Ruff Way To Go

Allie Babcock Mystery #2

by Leslie O'Kane

Dog Therapist Allie Babcock is Back…and she has a bone to pick with a killer… Allie’s dog therapy practice in Boulder, Colorado is thriving. Her divorcing neighbors, Edith and Trevor, hire Allie to decide which one gets custody of Shogun, their silky terrier. And another neighborhood pair, Cassandra and Paul, need help with a fostered Siberian husky and her puppies. Life seems to be ambling along quite nicely for Allie…until she finds Cassandra’s bloodied body sprawled on Edith’s deck with a bloody pawprint next to it – and the silky terrier, Shogun, nowhere to be found. Who could have possibly murdered Cassandra? And where could have little Shogun run to? And even more curious, what really does make that old couple down the street so incredibly hostile? Not only is Allie in the doghouse with just about everyone she knows, the police are also hounding her…hard. Not one to rest on her heels, Allie unleashes her sleuthing skills and finds herself in one close and awfully uncomfortable encounter with a cold-hearted killer…

Genres: Mystery, Dogs, Cozy, Animals, Fiction, Cozy Mystery

275 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 13, 2011

Reviews

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fast and intriguing dog mystery with Allie Babcock, a dog therapist. She has moved temporarily back home. Allie is asked to decide which party in a messy divorce case should receive custody of Shogun, a silky terrier. With her Mother's permission Allie has agreed to foster a husky with her puppies for 3 weeks. The story takes a violent turn when she finds the body of one of her neighbors dead at the home of one of Shogun's owners. There are enough turns as the story keeps changing direction. Despite the factor I feel the main characters are shallow and the book could use editing, it doesn't take from the book. I don't always agree with her to why an animal does something. Dog owners can definitely learn from the book. I highly recommend this series, especially to animal lovers.

[Debra Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want more!!

[Karen B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Allie Babcock is an animal (dog) therapist and is pulled into a custody battle between a divorcing neighborhood couple to decide who will get their dog Shogun. Another neighbor is fostering a Siberian Huskie and her pups and the neighbor is found dead in the back of the divorcing couple's yard. I love this series because there are so many delicious mysteries to solve and Allie's main concern is the welfare of the dog. I was kept guessing right up until the end and really enjoyed that aspect of these books. You'll really enjoy Allie's treatment and training of the dogs.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not so much

This wasn't half as good as the debut novel but the plot and characters were still ok and use will read the next
Surprisingly this has a few typos as well

[Ronnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lengthy, but a “cute” read.

I enjoyed the storyline itself. I, too, am an animal lover…owner of the cutest, sweetest, black, male Havanese puppy (a little biased, maybe?!). I liked the helpful tips about training a dog; the do’s and don’ts of puppy training. I was intrigued with the mystery of who the killer was and why the person did “the deed”. The number of characters written into the storyline did create some confusion for me - the main reason I did not give the book a “5”. All in all, this is a pleasant read.

[Donna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quit after about 50 pages. Got tired of her preaching and dissing everyone about how little they knew about dogs. You should NEVER place the dog's food next to the water. really? Her explanation was that you need to monitor the dog's food, but water should always be available. huh...what does that have to do with putting the bowls in the same area. My dogs, and cats, have never been confused about what they wanted, and went to the bowl that that was filled with what they wanted. This was my first try with this author. I don't feel the need to read any more of her books.

[ReadaBook · Rating 2 out of 5]

“If the woman were a dog, she’d be a pit bull. With rabies.”
Once I read this ridiculous comment on page 124, I was done in terms of enjoying it.My impression of this author, who for the 2nd book in this series thought it appropriate to demean a type of dog via an uneducated stereotype, went downhill. (“Play Dead” also included a similar negative reference.) I figured out who did it well before the main character.

[Virginia McDermott · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is good but the editing is not. There are way too many word mistakes and that is distracting. I find that the book ends abruptly. Maybe that is intentional so that one wants to read the next book in the series to see what develops. It is not satisfying for me to read an entire book with much of the story line unresolved. I appreciate the helpful approaches to humane animal training.

[Judy Vana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Leslie O'Kane's books, there fast and easy to read. I enjoy the dog books and I liked Ruff Way to Go and all of her mysteries. Not sure if she should continue dating someone who is scared to death of dogs though. I'm on to reading her next dog story.

Keep writing them...

[Sallee Odwyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sudsy

Fast action. Descriptions of all the scenes was vivid that it seemed you were right there.The main character was always nearly killed with every subplot. Enjoyed it.

[nicolette davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Easy Read

This is a starting merriment book! So fun to read, just enough twists and turns to make it interesting, and enjoyable. A great who done it mystery

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute mystery with lots of characters and twists and turns. I love animals and enjoy reading about them. I will look forward to reading more of Leslie O'Kane's books.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was alright. It started out super fun, but the plot turned out fairly cheesy from the middle to end. A few things were silly and unbelievable. Who hires and pays a dog-behavior expert to determine where a dog's ideal home would be during a divorce process? Especially a neighbor you're not crazy about in the first place. I thought a lot of the dog-related events in the book were far-fetched and unrealistic, like how obsessed EVERYONE in the neighborhood was about their dogs, especially right after a murder of a person had taken place. I have been friends with dog-lovers and enthusiasts, but I have never known people that just felt a mediocre relationship with their pet or a common neighbor to be obsessed about paying a dog person to help with their dog's behavior. The climax at the end of the book during which Allie confronts the murderer was overly dramatic and far-fetched, but I expected it.

All in all, enjoyable reading but easily forgettable.

[Lynette Haddock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good

Once more, dog behaviorist, Allie Babcock, is involved in trying to solve a murder, which occurs in her neighbor's back yard. Of course, dogs play a vital role in the narrative.

The humor is a breath of fresh air. The unfolding romance is also very sweet, and so far, wholesome and not tainted by today's view of lust as love.

Unfortunately, there were too many typos in this book. I can certainly understand how that can happen, but, for me, it was a little interruptive to the story.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cozy mystery is second in a series. Allie Babcock is an interesting character, but sometimes I wanted to shake her. She may be a whiz at reading dogs, but she's abysmal at reading people. Still it is a nice, quick read. I enjoyed the dog training tips included in the book.

I think you have to really like dogs to love this book, but if you enjoy cozy mysteries, you may want to try this one.

[Diane ~Firefly~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the series might be getting a bit better. The MC has common sense and I like her, her dogs and her mother. This time she is deciding who gets the custody of a dog in a divorce when she comes across a dead body. Since this is in her neighborhood we get to meet her neighbors as they are suspects. Lots of drama with a few different issues being discovered.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an exceptional mystery – plus it’s just fun to find a mystery that can be easily read in one day! There was a lot of twists and turns and was surprised at who the killer really was! GREAT READ!

[Kevin Kern]

Easy read, sort of lame, except for the dog parts. I hope the writer has found an editor, who makes her refrain from using currently, twice in one sentence. In other words, the writing isn't top notch, but she can depict dogs, and their behavior very well.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent second book. Looking forward to the third in her series.

[Triss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some people read romance for relaxation. I read dog books. some are way better than others. I like this series. It's kind of lame in a really fun way.

[victoria walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dog lovers delight

Wonderful dog lovers read.Many tricks for new and old owners of dogs to be reminded of dogs locality to owners and behavior.

[Kathy Govreau · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was definitely not disappointed in this 2nd of the series. Love the characters!

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series.

I LOVE this series!! If you love dogs and mysteries, this is the series for you!! Allie Babcock is pet behaviorist who seems have a knack for solving murders.

[Joyce Kirkwood · Rating 1 out of 5]

Needed someone who could read to go over book.

The book was good but whoever was supposed to make corrections was extremely sloppy. There were too many errors. Joyce

[Gloria Mccracken · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant entry in the series about a dog behaviorist who has moved back home. Some of the characters act a little dopey.

[Kristy Christensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this in a few hours. interesting in a teenager sort of way and the ending was a surprise.

[Janet · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just could not get into this book. Seemed too juvenile.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 - Very Good

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun series. Amateur sleuth is a dog psychologist also.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty cute...am enjoying this series!