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Old Dogs
"Like the perfect heist, Donna Moore's screwball caper is slick, audacious and hugely rewarding."—Chris Ewan, author of The Good Thief's Guide to Paris "Roll out the awards shelf, Donna is going to grab them all."—Ken Bruen, award-winning author of London Boulevard La Contessa Letitzia di Ponzo and her sister Signora Teodora Grisiola are not who they might seem. Now in their seventies, they’re actually Letty and Dora, a pair of ex-hookers turned con-artists who’ve decided to steal a pair of gold, jewel-encrusted Tibetan shih tzu dog statuettes from a Glasgow museum. Unfortunately, it seems everyone wants to get their hands on the expensive pooches. There’s the dodgy chauffeur, a pair of delinquents who work in a crematorium, an out-of-work insomniac bent on revenge, and an innocent young islander who’s obsessed with returning the dogs to Tibet. And yet the elderly con-artists might just manage to execute their plan and live the rest of their lives in the lap of luxury. That’s if they can avoid the Australian hitman with his sights on a very different future for them. . . Donna Moore is the author of Go to Helena Handbasket , winner of the 2007 Lefty Award for most humorous crime novel. She has short stories in various anthologies, including Damn Near Dead and A Hell of a Woman (both Busted Flush Press). Donna runs the blog Big Beat From Badsville, which focuses on Scottish crime fiction.
250 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 28, 2017
From the back cover: La Contessa Letitzia di Ponzo and her sister Signora Teodora Grisiola are not who they might seem. Now in their seventies, they’re actually Letty and Dora, a pair of ex-hookers turned con-artists who’ve decided to steal a pair of gold, jewel-0encrusted Tibetan shih tzu dog statuettes from a Glasgow museum. Unfortunately, it seems everyone wants to get their hands on the expensive pooches.
My reactions
I was immediately reminded of Donald E Westlake’s crime capers, or the crazy, convoluted plot elements of the best Carl Hiaasen novels. The characters and plot elements are ridiculous, but that’s what makes it so much fun to read. I was constantly wondering what on earth Moore would come up with next.
This is not great literature. It isn’t even a good mystery. But it IS a fast, entertaining read.
My reactions
I was immediately reminded of Donald E Westlake’s crime capers, or the crazy, convoluted plot elements of the best Carl Hiaasen novels. The characters and plot elements are ridiculous, but that’s what makes it so much fun to read. I was constantly wondering what on earth Moore would come up with next.
This is not great literature. It isn’t even a good mystery. But it IS a fast, entertaining read.
August 25, 2020
The jokes abound in this comedy caper. 3 old ex-hookers scamming their way through Glasgow and it's castles. Just a lighthearted read. Parts maybe too silly. Full of Glaswegian slang. Along the lines of the "Lavender Hill Mob" .
July 28, 2013
Unless I’m mistaken, Donna Moore is of no relation to the author of Don't Call Me a Crook A Scotsman's Tale of World Travel Whisky and Crime, although like the rogue marine-engineer she calls Glasgow home, is superb storyteller with a thief's eye for detail and has a great, if sometimes deranged, sense of humor. And I mean that in the nicest possible way. I've met Ms. Moore and can I tell you she's a charming English Rose, one that you'd never suspect could conjure such a smutty, sanguineous and scatological masterpiece.
The Old Dogs in question are Dora and Letty, two sisters and retired hookers who still turn tricks, though the tricks nowadays aren't fornication but swindle. When we first meet them they're posing as Italian aristocrats, selling phony ownership-certificates in thoroughbred horses to Glasgow’s upper-crust. Age hasn't slowed them down by a long shot: they’re two clever, randy and hip canines. Letty even sports Ramones and Kings of Leon T-shirts. They’d make great dinner guests, although you’d be wise to lock up your valuables and your sons.
The ancient bitches soon turn eyes on two other Old Dogs: a couple of golden Shih Tzu statuettes on loan to a local museum. Unfortunately for the crafty whores, others also have sights on the precious pooches: the museum’s former curator, on a jihad against her smarmy, job-stealing ex-lover; an earnest, guileless Buddhist neophyte; a lumpen-prole Laurel and Hardy duo; Dora and Letty's slimy-as-an-eel chauffeur; and the most charming, erudite sociopath you’d ever want to meet. I want to be Victor Stanislav when I grow up.
Unlike a lot of writers, Moore doesn't rely on a single strength. Old Dogs’s layered, arabesque plot twists and turns but never induces migraines. Honestly, I think Moore penned screwball comedies in another life. That or wrote strips for Viz. And like all screenwriters worth their salt, she’s adept at jump cuts, telling details, and snappy dialogue. Speaking which, I can’t pass up the chance to quote some of my favorite passages:
"I haven’t used any elbow grease since I stopped giving shandies to all those tight bastards who didn’t want to pay for a full shag."
"I need a Barry White.
"No fucking way, Raymie. You’ll need to hold it in.
"I cannae, Dunc. I’m touching cloth."
"Sheehan... watched Scotland’s rich and famous swarm around his new employers like bluebottles around diamond-encrusted shite."
And like the best of movies, Old Dogs offers a total world. It’s a travel guide to a violent, chaotic and cynical Glasgow. But Moore cuts the darkness with dollops of slapstick humor and even a little hope. Think of a dark-chocolate cake with an orange-cream filing.
I can only hope that some enterprising film-director will put Old Dogs up on the silver screen, and at the very least, you’ll do yourself a favor and read this terrific book.
The Old Dogs in question are Dora and Letty, two sisters and retired hookers who still turn tricks, though the tricks nowadays aren't fornication but swindle. When we first meet them they're posing as Italian aristocrats, selling phony ownership-certificates in thoroughbred horses to Glasgow’s upper-crust. Age hasn't slowed them down by a long shot: they’re two clever, randy and hip canines. Letty even sports Ramones and Kings of Leon T-shirts. They’d make great dinner guests, although you’d be wise to lock up your valuables and your sons.
The ancient bitches soon turn eyes on two other Old Dogs: a couple of golden Shih Tzu statuettes on loan to a local museum. Unfortunately for the crafty whores, others also have sights on the precious pooches: the museum’s former curator, on a jihad against her smarmy, job-stealing ex-lover; an earnest, guileless Buddhist neophyte; a lumpen-prole Laurel and Hardy duo; Dora and Letty's slimy-as-an-eel chauffeur; and the most charming, erudite sociopath you’d ever want to meet. I want to be Victor Stanislav when I grow up.
Unlike a lot of writers, Moore doesn't rely on a single strength. Old Dogs’s layered, arabesque plot twists and turns but never induces migraines. Honestly, I think Moore penned screwball comedies in another life. That or wrote strips for Viz. And like all screenwriters worth their salt, she’s adept at jump cuts, telling details, and snappy dialogue. Speaking which, I can’t pass up the chance to quote some of my favorite passages:
"I haven’t used any elbow grease since I stopped giving shandies to all those tight bastards who didn’t want to pay for a full shag."
"I need a Barry White.
"No fucking way, Raymie. You’ll need to hold it in.
"I cannae, Dunc. I’m touching cloth."
"Sheehan... watched Scotland’s rich and famous swarm around his new employers like bluebottles around diamond-encrusted shite."
And like the best of movies, Old Dogs offers a total world. It’s a travel guide to a violent, chaotic and cynical Glasgow. But Moore cuts the darkness with dollops of slapstick humor and even a little hope. Think of a dark-chocolate cake with an orange-cream filing.
I can only hope that some enterprising film-director will put Old Dogs up on the silver screen, and at the very least, you’ll do yourself a favor and read this terrific book.
July 6, 2014
This is a pure caper novel and a refreshing change from the true mysteries I usually read. It was nice, too, to see two older women as the main characters, instead of the usual young ones.
As with any truly good caper novel, there are several parties chasing the prize – a pair of jewel-encrusted solid gold dogs here – and their efforts to steal them constantly overlap with one party’s actions befouling another party’s. Plus several peripheral characters have scams going that affect the main schemers’ plans
There are several ‘central casting’ characters here: the pompous, incompetent, self-centered Museum Curator who got the position by stepping on others, the terminally dense street punks, the scorned woman hell-bent on revenge, the religious fanatic determined to return the dogs to their rightful owner. But Moore makes them enough different that they fail to become caricatures.
Heavy use of British/Scottish slang in both dialog and narrative made reading jerky instead of flowing, as I had to slow down too often to ‘translate’ too many words. And there were numerous typographic errors in this book – missed punctuation and extraneous words. This is appalling and unacceptable in a printed work.
If Donna Moore writes another caper novel as good as this one, I want to read it.
As with any truly good caper novel, there are several parties chasing the prize – a pair of jewel-encrusted solid gold dogs here – and their efforts to steal them constantly overlap with one party’s actions befouling another party’s. Plus several peripheral characters have scams going that affect the main schemers’ plans
There are several ‘central casting’ characters here: the pompous, incompetent, self-centered Museum Curator who got the position by stepping on others, the terminally dense street punks, the scorned woman hell-bent on revenge, the religious fanatic determined to return the dogs to their rightful owner. But Moore makes them enough different that they fail to become caricatures.
Heavy use of British/Scottish slang in both dialog and narrative made reading jerky instead of flowing, as I had to slow down too often to ‘translate’ too many words. And there were numerous typographic errors in this book – missed punctuation and extraneous words. This is appalling and unacceptable in a printed work.
If Donna Moore writes another caper novel as good as this one, I want to read it.
January 4, 2018
Hilarious! I loved it.
February 7, 2011
Sometimes, when you read a book, you can sense the pleasure the author found in its writing and ‘Old Dogs’ certainly feels like one of those. To my mind, Donna Moore must have had a whale of a time putting this together.
It might not, however, have been as much fun for her as I imagined whilst I read. Given the structure of the story with its seamless flow from one passage to the next, the craft employed in engaging us with the characters and the action and the way she had me laughing, smiling and wincing through the book, there was probably a lot more sweat and a few more tears in the process than the end product suggests. Easy to read may not always mean easy to piece together.
The ‘Old Dogs’ of the title are a pair of jewel-encrusted, gold statues that are to be displayed in a Glasgow museum.
The exhibition has been put together by Megan, ex-curator of the museum and ex-lover of new curator Campbell Findlay. Seeking her revenge for her broken heart and her lost job, she stumbles into the opportunity of intercepting the statues upon their delivery and therefore humiliate said bastard. She can’t go and collect the objects as herself, of course, so she opts to wear her Dolly Parton costume without the fake boobs to the airport. With the museum pieces safely in her hands, she replaces them with ugly, concrete replicas that she made herself.
Meanwhile, ex-prostitutes and grifters Letty and Dora (a couple of very old dogs themselves) are busy employing staff to look after their incarnations as Signora Teodora Grisiola and La Contessa Letiziadi Ponzo. Having recently returned from a successful con in Australia, they are looking for one more job to help them ease into a retirement of boozing and biking.
Barry Sheehan is something of an old conman himself. He’s looking to get a job with the fake Italians as a chauffeur so that he can get in on their act. Fortunately for him, he is offered the work. Unfortunately, for a Rangers fan, he has to wear a uniform of green with gold trim.
Victor Stanislav is the Australian of indeterminate heritage who was humiliated by the sting of the old birds and is determined to get his revenge. A man of culture, he is also an ex-mercenary and ex-French Foreign Legionnaire. Until he hears of the golden dogs, he has only one thing on his mind - the utter destruction of Lette and Dora.
Raymie and Duncan are two of life’s unfortunates. They’re not blessed with a great deal other than the best lines in insults that could be imagined. Small-time crooks, they imagine opening up a pub and smoking beer-flavour fags from the money made form a museum heist.
Kyle is a young orphan who arrives in Glasgow to retrieve the dogs for the monastery from whence they came. His life has been spent on a small island, isolated from modernity and people. He is determined to succeed on his mission, learning all about robbery from a night watching crime-capers on TV.
It’s a big cast and Moore gives us a strong handle on each of them as their lives spin around the statues like out of control satellites.
Everyone converges on the museum on the same Saturday night to steal the dogs. From that point on, the lives of the characters are bound together for good.
The story unfolds from the point of view of these sets of characters, each of them high quality ingredients to this bubbly, explosive mix of a cocktail.
Told in short chunks from the point of view of the groups as mentioned, the passages flow naturally together whether in parallel, in opposition, when blended or overlapping. In this way Moore kept me engaged from start to finish. Echoes here of Bateman and ‘I Predict A Riot’.
There’s something old fashioned about the tale. It has a carefree-romping style which seems to come from another era, a golden age perhaps. This is best represented by our old ladies – they’ve seen it all, lived through tough times and change, they’re nostalgic and yet move through the decades with an easy acceptance. When they attend the races and have a flutter (on Two Way Split, no less), I wouldn’t have been surprised if one of these adorable Italian ladies had stood and bellowed ‘Move your bloomin’ arse’ in encouragement.
All the same, we are entirely working in modern times.
Moore has a delightful turn of phrase and, dare I say it, she swears more creatively than anyone I’ve come across. It’s as though she has a palette full of conventional abuse and a magic paintbrush with which she mixes them together to create something utterly unique and hilarious.
I’d like to make a special mention of Raymie and Dunc at this point. I loved all the characters, but these guys are worthy of another book to themselves. What a double act. They’re hot stuff. They use the funniest lines and their general stupidity is a joy to behold. Writing in dialect can rarely have been so engaging.
‘Old Dogs’ is a heist caper, a modern farce, an adventure, a Carry-On movie on acid. The twists and turns are impossible to predict and it is to her credit that no matter how ridiculous the sets of events might be she manages to make them seem entirely credible, in part because the motives of all those who inhabit the book are so deeply believable.
She’s clearly read a huge array of books and enjoyed a wide-range of movies in her time. More than that, she’s been able to take all of the influences and put them together in a way that is entirely fresh and very much of her own style.
A couple of points to get out of the way before I go.
I bought a copy of the book on the back of recommendations from Twitter and a number of blog reviews. I'm delighted I paid attention. If I'd been browsing in a bookshop and seen the cover I might have ignored it completely. It's not to my taste. 'Don't judge a book by its cover' has rarely seemed so appropriate.
With regard to the cover, I see that the book is to be published soon by 'Busted Flush' in the United States and that they have gone for an altogether different piece of artwork. I hope that in the same way that they've improved the way it looks, they'll give it a thorough proof-read and correct some of the mistakes. It's a small gripe, I know, but there are a large handful of errors in the production that should have been ironed out by someone at Max Crime. It shouldn't put anyone off buying their copy, but there are a few breaks in the author's fine flow that didn't need to be there.
Gripe over.
It's a terrific piece that's' easy to recommend.
‘Old Dogs’ should be winning a few prizes here and there as best of breed based on the sheer entertainment and hilarity it offers
Donna Moore? Yes please.
It might not, however, have been as much fun for her as I imagined whilst I read. Given the structure of the story with its seamless flow from one passage to the next, the craft employed in engaging us with the characters and the action and the way she had me laughing, smiling and wincing through the book, there was probably a lot more sweat and a few more tears in the process than the end product suggests. Easy to read may not always mean easy to piece together.
The ‘Old Dogs’ of the title are a pair of jewel-encrusted, gold statues that are to be displayed in a Glasgow museum.
The exhibition has been put together by Megan, ex-curator of the museum and ex-lover of new curator Campbell Findlay. Seeking her revenge for her broken heart and her lost job, she stumbles into the opportunity of intercepting the statues upon their delivery and therefore humiliate said bastard. She can’t go and collect the objects as herself, of course, so she opts to wear her Dolly Parton costume without the fake boobs to the airport. With the museum pieces safely in her hands, she replaces them with ugly, concrete replicas that she made herself.
Meanwhile, ex-prostitutes and grifters Letty and Dora (a couple of very old dogs themselves) are busy employing staff to look after their incarnations as Signora Teodora Grisiola and La Contessa Letiziadi Ponzo. Having recently returned from a successful con in Australia, they are looking for one more job to help them ease into a retirement of boozing and biking.
Barry Sheehan is something of an old conman himself. He’s looking to get a job with the fake Italians as a chauffeur so that he can get in on their act. Fortunately for him, he is offered the work. Unfortunately, for a Rangers fan, he has to wear a uniform of green with gold trim.
Victor Stanislav is the Australian of indeterminate heritage who was humiliated by the sting of the old birds and is determined to get his revenge. A man of culture, he is also an ex-mercenary and ex-French Foreign Legionnaire. Until he hears of the golden dogs, he has only one thing on his mind - the utter destruction of Lette and Dora.
Raymie and Duncan are two of life’s unfortunates. They’re not blessed with a great deal other than the best lines in insults that could be imagined. Small-time crooks, they imagine opening up a pub and smoking beer-flavour fags from the money made form a museum heist.
Kyle is a young orphan who arrives in Glasgow to retrieve the dogs for the monastery from whence they came. His life has been spent on a small island, isolated from modernity and people. He is determined to succeed on his mission, learning all about robbery from a night watching crime-capers on TV.
It’s a big cast and Moore gives us a strong handle on each of them as their lives spin around the statues like out of control satellites.
Everyone converges on the museum on the same Saturday night to steal the dogs. From that point on, the lives of the characters are bound together for good.
The story unfolds from the point of view of these sets of characters, each of them high quality ingredients to this bubbly, explosive mix of a cocktail.
Told in short chunks from the point of view of the groups as mentioned, the passages flow naturally together whether in parallel, in opposition, when blended or overlapping. In this way Moore kept me engaged from start to finish. Echoes here of Bateman and ‘I Predict A Riot’.
There’s something old fashioned about the tale. It has a carefree-romping style which seems to come from another era, a golden age perhaps. This is best represented by our old ladies – they’ve seen it all, lived through tough times and change, they’re nostalgic and yet move through the decades with an easy acceptance. When they attend the races and have a flutter (on Two Way Split, no less), I wouldn’t have been surprised if one of these adorable Italian ladies had stood and bellowed ‘Move your bloomin’ arse’ in encouragement.
All the same, we are entirely working in modern times.
Moore has a delightful turn of phrase and, dare I say it, she swears more creatively than anyone I’ve come across. It’s as though she has a palette full of conventional abuse and a magic paintbrush with which she mixes them together to create something utterly unique and hilarious.
I’d like to make a special mention of Raymie and Dunc at this point. I loved all the characters, but these guys are worthy of another book to themselves. What a double act. They’re hot stuff. They use the funniest lines and their general stupidity is a joy to behold. Writing in dialect can rarely have been so engaging.
‘Old Dogs’ is a heist caper, a modern farce, an adventure, a Carry-On movie on acid. The twists and turns are impossible to predict and it is to her credit that no matter how ridiculous the sets of events might be she manages to make them seem entirely credible, in part because the motives of all those who inhabit the book are so deeply believable.
She’s clearly read a huge array of books and enjoyed a wide-range of movies in her time. More than that, she’s been able to take all of the influences and put them together in a way that is entirely fresh and very much of her own style.
A couple of points to get out of the way before I go.
I bought a copy of the book on the back of recommendations from Twitter and a number of blog reviews. I'm delighted I paid attention. If I'd been browsing in a bookshop and seen the cover I might have ignored it completely. It's not to my taste. 'Don't judge a book by its cover' has rarely seemed so appropriate.
With regard to the cover, I see that the book is to be published soon by 'Busted Flush' in the United States and that they have gone for an altogether different piece of artwork. I hope that in the same way that they've improved the way it looks, they'll give it a thorough proof-read and correct some of the mistakes. It's a small gripe, I know, but there are a large handful of errors in the production that should have been ironed out by someone at Max Crime. It shouldn't put anyone off buying their copy, but there are a few breaks in the author's fine flow that didn't need to be there.
Gripe over.
It's a terrific piece that's' easy to recommend.
‘Old Dogs’ should be winning a few prizes here and there as best of breed based on the sheer entertainment and hilarity it offers
Donna Moore? Yes please.
September 2, 2020
5 STARS | Loved it! For me, a heist novel or film, is only as good as the characters involved, and these characters were something else! Multiple points of view that switch quickly and smoothly. The pacing is very fast with laughs at every turn. Perhaps one or two characters are a bit over the top, and occasionally I lost track of which car was taken by whom and who was stashed in the car trunk, but overall, this was a hilarious and fun ride all the way! I had an inkling of how it might end, but that didn't spoil my enjoyment. If you like humorous fiction and a good caper, you should pick up a copy. I'm sorry to see that Donna Moore has only written two novels, but I'll certainly check out her other, Helena Handbasket.
September 2, 2011
I can’t believe this book has only 15 ratings-it is such a fun book I’m surprised more people haven’t read it.
Donna Moore won the Lefty award (most humorous crime/mystery book) for Go to Helena Hand basket and she should have won it for this book too!
This is a caper that truly lives up to the meaning of the word caper; a frivolous escapade or prank. In this mad-cap caper two 70-something, former prostitutes, come up with a plan to heist a pair of golden dogs from an exhibit at the Glasgow Museum. But they are not the only ones who come up with this same plan-throw in a pair of Dumb and Dumber ex-cons who work at a crematorium, the ex-girlfriend of the museum director, a novice Tibetan monk and a hit-man, and let the hijinks begin.
I don’t say this often, but I actually laughed out loud in parts of this book, and even had to read some of the dialog to my husband.
Moore is witty, clever, and sailors must envy her creative swearing ability. This book is a hoot and I recommend it to anyone looking for a well written, hilarious escape!
Donna Moore won the Lefty award (most humorous crime/mystery book) for Go to Helena Hand basket and she should have won it for this book too!
This is a caper that truly lives up to the meaning of the word caper; a frivolous escapade or prank. In this mad-cap caper two 70-something, former prostitutes, come up with a plan to heist a pair of golden dogs from an exhibit at the Glasgow Museum. But they are not the only ones who come up with this same plan-throw in a pair of Dumb and Dumber ex-cons who work at a crematorium, the ex-girlfriend of the museum director, a novice Tibetan monk and a hit-man, and let the hijinks begin.
I don’t say this often, but I actually laughed out loud in parts of this book, and even had to read some of the dialog to my husband.
Moore is witty, clever, and sailors must envy her creative swearing ability. This book is a hoot and I recommend it to anyone looking for a well written, hilarious escape!
February 9, 2014
Comic mystery - Left Coast Crime 2011: Finalists for the Lefty Award for Most Humorous Mystery
Back Cover:
La Contessa Letitzia di Ponzo and her sister Signora Teodora Grisola are not the wealthy and connected women they seem to be. Now in their 70's, former hookers turned con artists Letty and Dora decide to steal the prized exhibit in a special Glasgow museum.
Combine their scheme with a dodgy chauffeur, a pair of delinquents who work in a crematorium, and out-of-work insomniac bent on revenge, and an innocent young islander obsessed with returning the priceless piece to Tibet, you get this hilarious LOL book.
Oh, I forgot the Australian hit man who was the sisters' last con target who has tracked them to Glasgow.
I was thrilled to get this book. The author's Go To Helena Handbasket was hysterically funny - it won the 2007 Lefty Award for Most Humorous Crime Novel.
Why author Donna Moore hasn't written more and isn't more popular is a mystery.
Back Cover:
La Contessa Letitzia di Ponzo and her sister Signora Teodora Grisola are not the wealthy and connected women they seem to be. Now in their 70's, former hookers turned con artists Letty and Dora decide to steal the prized exhibit in a special Glasgow museum.
Combine their scheme with a dodgy chauffeur, a pair of delinquents who work in a crematorium, and out-of-work insomniac bent on revenge, and an innocent young islander obsessed with returning the priceless piece to Tibet, you get this hilarious LOL book.
Oh, I forgot the Australian hit man who was the sisters' last con target who has tracked them to Glasgow.
I was thrilled to get this book. The author's Go To Helena Handbasket was hysterically funny - it won the 2007 Lefty Award for Most Humorous Crime Novel.
Why author Donna Moore hasn't written more and isn't more popular is a mystery.
March 11, 2011
This Scottish caper comes complete with quirky characters, shady motives, naughty language and lots of laughs. The characters converge on a pair of valuable jewel-encrusted golden Shih Tzu figurines in a small museum in Glasgow. In fact, there is lots and lots of converging throughout this novel.
I’m not going to describe any of the characters in this review. I’d rather give readers the chance to meet them on their own.
Donna Moore won a Lefty (a prize for best humorous mystery given out at Left Coast Crime) for her first book, Go To Helena Handbasket, and now Old Dogs is nominated for the 2011 Lefty. I can totally understand why. It’s a hoot of a read. One caution—if you don’t like potty-mouthed characters, this book is probably not for you.
I’m not going to describe any of the characters in this review. I’d rather give readers the chance to meet them on their own.
Donna Moore won a Lefty (a prize for best humorous mystery given out at Left Coast Crime) for her first book, Go To Helena Handbasket, and now Old Dogs is nominated for the 2011 Lefty. I can totally understand why. It’s a hoot of a read. One caution—if you don’t like potty-mouthed characters, this book is probably not for you.
November 19, 2014
I loved it! It's hilarious. A raucous, quirky, full go, screwball heist, fun read. Set in Glasgow and centered around a museum exhibit. You can tell from the book description it can only end hilariously with all these different people after the same thing!
Lots of fun characters and each one gets ample time on the page. I don't know what else to say, I don't want to give away anything. You'll want each crazy thing to unfold for you as you read it. There's kidnapping, revenge plotting, murder, robbery, you name it you've got it and all of it wildly funny.
Lots of fun characters and each one gets ample time on the page. I don't know what else to say, I don't want to give away anything. You'll want each crazy thing to unfold for you as you read it. There's kidnapping, revenge plotting, murder, robbery, you name it you've got it and all of it wildly funny.
August 1, 2012
I enjoyed Old Dogs and laughed out loud several times. There’s a nice blend of characters, some very well judged observations and scenes, a good intertwining of subplots, a cantering pace, and a comic moment on every page. That said, the story is a little uneven in places and, I’m not sure whether this was due to having an uncorrected proof, there seemed to be a couple of continuity lapses. These though are minor issues as overall it’s an entertaining read
June 3, 2016
Donna Moore’s smashing caper yarn has an absurdly colourful cast of self- interested characters chasing a McGuffin, a pair of rare ornamental Tibetan dogs. There are laughs aplenty and great farcical moments in this sweary Ealing Comedy as the characters collide with and crash into each other in their attempts to get their grasping and grubby paws their treasure. Murder, mayhem and mischief abounds.
October 7, 2011
The book had a lot of twists and the characters were wonderful. I thought it was well writen and fun to read. It shows you should never under estimate a group of old ladies because they have the experience and the treachery to win the prize.
March 10, 2012
A caper novel with three elderly ladies as the protagonists and a cast of quirky characters around them. Delightful, reminiscent of Westlake's Dortmunder stories.
April 22, 2015
Pure delight! Incredibly funny mystery novel.
February 21, 2013
LMAO book!
February 12, 2014
very funny, good caper.
January 21, 2014
Donna has a WINNER here, no doubt!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews