From School Library Journal
YA. To win a bet with a friend that she can write about something other than dogs, Holly Winter begins in-depth research into the life of Hannah Dunston, a local 17th-century heroine who turns out to have been a murderer. Clues into Hannah's past lead to the murder of Jack Winter Andrews 18 years ago and the mysterious circumstances of finding his golden retriever tied to his desk at the crime scene. Holly diligently searches through libraries and other people's cluttered basements to discover the identity of Jack's killer, the location of his illegitimate son, and Holly's own tie to Hannah Dunston. Conant adeptly weaves Andrews's murder together with the legend of Hannah Dunston, resulting in an intriguing mesh of converging facts. The author keeps readers entertained between major breakthroughs in the story by relating all sorts of pointers about dogs in general, and more specifically Holly's own malamutes, who play a role in solving the crime. Holly comes across as self-assured, independent, and knowledgeable, and all of the other characters are precisely drawn through subtle details and expertly manipulated facts. During the last chapters, the suspense and tension build rapidly, although the twist at the end is somewhat convenient. Readers who enjoy the dogs in Virginia Lanier's series will also enjoy Conant's mysteries.?Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VACopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
The 18-year-old murder of a book publisher interested in showing dogs sidetracks Holly Winter from her research into the life of a New England woman abducted by Indians. She finally solves the case but nearly gets killed in the process. For all those dog-loving readers.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Kirkus Reviews
Conant, who has delighted dog-lovers in the first nine volumes of this specialty series perhaps to the point of alienating everyone else, displays in entry ten an invigorating diversification of interest. Dog-columnist Holly Winter is dared by a therapist friend to write something about--quelle horreur!- people. Her research takes her all around Harvard Yard as she looks into the history of Massachusetts settler Hannah Duston, a tribal captive who proved handier with a hatchet than Lizzie Borden. Simultaneously, Holly explores the ten-year-old murder of a local publisher--benign Jack Winter Andrews of Damned Yankee Press--and observes her two projects becoming as entangled as malamutes Rowdy and Kimi during a food fight. Stud Rites (1996) was set claustrophobically within a dog show. This time, Conant gives us a cool, merry, and informative look at academic Cambridge and a scene of sexual misunderstanding that goes from low comedy to something like tragedy. Conant still tends to overexplain jokes and her detective is still irritatingly full of pet-grooming advice. But there are human beings here and some very welcome human drama as our author slips her leash. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Book Description
When a canine lover is murdered, sleuth Holly Winter discovers his double life. But who can explain the odd behavior of his family? What was his strange connection to a local legend who died centuries ago--and how can Holly muzzle the killer before he strikes again?


From the Publisher
Susan Conant's Dog Lover's Mysteries are "highly recommended for lovers of dogs, people, and all-around good storytelling."
--Mystery NewsStud Rites
"An intimate knowledge of Alaskan malamutes isn't necessary to appreciate Susan Conant's Stud Rites...Conant's characterizations are dead-on and her descriptions of doggy kitsch--most notably a malamute-shaped lamp trimmed with a dead champion's fur--are hilarious."
--Los Angeles TimesBlack Ribbon
"Conant's people and dogs, dialogue and obsessions hold the interest chapter upon chapter, long before blood is drawn and long after."
--Mobile RegisterRuffly Speaking
"Conant's Dog Lover's series, starring Cambridge freelance dog-magazine writer Holly Winter and her two malamutes, Rowdy and Kimi, is a real tail-wagger for lots of readers."
--Washington PostBloodlines
"Lively, funny, and absolutely premium. Conant's readers--with ears up and alert eyes--eagerly await her next."
--Kirkus ReviewsGone to the Dogs
"Conant infuses her writing with a healthy dose of humor about Holly's Fido-loving friends and other Cambridge clichés. The target of her considerable wit clearly emerges as human nature."
--Publishers Weekly

ANNOTATION

Susan Conant's "Dog Lover's" mysteries are "highly recommended for lovers of dogs, people, and all-around good storytelling" (Mystery News). Holly Winter and her two Alaskan Malamutes, Rowdy and Kim, are sleuthing once again--a real tail-wagging adventure. 256 pp. National ads. 12,500 print.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

When Holly Winter accepts her friend's challenge to write about something other than dogs, her presumed subject is the story of Hannah Duston, an early settler of Massachusetts who was captured by Native Americans, escaped, and lived to tell the tale. Soon enough, however, Holly is diverted by the much more contemporary death of one Jack Winter Andrews (no relation, as it turns out), who was purportedly poisoned in the office of his small publishing company eighteen years before - while his pet golden retriever, chained to his desk, looked on. Whether drawn by the coincidence of Andrews's middle name, or the siren call of a dog's involvement (however peripheral), Holly is compelled to find out more about the publisher's demise. Was it suicide, as the police had determined? Or murder, as his widow - and many others - insist? In the end, Holly is unable to unravel all the threads of Hannah Duston's life, but she does manage to solve the mystery of Jack Andrews's death. Though not before the murderer succeeds in killing again, and almost sends Holly, along with her two beloved Alaskan malamutes, Rowdy and Kimi, to the same horrible fate. And, of course, interwoven with Holly's sleuthing are the delightful tidbits of canine lore, purebred dog-fancy gossip, and training tips that Susan Conant's many fans have come to expect and love. In fact, as Holly discovers, the late Jack Andrews's second, secret life centered around - what else - showing dogs!

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Dogs, which lie at the core of this swift and engrossing mystery, delight, comfort, protect-and provide vital clues. Holly Winter, a Cambridge, Mass., dog trainer and columnist, accepts a bet that she canwrite a meaningful essay about anything but dogs. Originally beguiled by the tale of 18th-century Indian captive Hannah Duston, she is soon taken up with the story of the death, 18 years ago, of small-press publisher Jack Andrews, whose death by poison had been deemed a suicide by some and a murder by others. What rivets Holly is the fact that Jack's purebred golden retriever was tied up in his office, thus indicating that someone who disliked animals had been present. But the presumed murderer died crashing his car to avoid hitting a dog in the road. As Holly, in her own haphazard but relentless fashion, begins to investigate, she finds more canine coincidences and connections to the academic world with which she is frequently in contact. Conant offers a delightful send-up of both Harvard scholars and dog lovers. Questions abound: How does the recent poisoning of an historian with ties to both Jack and Hannah relate to Jack's death? Did Jack's eccentric wife kill him for the life insurance money? Was his dog trainer (also his lover) involved? Author of 10 other Dog Lover mysteries, Conant (Stud Rites) presents a witty, independent, yet fallible sleuth with inordinate pride in her two Alaskan Malamutes. Why not?-they steal every scene. (Apr.)

Library Journal

The 18-year-old murder of a book publisher interested in showing dogs sidetracks Holly Winter from her research into the life of a New England woman abducted by Indians. She finally solves the case but nearly gets killed in the process. For all those dog-loving readers.

School Library Journal