Sunday, 14 June 2015

Dognapped by Charmaine Clancy (Children's, 9 years +, 10E/10E, short 'n' sweet review)

 
May 2013, Hot Doggy Digital Press, 116 pages, Ebook, Review copy 

Summary from Charmaine's website
A lost dog
A stolen dog
A mysterious will
It all equals murder!
Meet twelve-year-old Kitty, friendless bookworm and amateur sleuth. All Kitty wants is to gain her mother’s attention, spend time with her miniature schnauzer Spade, and avoid Miss Perfect, Jessica Jones. Kitty’s world turns upside down when she finds a lost dog, and she needs Jessica’s help to find the owner, hunt down a dognapper, and solve a murder.


Nayu's thoughts 
I sort of know Charmaine from online, so it was a pleasure to read Dognapped. It's a fun read, with undertones of criminal activity in dog shows which frankly amazed me, as surely the dogs' welfare should come first. It is a fairly light read with great emphasis on Kitty's family life, as well as the resident mean girl whose actions and reactions managed to surprise me at the end. Kitty's love of dogs knows no bounds, she is willing to put herself in danger to save them, and refuses to have her determination dampened when the adults in her life think she is being ridiculous. She is inventive in how she gets the answers, spunky in how she corners the enemy, and loved by the dogs she looks after. 

There are a fair few breath holding moments which had me glad I was reading it without anyone interrupting me. I was so scared for Kitty and those she was with at certain points in the tale, I enjoyed that her family weren't ignored and were brought into the dog show drama.
 
I loved the Australian slant to the story – there are probably other places where parrots are a native bird which are normal to see on the streets, despite having visited once I can say it seems rather alien to think of parrots rather than pigeons being the native bird. The parrot is an extremely minor part of the tale, but one which meant a lot to me.

Find out more on Charmaine's website.

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