Give a Dog a Name

Three Oaks #4

by Gerald Hammond

This latest of Gerald Hammond's carefully crafted mystery novels, set in the colorful Scottish Highlands, continues the adventures of amateur sleuth, war hero, and dog trainer Captain John Cunningham. When a wealthy businessman brings his wounded springer spaniel, Horace, to the Cunninghams' Three Oaks Kennel, it all seems to be part of a day's work for John and Beth Cunningham. But the spaniel has been wounded by two weights of buckshot, arousing suspicions of foul play. With the Cunninghams on the lookout for answers, events take a sinister turn when one of the judges at a weekend dog show accuses John of cruelty to his dogs. A surprised Cunningham learns that someone has anonymously sent the judge photographs purporting to show Cunningham beating his own spaniel, Stardust - and the implications for Three Oaks are grave. Beth manages to get her hands on one of the photographs, but while she's contemplating this clever bit of fakery, the Cunninghams are faced with an additional twist as they realize that Stardust has been stolen. In his place is another dog, nearly identical to the Cunningham canine, but oddly frightened of men... and cigars. With their beloved spaniel missing, and their professional reputations and livelihoods on the line, John and Beth must act quickly to uncover the motives behind these bizarre and disturbing events. And all signs keep pointing back to the need to find out who shot Horace - and why.

Genres: Mystery

Paperback

First published June 26, 1992

About the author

Gerald Hammond, (Gerald Arthur Douglas Hammond) son of Frederick Arthur Lucas (a physician) and Maria Birnie (a nursing sister) Hammond; married Gilda Isobel Watt (a nurse), August 20, 1952; children: Peter, David, Steven. Education: Aberdeen School of Architecture, Dip. Arch., 1952. He served in the British Army, 1944-45. Although born in Bournemouth, Hampshire, England, he worked in and retired to the country he most loved, Scotland.

He also writes under the names of Arthur Douglas and Dalby Holden. He was an architect for thirty years before retiring to write novels full-time in 1982. He has written over 50 novels since the late 1960s.

His novels center around guns, shooting, hunting, fishing, and dog training.

Reviews

[Viva]

I won't explain the characters or the setting as this series should be read from the start and this is book 4. Spoilers ahead.

The book starts when Horace the springer spaniel is brought to Three Oaks for treatment and stabling. He's been shot in the front and back and his owner needs to go abroad for a short time and his wife doesn't like dogs.

They examine Horace and determine that he has been shot purposefully twice, once in the front and in the hindquarters. It appears that it is no accidental shooting but maybe one meant to kill him. So John starts a quiet investigation to ask the owner's neighbors if they've heard of a dog being shot for chasing sheep or the like. John and his partners do get a lot of information, some of it gossip but nothing concrete.

But his enquiries seem to have stirred up retaliation. There's an anonymous warning by telephone at first and when that doesn't stop John, his antagonist promises to spread rumors to close down his kennel.

To be honest, the retaliation appears to be far-fetched because it involves too many people and too much work. First a spaniel (Stardust) is stolen from their kennels and substituted with a very similar looking one (named Walnut by John). Walnut has been routinely beaten by her master and shies away from men. Walnut has even been partly dyed to look more like Stardust. Furthermore, a series of photos have been doctored up to show John beating the dog. The first photo is of John holding up his hand like he is appearing to hit Stardust. The rest of the photos show "John" actually beating the dog, however in these photos "John's" face is never shown and the background appears blurred or nondescript. The plan is for the antagonist to send these photos to the papers and ruin his reputation as a dog beater.

The book ends when once again Beth solves the mystery Sherlock Holmes style by revealing the answer under everyone's noses. My take on the books in the entire series is that the mystery is always too complex with too many cogs, the author reaches a point where he wants to end it and just gets Beth to solve the mystery. Each of the books is actually quite short at 10 chapters or so and I can generally finish one in a day or two. I like the characters, the settings and dogs and that's why I'm continuing the series.

[Linda N Leath]

Another winner

I love this series. Mr Hammond’s writing style just carries you along, and his stories are interesting. I usually read his Three Oaks books in one sitting. Definitely for mystery and dog lovers.

[Ellie Thomas]

With the Three Oaks kennels now firmly established, John Cunningham faces a threat to his livelihood with faked photos of him mistreating his dogs. With the help of his wife Beth, the ingenious plot is discovered. Another great read!

[Jim Purcell]

Some anxiety and suspense before Beth solves it all.