Dog Day

I enjoyed this book very much for a few different reasons. While I typically enjoy mystery fiction, I am often appalled at how poorly they are written - transparent characters being the norm - all narrative, no substance. What we have here are characters that are well drawn, experiencing their lives in a 3-dimensional way - with frailties, strength, grace, wit and confusion about their lives, among other pleasant and interesting qualities. The mystery aspect was intriguing, and although I had some ideas at to what was what, I didn't mind that so much because the characters kept me interested. It was a bit of a slow read at times, but that was fine with me too! I don't always need to speed through. And, several times I was really taken by a line - the author can be philosophical, wise and insightful - the rewards of a novel. A quietly enjoyable read. A few translation problems here and there, none too serious. I look forward to reading more in the series - so far above the usual predictable bestseller was this one.

I picked this novel up in an aiport bookstore before a long flight, and was very glad that I did. This is a fresh voice for American mystery readers. I've read enough police procedurals and "mystery thrillers" taking place in the familiar U.S. locations, peopled by the usual suspects - hard boiled American detectives and cops, crooks, killers, psychopaths, and the like. For fans of the genre who want a change of pace, I strongly recommend books that are recently hitting the stores, like Ann Cleeve's Raven Black (Shetland, England), or Miyuke Miyabe's All She Was Worth (Japan), or this great read by Gimenez-Bartlett, about a tough Spanish detective in Barcelona and her food-loving partner, investigating a mystery revolving around dogs. This is a well-written novel with good characters and a fresh perspective, though the plotting is not the strongest I've encountered in the genre. For animal lovers, the descriptions are disappointing - the author has obviously not done her research. I won't give the plot away, but it does take the detectives awhile to catch on to what's afoot (modern readers will be a step ahead- the novel was written years ago and only recently translated). And again, the dog-related descriptions are off the mark, and for readers who know about dogs, that can be a distraction. This is not a unique problem to this author, however - I've read several books featuring dogs that have gotten basic facts about breeds or dog behavior wrong. However, that did not take away from my enjoyment of this book. This is a strong, fresh voice for American mystery fans, and I have already ordered the next installment in this series. I'm also eagerly looking for other mysteries/procedurals written by non-American authors - it really does make for a terrific change of pace. A final note - DO NOT READ the book jacket- it contains a major plot spoiler.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It labored a litle through the middle section but all in all was a worthwhile read and informative as to todays world with regard to animals.

Gimemez-Bartlett is one of Spain's premier crime writers. This is one of her books centered around Barcelona police inspector Petra Delicado. She is a strong, smooth character well-matched with her slightly rotund and bachelor partner. A cast of quirky characters, a glimpse of the underside of Barcelona through the investigation of a murder linked to a dog theft ring. What makes foreign fiction tough sometimes is the quality of the translation, and in this case the translation is solid and gives the text a sparse, noir quality. This book is 10 years old and just came out in English, and I hope we see more of her work in English in the future.