naive and unsuspecting people. He is also killed. Why? This is only four of the plethora of suspects.
A couple of subplots include:
- Penelope volunteers for the Save Our Desert committee and is putting up rattlesnake crossing signs when the tour jeep races by.
- There has been a long-standing feud between the Hacker and the Mahoney families. What happened to Buxter Mahoney after he vanished from a mental hospital? Could a Mahoney have killed Pop Hacker?
- The women are trying to get the best looking "hunks" to pose for the Men of Empty Creek Calendar just like the women did previously. It seems to be a downhill battle, so some women are not against using blackmail to achieve their goal.
- There is a controversy in who should be in control of a fossil when one is found.
- Lonesome Bend is a huge chunk of desert scheduled for luxury homes. This dinosaur business at the Lonesome Bend Ranch is holding up the project from moving forward. Motive for murder?
The climax was the best part of the book. The murderer was someone I had never even thought of. I feel the plotting suffered in this book as it's all over the place. Sometimes it became a slow read. I haven't mentioned Big Mike, Penelope's Abyssinian cat much, but he is always following Penelope around and doing his part in the investigation and otherwise. I like that he's just an ordinary cat who likes lima beans. He's usually in a climax and becomes a hero by default. Even though the dialogue is entertaining with plenty of banter and filled with plenty of humorous situations; it is, at times, campy with slapstick comedy. If you have trouble with so many characters, there is an 8-page list of them to help you figure out who is who! On to the last in the series.
Red the Rat is returning from a prospecting trip, riding his horse on a hillside, and thinking about his lady love when he hears a shot shattering the silence. At the bottom of the canyon, he spots a woman lying face down and shot in the back. A small pick hammer and a paintbrush are lying next to her hand. She wheezes out the words "It's mine" before Red the Rat rushes her to the hospital where she dies on the operating table. The victim turns out to be Millicent Deforest, an associate professor of geology with an interest in paleontology. Penelope Warren, an honorary member of the Empty Creek Police Dept., notices a tour jeep race by with Red the Rat in the backseat. She follows and immediately gets caught up in the investigation. In this quirky little town, the police chief welcomes any help he can get. Penelope spends very little time in her mystery bookstore Mycroft and Co. Her faithful companion, Mikey the cat, is always at her side.
The body was discovered on Lonesome Bend Ranch, newly owned by Cricket (new character and A.K.A. Sally Ann Hacker). While visiting the scene of the crime, it is discovered that Millicent was uncovering some dinosaur bones. Someone shouts "Fire in the hole!", an explosion occurs, and the excavation site is covered up with dirt. While excavating the crime scene again, a human skull is found with a bullet hole between the eyes. Later the reader finds out that the skull belonged to Cornelius "Pop" Hacker, Cricket's father, who vanished 30 years earlier. Andy, Penelope's boyfriend, hires a romantic balloon ride so they can neck while flying over the crime scene when a shot fired by a sniper disturbs the tranquility of the evening. The plot turns convoluted at this point - good luck keeping track of what's going on.
Some extra quirky characters begin filtering into town. The news of the dinosaur's discovery brings a horde of dinosaur seekers who were already at a nearby annual gem, mineral and dinosaur show. They are 1) Boris and voluptuous Natasha are bumbling Russian detectives who like to quote Dostoyevsky and who are searching for some stolen Russian dinosaur fossils, 2) Hiroshi Ishii is a former Yakuza member (who's left little finger keeps falling off) and a purveyor of fossils, and 3) Yitzhak Cohen who is an Israeli fossil hunter who is also selling Dead Sea Scroll fragments to naive and unsuspecting people. He is also killed. Why? This is only four of the plethora of suspects.
A couple of subplots include:
- Penelope volunteers for the Save Our Desert committee and is putting up rattlesnake crossing signs when the tour jeep races by.
- There has been a long-standing feud between the Hacker and the Mahoney families. What happened to Buxter Mahoney after he vanished from a mental hospital? Could a Mahoney have killed Pop Hacker?
- The women are trying to get the best looking "hunks" to pose for the Men of Empty Creek Calendar just like the women did previously. It seems to be a downhill battle, so some women are not against using blackmail to achieve their goal.
- There is a controversy in who should be in control of a fossil when one is found.
- Lonesome Bend is a huge chunk of desert scheduled for luxury homes. This dinosaur business at the Lonesome Bend Ranch is holding up the project from moving forward. Motive for murder?
The climax was the best part of the book. The murderer was someone I had never even thought of. I feel the plotting suffered in this book as it's all over the place. Sometimes it became a slow read. I haven't mentioned Big Mike, Penelope's Abyssinian cat much, but he is always following Penelope around and doing his part in the investigation and otherwise. I like that he's just an ordinary cat who likes lima beans. He's usually in a climax and becomes a hero by default. Even though the dialogue is entertaining with plenty of banter and filled with plenty of humorous situations; it is, at times, campy with slapstick comedy. If you have trouble with so many characters, there is an 8-page list of them to help you figure out who is who! On to the last in the series.
April 29, 2020
UGH!! I remembered this as a charming mystery with an interesting new character (Cricket) but I was stopped dead in my tracks by a seriously offensive character - a bumbling former Yakuza Japanese man who says things like "vely solly" and "Excuse me, prease" He has a prosthetic little finger that keeps falling off to much hilarity.
Unfortunate, as this was otherwise a good mystery. I just couldn't get past Hiroshi Ishii.
Unfortunate, as this was otherwise a good mystery. I just couldn't get past Hiroshi Ishii.
March 12, 2019
Again the plot synopsis here is for a different book in the series.
These are almost tall tales in their fun exaggerations. Watch for the humor.
These are almost tall tales in their fun exaggerations. Watch for the humor.
December 26, 2014
Then I actually had to wait for the fifth book, Dinosaur Cat to come out before I could read it.
Ever since reading Jean Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear I've had a minor interest in paleontology and Dinosaur Cat went beyond the prehistory of mankind to the dinosaur age. The question of the week is who killed the attractive young paleontologist?
Ever since reading Jean Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear I've had a minor interest in paleontology and Dinosaur Cat went beyond the prehistory of mankind to the dinosaur age. The question of the week is who killed the attractive young paleontologist?
August 25, 2016
I have never read anything by this author before. Something kept compelling me to pick it up to read and I am so glad I did. Very funny characters, great use of sarcasm, awesome mystery.....I am hooked and have GOT to find the rest of these books
March 31, 2011
lively romp in the desert
September 16, 2015
Think this would have been better if certain sections had been left out. Prime book for Reader's Digest.
June 18, 2015
Silly. Stopped reading.
January 19, 2016
This book just didn't take off. It had a great opeing but everything after that became less and less interesting and no suspense.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews