CINDERELLA AND THE WOLF

Author: J. Lee Taylor ISBN: 0759937087 6/2006 MYSTERY Publisher: HARD SHELL WORD FACTORY

Dogs are disappearing the week before the San Francisco Dog Show. Cindy Nesbit, hired by Ch. Monarch "Rusty" Rustler’s owner for added protection, discovers an attitude problem – Dane Wolf, the golden retriever’s handler – who doesn’t want help from some outside "security expert," but the owner prevails. When the dognappers attempt to steal Rusty, Cindy senses something about the scenario isn’t right but can’t figure what it is. As different breeds continue to disappear, no ransom notes are received. What’s the motive? During the next theft, an owner is killed. Death, accidental or otherwise have increased the stakes; the dognappers have nothing to lose. Cindy and Wolf combine forces to find the stolen dogs and the killers. A disreputable kennel owned by a shady handler goes to the top of Cindy’s suspect list, but when she visits the kennel at night, her snooping ends in disaster: she has found the missing dogs, but is caught and imprisoned in a dog crate. After a phone call to the "boss", her captor leaves to collect a fee for "taking care of the little problem." Wolf arrives in time to release Cindy, the police are notified and the dogs are returned to their owners. Despite assurances that the police will catch the perpetrators, Cindy uses her computer skills to trace the phone number of the “boss” – who turns out to be Rusty’s owner. As part of the plea bargain, Cindy convinces the courts to turn over custody of Rusty to Dane Wolf. A proud Cindy watch the pair win the big prize at Westminster in New York.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Cindy Nesbit has returned to solve another mystery in J. Lee Taylor's CINDERELLA AND THE WOLF. This time Cindy is hired to protect a show dog, but she gets more than she bargained for. There's a mystery to be solved, and Cindy is there to help solve it, as other show dogs are being kidnapped. CINDERELLA AND THE WOLF gets the "best in breed" award from me for having a unique plot with very interesting characters.

I do believe this is the first book I've read where the storyline revolves around dogs; actually, one of the main characters is a dog! Rusty is quite charming and I would definitely be willing to have him lay by my feet at night. Cindy becomes enamored of Rusty, too. It's going to take all of Cindy's investigative tricks to solve this mystery. When one of the dog owners is murdered, this simple dognapping mystery takes on a whole new role. Now she's investigating a murder, and she may be the next target!

I have to admit that Cindy Nesbit is starting to grow on me. She's strong-willed and straightforward, yet exceptionally witty. She uses her intelligence instead of her body to achieve her goals.

I enjoyed CINDERELLA AND THE WOLF, not only because of the story line, but also for the characters. Dane Wolf, the "Wolf" in this story, is a dark and brooding hero. He remains aloof throughout a good portion of the book, until his feelings for Cindy surface. Cindy finds herself unwillingly attracted to Wolf, but is involved with Ty (the hero from CINDERELLA AND THE VAMPIRE). You'll need to read the story to find out how this love triangle unravels itself.

It looks like Cindy has her hands full dealing with dogs, Wolf's, mysteries, and not to mention her relationship with her boyfriend.

CINDERELLA AND THE WOLF was quite an enjoyable read for me. I recommend reading it (dog lover or not).

Julie Kornhausl