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Saturday, December 2, 2017

Book Review: Oberon's Meaty Mysteries: The Squirrel on the Train by Kevin Hearne

This is a very fun quick mystery story.
Oberon's Meaty Mysteries: The Squirrel on the Train
by Kevin Hearne
File Size: 560 KB
Print Length: 120 pages
Publisher: Subterranean Press (November 30, 2017)
ASIN: B076JB7YKH
Genre: Animals, Mystery, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0


Oberon the Irish wolfhound is off to Portland to smell all the things with canine companions, and, of course, his human, ancient Druid Atticus O’Sullivan. The first complication is an wolfhound Orlaith and Boston terrier Starbuck unmistakable sign of sinister agendas afoot: a squirrel atop the train. But an even more ominous situation is in store when the trio plus Atticus stumble across a murder upon arrival at the station. They recognize Detective Gabriela Ibarra, who’s there to investigate. But they also recognize the body—or rather that the body is a doppelganger for Atticus himself. The police, hampered by human senses of smell and a decided lack of canine intuition, obviously can’t handle this alone. Not with Atticus likely in danger. Oberon knows it’s time to investigate once more—for justice! For gravy! And possibly greasy tacos!
Alongside his faithful Druid, Oberon and the other loyal hounds navigate by nose through Portland to find a bear-shifter friend with intel, delicious clues at the victim’s home, and more squirrels. Always more squirrels!
But will our hungry band of heroes be able to identify the culprit before someone else is murdered? Will there be mystery meat in gravy as a reward or tragedy in store for the world’s (or at least the Pacific Northwest’s) greatest dog detective?
Like its predecessor The Purloined Poodle, the latest of Oberon’s Meaty Mysteries, The Squirrel on the Train, is not to be missed by fans of Kevin Hearne’s New York Times best-selling Iron Druid series.


Review:
This is a fun, easy adventure with Oberon, the Irish wolfhound who keeps company with Iron Druid, Atticus. Atticus is taking Oberon and his friends, wolfhound Orlaith and Boston terrier Starbuck, on the train to Portland where they can have a run. Initially the dogs are distressed because there is a squirrel on the train. The dogs are convinced that all squirrels have an evil plan against dogs and humans.

They all get distracted when they get to the station and find a body that looks an awful lot like Atticus. Detective Gabriela Ibarra, who has worked with Atticus before, is there to investigate. Since Atticus isn’t official to help, he and the dogs join in unofficially with the dogs using their noses to hunt down clues.

The story is told from Oberon’s doggy brain, acknowledging that he doesn’t understand time where 10 minutes might be 10 hours or years for all the dog knows. And of course they get distracted by food, not to mention the squirrels.

This made me want to pick up the series where I left off (at Book 5). If you have never read this series I recommend it for fun and excitement. This is just a short side story but could be read to get a feel for the characters and a taste of the author’s writing. It should give a reason to smile.

I received this from NetGalley. This qualifies for my 2017 NetGalley Challenge.

1 comment:

  1. Great review. This story sounds very interesting and I think I'm going to give it a try. I think I have the first of the series in my TBR pile. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and feelings about this story with us.

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