Rating: 
Summary: I loved it, but .....
Review: I really enjoy these books. Last year I crossed the country and stopped in all the bookstores I could find to find the second in the series before it came out in paper, but this one was a little harder to get into. I guess I don't pay much attention to time lines, but what's the deal with it being 1995? Yes, that's 30 years later than 1965, but so what? As far as the reader is concerned the murders could have taken place in 1968 and then 1998 would be 30 years later. That bothered me a little.Don't get me wrong, I do recommend this and all of Lanier's books because I've loved everyone. I too am waiting for Bubba to get what's coming to him and even with the good ole' boy network which protects him, I hope his end comes soon. I was also a little concerned with the very end of the book and Bobby Joe. I don't want to reveal too much because that spoils it for others, but a little better explanation is in order. Was there something about the ditch he crossed! that will explain what happens with him? I know there will be about another year to wait for the next one, but please keep them coming.
Rating: 
Summary: Not to be Missed
Review: I started the Virginia Lanier series on the recommendations of the customer reviews. I wasn't disappointed. How interesting could a series be that spotlights the raising and using of bloodhounds in the field? I too wondered and happily found out. The only thing I can add to the other reviews is that after having bought all the books, I learned not to read them back to back. Although throughout the books, she earns the love and respect of not only current, but new friends and people she works with, her personal life is not always the most uplifting. Would I still recommend the series? -- it's not to be missed...
Rating:
Summary: Good book, lousy ending
Review: If you've read the other bloodhound books, this one is "same ole, same ole", but that's not bad. It is hard to put this one down, particularly in reading about the woman and her baby missing in the swamp. You have to find out what happened to the baby!! I gave this book 4 stars and maybe should have given it 5 stars, for Bobby Lee alone. My main problem is that Jo Beth knows it all and is such a true butinski that she is rather unbe- lievable. In this book, she comes up with an ending that I found objectionable. The money in the story does not go to the person who deserves it. Sure, he may not enjoy it, but the one who has it has no right to it at all, but that's ok because Jo Beth likes that person and she knows best. Criticism aside this is an excellent read and I am avidly looking forward to the next book.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm surprised and disappointed that no one else
Review: is offended by Lanier's outdated, inaccurate, and incredibly ugly stereotyped depiction of a mentally disabled person as a vicious killer who is physically repulsive and morally corrupt. Mentally disabled people are far more likely to be the victims of crimes than they are to commit them, and they are no more prone to physical violence than the average person. Lanier's having come of age at a time when our society treated the handicapped as less than fully human does not excuse her for having perpetuated such a negative image. Unless she spent her adulthood in social isolation, surely Lanier had ample opportunities to observe people with a variety of handicaps, both mental and physical, going about their daily lives in much the same manner as she herself did. To resort to a nasty and downright false representation of the mentally disabled as a plot device suggests a serious lack of both imagination and knowledge on Lanier's part. I rather enjoy the other books in her "Bloodhound" series, which makes this offering all the more disappointing. I would like to think that Lanier came to realize that she had unfairly maligned the mentally disabled and regretted having fallen back on a such a negative stereotype instead of coming up with a more creative plotline. There are other flaws in "Blind Bloodhound Justice." The main story line wasn't much of a mystery this time, with the solution to the three-decades old murder jumping out at the reader almost immediately. A likeable character featured in previous books is done away with and then rarely mentioned again, much less mourned. Further, for a woman who lived in a southern state, Lanier seems surprisingly uninformed about the use and spelling of uniquely southern words such as "y'all" (used as a plural only, please, and written and pronounced as one syllable rather than two as in "you all"). And as always, many of the characters are described in Lanier's trademark stereotypes - though none quite as ugly and false as that of the mentally handicapped woman - which some readers may find at least tiresome if not actually offensive. Aside from an unexpected development concerning one of Jo Beth's dogs, this book in Lanier's series is, unfortunately, not worth adding to the reader's personal collection. Check this one out from the library.
Rating:
Summary: Virginia, the lady from the swamp, does it again!
Review: It is one of those rare cold winters in Southeast Georgia and Jo Beth Siddon finds she has time on her hands. The down time so boring that she sets out to solve a thirty year old kidnapping and murder. Her down time is short lived as she goes on the trail of a missing mother and child who also appear to be a kidnapped. To top the whole ordeal, her ex-husband, Bubba, the red-neck from hell, is on the prowl again. From the first page, you get caught up in Jo Beth's life. At one point, I almost yelled out loud, "Oh, no!" and at another point just sat laughing aloud. Mrs. Lanier has the knack of letting her readers get to know a character and phasing that person out after a book or two and adding new characters who will certainly be with us in coming books. I have come to read each book wondering who will not be around next time and who will become another great character. Her much loved blind bloodhound, Bobby Lee is his usual lovable! ! self but gives his devoted fans some scarey moments. The only problem is that now that I have read Blind Bloodhound Justice, I have to wait a year for the next one. Keep writing, Virginia, and thank you, Hoss, for buying her that typewriter and thank you, unknown bloodhound, for being at Hardy's in Jasper, FL a few years ago.
Rating:
Summary: Great, but
Review: Jo Beth is at it again. She knows what is best for everyone she meets, but she can't move without a gun. I'm tired of Bubba and ready for him to meet his end one way or the other. Some of what she repeats in each novel is getting stale for those of us who have read each book. Howver, I eagerly look forward to the next bloodhound book.
Rating:
Summary: I'm surprised and disappointed that no one else
Review: Just want to recommend this book, I actually enjoyed it more than the others. Well told, and after reading the other books in this series, you are really feeling like you know the characters and can identify with them. The very end is wonderful, and I can't wait to read the next.
Rating:
Summary: Another great installment
Review: Just want to recommend this book, I actually enjoyed it more than the others. Well told, and after reading the other books in this series, you are really feeling like you know the characters and can identify with them. The very end is wonderful, and I can't wait to read the next.
Rating:
Summary: MORE>>MORE>>MORE, MAY I HAVE MORE PPPLLEEAAASE!!!!!
Review: OK, so I'm not big on dogs but who cares! The story line is way beyond breeding/training bloodhounds. I had no idea of the dedication and tenacity it takes to get just one dog to become a bloodhound. No, they are not all born with the ability to track. There is some instinct but a lot of training. I found those details just as interesting as the murders & mysteries in all four novels. There's never enough wise cracks, either! I, too, am waiting to see Bubba meet his end. The sooner the better. Maybe in that shiny new truck of his? If you haven't read any of these book, you are really lucky - I envy you and what you have to look forward to. If I could get amnesia just to unread these books and read them over again like the first time, I would.
Rating:
Summary: Keep 'em comin', Virginia!
Review: Once again Jo Beth Sidden and her bloodhound pals provide us with a great read. Jo Beth, one of the all time great female sleuths, is a wonderful example of a strong southern gal holding her on in a south Georgia male dominated world. This fourth book in the series has less bloodhound and more human adventure that the previous three titles, but it is no less entertaining. Virginia Lanier has done it again!
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