A Dog About Town (The Bull Moose Dog Run Mysteries) (2024)

A parte qualche considerazione qua e là, per il resto mi sono annoiata a morte.

What a delightfully refreshing, fluffy read!! This is the story of Randolph, the Black Labrador Retreiver, and Henry, his 'Master.' After Henry's girlfriend Imogen goes missing, Randolph and Henry find themselves adrift. Randolph keeps himself busy eating, napping and pouring over the classics (his favorite is Dante's Inferno, the Pinkney Translation) in his spare time. Henry, an artist, has immersed himself in the world of the supernatural. When the murder of a well-known author is committed, Henry unwittingly finds himself in the middle of the investigation with his 'Supersniffer' sidekick Randolph (he prides himself on his superior olfactory system) who begins sending Henry messages/clues about the culprits, from the 'spirit' Holmes, by using Alpha-Bits cereal spread out on the kitchen table. I loved this book from start to finish!! A surprise ending! Love it!

Admittedly, I have taken an extra few seconds since I've finished it to carefully examine my Black Lab, Kizmet, closely. (A Black Lab/Irish Setter mix, unlike the purebred Randolph.) In determining that he is without doubt the goofiest, goober dog on the planet, I doubt he's sneaking upstairs to read Shakespeare while I'm at work, but I suppose it's possible. After all, Randolph has had them fooled for years!

OK ... I'm a sucker for a dog book. A sentient black Lab (Randolph) is living with Harry, his artist master. Harry has recently lost the love of his life (and Randolph's former mistress) Imogene. Randolph tries to guide Harry into solving the disappearance of Imogene. Since he lacks a voice, he has to find unique ways to leave messages for Harry. This is a funny, light read. Randolph's character helps us understand the power of a dog's sense of smell and why a dog's opinion of people should matter.

Quirky and fun. The mystery was a good one, with many things not revealed until the very end. The characters were easy to sort out.....not too many people in this book. I loved the dog, Randolph.

Un libro simpatico per scoprire il punto di vista dei nostri amici a 4 zampe.

A Dog About Town is the first book in a trilogy of Bull Moose Dog Run Mystery series written by J. F. Englert. The second is A Dog Among Diplomats, and a third book, A Dog At Sea. I was not sure what to expect when asked to review the books in 2014, but I was certainly not disappointed.

A Dog About Town won the 2007 Dog Writers Association of America (DWAA) competition in the Fiction category. The Dog Writers Association, now DWAA, was founded in 1935 at the Westminster Kennel Club and is best known for its annual writing competition.

Randolph is the true detective in the series and I instantly became engrossed in the life of Randolph the Lab and his sometimes-clueless owner, Harry. Harry is an artist and wannabe ghost hunter, and I found it quite humorous the way that Randolph sent “psychic” messages that were sometimes misinterpreted in very funny ways.

Along with Randolph’s opinions and analysis of humans, thanks to his dog senses, are those of other dogs he encounters and his observations are spot-on. The reader sees the world through the eyes of a dog with the intelligence of Sherlock Holms, which Englert pulls it off in perfect fashion.

A Dog About Town is written by an author who fully appreciates and understands the Labrador Retriever. Not only will this be an excellent diversion from the ordinary, and which any animal lover will enjoy; it is also a darn good mystery. This is one trilogy I highly recommend.

As in most murder mysteries, this one begins with someone dying. Unlike most, this story has no detective, private or otherwise. It has instead a dog with a great nose and an impressive mind, and the story unfolds from his first person perspective. This is a 5-star read, a pleasant way to spend a leisure evening. For me, fiction should be enjoyable, and this is.

Not that I don't have a few quibbles. Randolph (the main character) tends to use the word sentient when I think he means sapient , and he once points out a Burmese mountain dog when I think he means a Bernese mountain dog. The narrator, being a self-taught Labrador may be excused for such slips, but the author should have caught these. :-)

P.S. I also love the cover, which is why I grabbed this book off a library display in the first place.

3.5 Stars.

A prompt in one of the reading challenges I am working on this year was: “a book in which an animal or inanimate object is a point of view character.” Having already read the great “The Art of Racing in the Rain,” I could not think of another book that would apply to this prompt. Thanks to a Goodreads group, I found “A Dog About Town” which had an interesting enough premise for me to want to read it. While the book was entertaining enough, I didn’t find the mystery to be that compelling or enough to keep me interested in whodunit.

Randolph is a slightly overweight Labrador who loves to read and recite poetry and has been mourning the strange disappearance of his mistress Imogen, who vanished without a trace the year before. Harry, Imogen’s boyfriend, has been in a haze of grief since Imogen disappeared and has found himself involved in the world of séances and ghost hunting. When Harry finds himself in the middle of a murder mystery, Randolph must use his own powers of deduction and sleuthing to ensure Harry solves the crime.

I really enjoyed Randolph and thought the concept of a mystery solving dog to be very clever. J.F. Englert does a great job of making a critical thinking dog believable while also making Randolph act like a typical canine. His inner dialogue was humorous as well as insightful and I loved when he would randomly quote a poem or poet for whatever situation or mood he was in. Harry, the owner, was seen through Randolph’s eyes so we didn’t get much in the way of character development but Harry’s grief over Imogen was evident and understandable. Randolph was the best part of the book, to be honest. The mystery was not compelling and the moments of suspense that were sprinkled throughout the book did little to keep the story going or me interested in figuring out the killer. I would have liked the story more if had been about Imogen’s disappearance and not the mystery death of a playboy attending a séance. Harry’s involvement with the paranormal didn’t make sense to the story and I found myself questioning why Englert decided to include that story line. The end and reveal of the murderer was anti-climactic and was pretty easy to solve.

In the end, this was an enjoyable, fun book because of the main character Randolph but left something to be desired when it came to the mystery. I enjoyed the writing but found myself wanting a bit more substance. I would recommend for readers that love dogs and don’t mind a simple to solve mystery.

Randolph è un cane particolare, sa leggere (gli piace Dante) e scrivere, ha un fiuto speciale che lo aiuta a risolvere i misteri, gli manca soltanto la parola.
La lettura scorre veloce, l’idea di base è buona, ma, andando sicuramente controcorrente, troppi per me sono i tratti a renderla noiosa. Si è riscattato sul finale, ma se confronto la storia con le altre che ho letto dello stesso genere, non posso proprio arrivare alle tre stelle; quindi per me sono due stelle e mezzo.

This book is about a labrador dog that helps solve a mystery, so there were definitely parts that I more than just "liked". But I feel like there wasn't enough keeping me intrigued to really give it more stars. The dog was cute, but I feel like the rest of the characters needed more oomph to them.

The best part of this book was the characters - the mystery was good, but they were great! I loved this book so much I went out and got the other two books in the series. I hope that the author will write more!

I liked this book a lot. It was different, and funny and ended with a nice little cliff hanger.

Stuffy and with poor action links. And the dog action is not for dog lovers

Very strange book

I did read the book completely thru but at times wad tempted to stop. I finished it because the mystery intrigued me but it has the strangest characters ever

New York ed un labrador detective, potrei chiedere qualcosa di più?

A good mystery with lots of red herrings. Despite the cover the dog mostly acts like a dog.

Didn't hold my interest.

Do you appreciate the eccentricity of dogs? Have a good imagination and sense of humour? Enjoy a puzzle to tease out and looking for something really different? You'll love it. And there are two more get your teeth into...

🐕 Der Schnüffler von J. F. Englert ist ein schöner, lyrischer Hundekrimi über den etwas übergewichtigen schwarzen Labrador Randolph.
Randolph ist ein sehr belesener und schlauer Hund , daher ist ihm auch sofort klar, dass der tote Schriftsteller, den sein Herrchen Harry auf der Toilette bei einer Séance entdeckt nicht auf natürliche Weise gestorben ist. Harry ist etwas Begriffssutzig und erhält von Randolph immer wieder Nachrichten in Form von Buchstaben-Müsli.
🕵️
Am Anfang zieht sich die Geschichte, bis alle Verdätigen bekannt gemacht wurden. Danach ist die Geschichte wirklich spannend und teilweise witzig - das Ende ist eigenartig. Ich habe allerdings gesehen, dass es bereits ein zweites Buch über Randolph gibt, vermutlich wird dort alles geklärt.

Fun fact: In keinem anderen Buch habe ich bisher so oft das Wort Trottoir (= Gehweg) gelesen. 😁

Synopsis:
Randolph, an unlikely protagonist, is the labrador turned detective on the Upper West Side. A dog of unusual perspicacity, Randolph lives with young painter Harry. Harry recently lost his fiancee and Randolph's original owner, Imogen, and Harry hasn't been the same since. Rudderless and delving into the world of paranormal, Harry somehow finds himself at seance with an unusual death. As the murders pile up, Randolph has to find a way to somehow solve the crime with Harry's help, decipher what happened to Imogen, and save his master's life - all the while without Harry realizing Randolph's special talents.

Review:
I enjoyed the book very much and would highly recommend it. Admittedly, I was predisposed to like it - I am an avid dog lover without a dog and have since childhood enjoyed books about dogs and horses as well as mystery novels. But there is many a slip from the cup to the lip and J.F. Englert's execution was very well done!

Randolph's character is witty and sensitive and endearing. (Spoiler alert!) It makes a huge difference that Randolph is sentient, literate, and better read than his master, Harry. It reminds me a little bit of P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves, although Harry isn't as clueless as Jeeve's charge.

Here's a brief excerpt:

I am also sentient. I can think. I can remember. I can understand that as the teller
of this tale I had best get most of this explanatory material over with at the beginning.
Like the reader, I compare the past and the present. I strategize and calculate. This is
not a possibility entertained by the Miriam-Webster definition. The competent editors
of that publication are not to blame for the oversight. Most dogs certainly do not behave
in ways that would suggest sentience (although I might also add that most humans do
not either as is apparent from the hastiest glances at the newspapers). Moreover, there
is at present no way to penetrate my species' muteness. Science is unable to plumb the
depths of our cerebral cortices and discern the lives of our minds. (pages 4-5)

I hadn't expected much from a book with a canine detective and had fully underestimated its possibilities. It's a highly enjoyable read.

Format and cover:
Catchy cover draws your attention. The picture fits well with the characters and plot!
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Release date: 2007 by Bantam Dell (271 pages)
Courtesy of the New York Public Library

I've been a big fan of Lillian Jackson Braun's 'Cat Who...' series, but since there hasn't been a new one of those in a while, this book sounded like it might be a start to a suitable replacement series, but with a canine crimesolver.
Due to the sophisticated language used to open the book and the cover image, I was afraid it might be too highbrow for me. I consider myself well-educated, but not so much on literary classics and the language within, which is what I was getting the impression was a big influence in the author's writing.
The book did lack the homey charm I got used to in Braun's books, but as someone who has been to NYC many times, I was able to follow along with locations in the plot and envision the events he was describing quite well.
Narration from the perspective of Randolph, the dog on the cover rather than from the human protagonist or a 3rd-person perspective, was what kept this book interesting for me. It of course went a little bit beyond the believable in terms of the dog's wisdom and abilities, but if the dog were an ordinary dog, there wouldn't be much of a story. If there are dogs in real life who are like Randolph, one hasn't lived in my home. I doubt any of the dogs we've had even glanced at the newspaper once they learned how to do their business outdoors, much less read Dante et. al.
I would have liked a little more development of the character of Randolph's owner, more on his past to help understand why he did some of the things he did, because little before one major event in his life was mentioned so it feels almost as if we only have half a character, the half from the present.
Otherwise, your typical whodunnit, quick read, though there were a few loose ends left in order to spark interest in the next book in the series.
Not sure if this was the first in the series or not, as that 'major event' is another mystery, but remains unsolved at the beginning of the book (and perhaps also at the end, I'll leave that for others to find out when they read this book.

I first learned about J.F. Englert's Bull Moose Dog Run Mysteries through LT's Early Reviewer program, where they were giving away the second book in the series, A Dog Among Diplomats, this past month. The premise of the series or at least of the first book) is Harry's black lab, Randolph, helps guide Harry to help solve a murder mystery. That's what it seemed to be at first, at least. I was immediately attracted to this book due to the fact that I have a black lab of my own (her name is Mame) and I just thought the premise sounded cute, so I thought I'd give the first one a try.

What I discovered was a surprisingly well written book. A great deal of the story deals with a secondary (yet primary in Harry and Randolph's eyes) mystery, the disappearance a year ago of Harry's girlfriend and Randolph's mistress, Imogen. It is apparent from the beginning of the book that Harry has taken Imogen's disappearance hard, and it is brought up numerous times how it has affected his day to day life, and these are the parts of the book that surprised me the most, Harry's feelings and how he is dealing with the grief of loss.

The entire book is told from the POV of Randolph, who lets you know right away that he is a most peculiar and special dog, that he is sentient. He can read, write (using Alpha-Bits), has long-term memory and is all-around quite the intelligent dog. Englert handles explaining things from the POV of Randolph extremely well, even giving some insight into doggie behavior.

The mystery portion of the book is well played out, even though most of it is explained as the book progresses, but it is Randolph's way of explaining it to Harry that is the most fun (I don't want to give too much of this away, but I've left a clue in this review!).

It's certainly not a challenging read, but it is well-written and just plain fun! I'm looking forward to A Dog Among Diplomats release at the end of the month.

Randolph, un labrador nero, è un cane molto particolare: può ragionare ed è un lettore appassionato, il suo autore preferito è Dante Alighieri ( già, un po’ esagerato, la Divina Commedia l’ho trovata…appunto divina ma difficile da digerire). L’espressione: “intelligente e capisce tutto, gli manca solo la parola” si addice perfettamente a Randolph. Il suo padrone è un pittore di talento , depresso a causa della misteriosa scomparsa della sua fidanzata e perciò dedito alla ricerca dei fantasmi e alle sedute spiritiche. Randolph sente che dietro la morte di uno scrittore , considerata come naturale, si nasconde un omicidio…Guidato dagli odori inizia quindi ad investigare e, nel corso della sua indagine, i conoscenti del suo padrone diventano sempre più sospetti. La parte interessante del libro è legata alla scoperta, attraverso la mente di Randolph, di un intero mondo degli odori, impercettibili agli uomini, e del loro significato. L’idea di un romanzo scritto dalla prospettiva di un cane mi sembrava divertente ed interessante. L’entusiasmo iniziale si è un po’ disperso perché ogni tanto manca il ritmo, in compenso la lettura è facile e veloce. Leggerò anche il prossimo romanzo della serie, l’idea di una cane detective mi piace troppo…soprattutto immaginando Michi, il mio cane, come detective.

Randolph contacted me via email asking me if I woul like to read this book about him. I have never been offered a book by an intelletual dog before. I had to say yes. Randolph sent this and the next in series too. I am very glad to know Randolph and his master, Harry.

Randolph lives with Harry who is his master now, by default. Harry's missing girlfriend Imogen is the owner of the dog. He has inherited his love for the printed word from his mistress. Both Harry and Randolph miss Imogen and try to cope with it in their own ways. Randolph is aware that he has to protect Harry from any harm.

Harry, an artist before Imogen's disappearance now dabbles in occults, maybe to learn about her. Somehow in the midst of this a murder occurs. Randolph whose sense of smell is astounding, senses that Harry is in danger. He goes about teaching Harry what's going on...

Randolph loves poetry, he can quote from great many books that he reads when no one is there. He can sift through smells consisiting of various emotions....anxiety, greed, fear and much more. He is funny too unlike Harry. At sometimes, we can't make sure who is the master here. They make a great pair. As the story is told from the point of view of the dog, it works very well here. With wit and humour, Randolph manages to charm us. As a mystery, it is not much but as a dog book, it works very well. I am looking forward to read the next one, A Dog Among Diplomats.

Not quite what I expected. Given the cover, I expected more humor, and Englert could have easily turned the relationship between the canine protagonist and his master into a Jeeves/Wooster or Wallace/Gromit situation, with a wise dog putting up with his more dimwitted owner. There's none of that. In fact, there is surprisingly little development of their relationship at all, even though Randolph (the dog) clearly cares about his master (Harry). There's surprisingly little development of Harry's character at all, for that matter. Making them more of a team would have made a more satisfying novel, I think, although maybe it would have just been more conventional. On the other hand, Randolph's narration is beautifully written, with plenty of observations of the larger world of human beings that he inhabits, and an ending that is pitch-perfect (and that leaves the door open to a larger mystery to be tackled in sequels). One other virtue of the book is Randolph's combination of abilities and limitations. He is fully conscious and rational, and he can smell human emotions (and deception), and so in that way he is extra-perceptive. But he is still subject to Harry's control and authority, and he can't speak (although he does manage to spell a few messages out with Alpha-Bits!). Fans of dogs and/or mysteries will enjoy this, I think.

Are you sick of all those mysteries series which feature that snotty feline breed? Are you a canine lover like me? Well if so, then make way for Randolph! He's a fully cognizant—if a little pudgy—Black Labrador dog with a taste for fine literature and a nose for crime. He and his owner, Harry, have found themselves in the middle of a string of murders. If Randolph is going to help Harry steer clear of trouble, he must find a way to communicate everything that his nose is telling him. The solution will crack you up!

I enjoyed this cute new cozy mystery series which prominently features a dog instead of the usual cat. Randolph is a thinking—though not necessarily talking—dog, and the story is written from his first person point of view. This took a few seconds to get used to, being inside the head of a dog, but once there and settled it, I found it quite comfy. :P This is the first book of the Bull Moose Dog Run Mystery Series, and I look forward to reading more about Randolph and Harry in future books.

From a different perspective :-) This is a great between books book, which is a quick and enjoyable read. As a dog person the cover caught my attention first (yes, I know don't judge a book by.....) but was hooked by the outlined premise and intriguing lead dogtective. The cast of characters was good, and the author hit the right notes on how we treat and look at our pets. I am not the type who reads a mystery to figure out who done it before the final chapter, I like to go along for the ride. This one was good, with enough twists and humorous moments to get me to a ending that was not formulaic, nor unbelievable. The epilogue and parts of the final chapter give us hope for a follow-up that I will purchase immediately.

I finally finished this one. It was tedious because too much time is spent on Randolph's (the Labrador retreiver's) quotes from Dante, Cicero, Auden, etc., etc. etc. and too little time on moving the plot forward. It improves toward the end but I almost didn't make it. I have a problem when authors make animals the main character in their stories. Too often the animal is cute or fluffy or silly and I hate it. In this case, Randolph is a bit pretentious and pompous. I am a huge animal fan and I take exception when someone attributes characteristics to an animal that we would find disagreeable in a human. To Randolph's credit, he does occasional exhibit some canine characteristics that, while disagreeable to most humans, do make him more believable.

A couple of murders solved with the help of a dog. 1st book in the Bull Moose Dog Run series. I may read more of these, it was entertaining. I needed something to read between recent best sellers that I've requested at the library. So while shelving I came across this one and it proved to be a fun read. Harry is invited to a seance where a man dies and everyone thinks its from natural causes. Randolph is a dog that can read and write, if you call pushing Alpha-Bits around with his nose to deliver messages to Harry, as writing. As Randolph tries to figure out who killed whom and why he leads a dogs life and has to put up with Harry's whims about where to go and when to eat. If only Randolph could talk.

A refreshingly original, delightfully relaxing, and pleasantly humorous book. Randolph (and his human owner, Harry) were an interesting detective duo, something different then the overused ideas often featured in other mysteries. I enjoyed the way J. F. Englert put character, charm, and eccentricity into Randolph. A good plot, well developed characters, communicative dialogue, creative ideas (the use of alphabet cereal being one), and plenty of relevant quotations from literature, history, and culture to make it more interesting. In short, an entirely unorthodox but well done mystery.