“Wolf at the Door,” by Ann Campbell

FM’s ratings:

1. Premise 7
2. Prose 7
3. Plot 6
4. Characters 8
5. Overall 7

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

“If Jan was like most computer users, she had kept copies of her diskettes. But when Annie found the two plastic boxes that appeared to contain them, none looked like the one now missing.” Well, the reason none of those diskettes looked like the one now missing was that Annie had never seen it in the first place. This strange sentence is one example of several inexplicable passages and events that make the observant reader go “huh?” as we make our way through an otherwise interesting and quirky mystery story. The worst example is the climax scene, in which the protagonist's dog apparently forgets which book he's in while the protagonist is kidnapped, threatened, cut with a knife, brought to tears, et cetera during a grueling car ride out to the middle of nowhere. No growling, no whimpering, no anything from the back seat. Then, as the blade begins to plummet, the dog remembers that this is the bad guy and attacks out of nowhere. The protagonist escapes and runs away, chased by the bad guy through the desert night – while the dog once again seems to forget what story he's in. All along we've been set up to believe that the rocky relationship between Annie and Claudius, the dog, will finally resolve into friendship as Claudius saves the day. Nope. Apparently that resolution is too predictable in a novel of fairly predictable events. “...the most original and funny book I've read in a long time,” says a quote on the cover. I will buy the “original” with its lampooning of religion, UFO references (the setting is Roswell, New Mexico), and its dog-related quirkiness, but the “funny” is a little too sparse and a little too mild for such praise. The ideas explored in this novel were terrific even if the premise itself was weak, but the execution fell short. I might give this author another try, but – no hurry.

Here’s the May line-up!

"The Year of the Flood," by Margaret Atwood [5-6-17]

"Victims," by Jonathan Kellerman [5-13-17]

"Bite Me,' by Parker Blue [5-20-17]

"Bite Me," by Christopher Moore [5-27-17]

(As always, if there are any books you’d like to recommend for next month, please do so. Also, if you have already read one on our previous lists, you are invited to send your ratings and or comments for that book!)