A Nose for Murder

Jack and Jamie #1

by Lee Charles Kelley

Meet Jack Field: Dog's Best Friend "Ex-cop Jack Field abandoned New York to run a canine kennel in the rustic Maine woods. But murder and mayhem still seem to hound him wherever he goes ... Jack's a dog trainer and a behavioral specialist -- not to mention the "main squeeze" of smart and sexy, part-time medical examiner, Jamie Cutter. That's why he's standing in a secluded cabin by alike on an icy December evening, with Allison DeMarco lying dead on her kitchen floor, and her high-strung Airedale, Ginger, going ape in the corner. You can't teach an old dog -- or cop -- new tricks, so this homicide has Jack hooked ... especially since poor Ginger seems to be the only witness! In a world of misbehaving mutts and pesky purebreeds, a killer may be waiting to make Jack, Jamie, and their puppy-pals roll over and play dead.

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

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

About the author

I'm a dog trainer, songwriter, voiceover actor, and bestselling mystery novelist* living in New York City. I've been using Natural Dog Training techniques since 1992. I write words and music, mostly for Sinatra-style songs and have a few minor songwriting credits (very minor, I'm afraid) including the libretto for a full-length musical comedy. I've been doing voice work since I was 17 (I'm now in my mid-50s) and still do radio commercials and TV voiceovers. I also write a series of dog mysteries featuring ex-NYPD detective turned dog trainer, Jack Field, and his smart and sexy ladylove, state medical examiner Dr. Jamie Cutter. My books are best described as a combination of murder mystery, romantic comedy, and dog training manual, all rolled up into one great read. *(My 4th novel, TWAS THE BITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS was a bestseller.)

Reviews

[Kristy McRae]

The story was relatively enjoyable...but the author comes across as a dog snob...maybe it's just the character he's portraying, but I found myself getting annoyed with the know-it-all attitude that came across in the writing. It was okay, but I don't think I'd pick up another of his books...too many great reads out there to tackle!

[Sharon Mensing · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of Jack Field mystery series. He’s a dog trainer, and the dogs in the book make up for the mediocre writing. Kelley makes sure the reader catches the hints by reminding us of them, which is annoying. This was fun, though.

[Leslie aka StoreyBook Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in a series about Jack Field, a former NYPD detective. Jack is forced to take an early retirement due to a case gone wrong (judges on the take, gangs, etc). He took the key witness, a 13 year old boy, and moved to Maine where he bought a dog kennel and began training dogs using a play method.

I was drawn into this books right from the start. I didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised. The characters could have used just a bit more fine tuning but I suspect that will happen in the next book.

[Kelly (Maybedog) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was fine but the main character is such a judgemental jerk that even several years after I read it, I still get irritated thinking about it.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started slow, and didn't really grab me, but I stuck with it and ended up enjoying it.
Rather intrigued by the dog training methods, and having dogs in it in general just makes every book better!

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m trying to find words for this book, which I snagged from someplace ages ago because of the cover (I grew up with terriers and the dog on the front reminded me of my childhood dog). I’ve been trying to get back into reading print books and thought this might be a good trial: it was short and since it was a silly cozy mystery, it should have been pretty light and hopefully pretty easy to follow. In that sense, my reading goal was pretty successful. I read the book quickly and my brain was able to hang on to enough of the events that I didn’t feel super lost and then just keep reading without caring to get through it. But was this an enjoyable exercise? Not really.

For one thing, this book has a few cringe elements. The whole wish fulfillment main character really grinds my gears. Jack Field is a dog trainer with dream girlfriend. Every woman flirts with him; he has humble ambitions but a history of prestige that proves he’s not a simpleton; he drives a cool and very specific car and likes cool and very specific music; he is too cool for technology; he has a heart of gold with a very soft spot for dogs. The romantic relationship at the center had its kind of Nick-and-Nora banter-filled sexy stuff down pretty well, I’ll give him that. But it was also a little creepy: Jamie was REALLY into Jack for reasons that escaped me, and the wish-fulfillment element seemed to be slightly icky in the fact that she was nine years younger than him (she was 32 so not exactly a child but it rang weird). And even that would be fine if Jack didn’t describe the body type and attractiveness of every single woman. Don’t get my started on Jack’s “foster son,” who Jack rescued from evil “gang bangers,” a Black kid who says “yo” and “a’ight” and “ax” instead of “ask.”

But also: this book was sloppy. I appreciate adding color and some distraction, but this book needed stronger editing in that regard. Too many leashes got tangled, so to speak: elements important to the murder got overshadowed by dog training content; human characters got named with no context, but we spent extensive time learning backstories of dogs that never appeared on the page. I did get a little confused about the complicated web of human relationships related to the crime, while huge amounts of text were devoted to chaotic scenes with lots of unimportant stuff happening between a lot of characters that were largely irrelevant to the main plot. Lots of important exposition got crammed in almost as an afterthought in some big over-explaining info dumps. The author clearly was trying to set up some series arcs, but not well. One plot point seemed like was being set up as a major plot point to a future novel…but then was resolved at the end of this book. So why was it even there to begin with? It added basically nothing but fodder to make the main character look even more like a maverick with a heart of gold than he did already, and a lot of it happened off the page.

Overall, like Jamie says to Jack in the book: just write your dog training book, dude! You don’t need to wrap up the thing you’re really interested in in a mediocre Mary Sue murder mystery.

[Suzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used to live in Maine, close to where Kelley's books are located, and I love dogs. Kelley's character, Jack, is like a lot of men I dated or I know and don't particularly like BUT I loved this book. so much so I bought the rest of the series. Idon't know if our German shepherd will appreciate the dog training tips since she loves outsmarting us. I am giving the books to my dog rescue when I finish.

[Ashley Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the dogs. I was confused by the plot. Some things were uncomfortable. There’s some dialogue about Italians, ppl of color, and cops. I will have to reserve judgement for the next book but I added an extra star because of the continuous reminders that dogs are friends, not slaves.

[JLS10 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first half, but then had a hard time finishing it up because I lost interest. I don’t plan to read the others in the series.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the dog characters in this author’s books; they are really dogs! Training tips are woven in to the book’s mystery. I really enjoyed it, but you really need to love dogs for full appreciation.

[Fangirl]

DNF 40%
I did not like that.

[BeParticular · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took awhile for me to get into this book, but the pace eventually picked up and I ended up liking it. I'm a dog lover and found the dog training theories and practices interesting. But there is quite a bit of that in the book and I think it could have been cut down. The Maine setting was appealing. Jack Field is the kind of guy you like despite the fact that he's often a complete jerk. That too, may wear thin over time. I'll likely give the next book in the series a try.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book introduces Jack and Jamie into an adventure with their dogs with a gripping first mystery case in Maine. A good read.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect combination: a dog trainer and medical examiner!

[Kay V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun mystery type read with dogs as part of the story.