Index of Suspicion

Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining Read
Review: Dr. Duncan MacDonell, a Veterinarian, finds himself smack dab in the middle of another mystery. When a man is literally shredded in his car by a psycho cat, Dr. MacDonell is there to save his life and get the animal

out of the car. What at first just seems a bizarre incident, quickly escalates into political intrigue. Because it wasn't just any man that was being slashed by a raving cat. It was the Governor.

Who could be behind such an atrocious attack? What kind of monster could

set something like this up? The plot gets thicker and the suspects are out in droves. I couldn't figure this one out till the end and every exciting page kept me up late at night in anticipation.

Robert Armstrong has written his second gripping thriller. I was excited

to see that he continued with the same main characters from Canis and stepped up the intrigue in INDEX OF SUSPICION. I really enjoy his way with dialogue and the life experiences he must draw upon to give the reader a

sense of the atrocities that some animals have to endure during their short lives. I truly enjoyed INDEX OF SUSPICION for it's great writing, excellent information and exciting storyline!

Rating:
Summary: Politics, smuggling, and veterinary medicine all meet
Review: Dr. Robert Armstrong is a retired veterinarian, and held the post of animal control officer for the health department in Houston, Texas for ten years. He also served in the Air Force veterinary corps and for three years served as director of medical readiness for the Air Force's European Command. He was based in Southeast Asia and Germany, working with military dogs.

In his follow up to CANIS, his first mystery featuring Dr. Duncan MacDonell, politics, smuggling, and veterinary medicine all meet in a political conspiracy that involves death of a political candidate by what appears to be a rabid cat. Duncan MacDonell happens to be attending a Republican $500 per plate fundraiser for their candidate, Patrick Sawyer. When Sawyer gets into his limo to leave the party, he is viciously attacked by a cat. MacDonell is on the scene, and immediately orders rabies testing done on the offending feline:

"MacDonell scratched his chin. After mulling it over all night he expected the worst, and now he couldn't believe what he had just heard. 'Tell you what,' he said after some reflection, 'run it again and ship a chunk of the hippocampus up to Austin on Monday for mouse inoculation, just to be on the safe side.' 'Run it again?' Aaron whined. 'Run it again,' MacDonell repeated. 'Negative is negative, Doc,' Aaron said. He sounded sober. 'I'm not questioning your result, Johnny.' 'Sounds like it to me. And we usually only do mice if we suspect a false positive.' 'This isn't a usual situation, John. I saw the cat. It was flaming.'"

Armstrong's MacDonell is up against the usual bureaucracy when the candidate dies of rabies, who are only interested in covering their arses instead of getting to the bottom of the conspiracy. Mac is an instantly likeable character, with flaws and brilliance, happily working alongside a wife who is as much of a whiz with a pistol as she is in the kitchen. Set in Houston, Texas, MacDonell shows the reader what life is like in Texas, from the politics to the cooking. In Texas time, politics is gaining political correctness as MacDonell fights for justice against some rich and vindictive opponents. This is an intense and suspense-laden read.

Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining Read
Review: I met and quickly warmed up to Dr. Duncan MacDonell in CANIS. Now he returns in a story about rabid cats. A politician is attacked by a cat and although tests on the animal are negative, the governor still dies of rabies. Was it an unfortunate accident or was the governor murdered? City politics and budget problems continue to plague MacDonell. To complicate matters further, the FBI suspects foul play by MacDonell or someone on his staff. INDEX OF SUSPICION is a well-written, intriguing mystery. The characters are believable and dialogue sizzles. But you get more than just an entertaining read. As in CANIS, Bob Armstrong's expertise shines through. He continues to educate his readers, this time on rabies and how it can be contracted (you don't have to be bitten by a rabid animal), as well as life in the trenches at an Animal Control Center. This was an excellent follow-up in a great series.

Rating:
Summary: Veterinary Mystery Thriller
Review: Index Of Suspicion
By Robert Armstrong

This is the second in the series about veterinarian Duncan MacDonell and his wife Jeannie set in Texas. This story opens with the governor being attacked by a cat in his limo. From there it is all excitement and a wonderful look into the world of veterinary science. I particularly enjoyed the way the author
showed Texas and the world of the forensic science as used by Dr. MacDonell. I also found it refreshing to have a protag with a wife where there was no ... hanky panky going on behind her back. These two people were very in tune with each other and as I said that was a refreshing change from the usual hi jinks of main characters. I am not very good at writing reviews because I am afraid of giving away too much of the story. I will say this, there are certainly enough bad guys and an interesting plot to keep you interested but if you like a good story and good people as the star of the story you will like this book. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Sequel to Canis as good as the first!
Review: It has been said of Texas politics that it is a blood sport. That is certainly true in this engrossing second novel from author Robert E. Armstrong. Once again, he relies on his vast experience to bring back Houston Veterinarian Dr. Duncan MacDonell. It's very nice for this reader to have him back as he is quickly becoming a good friend.

As head of the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care in Houston, Texas, Dr. MacDonell is still in charge after the events depicted in the first book, "Canis." While there has been a shakeup and his new boss who wants nothing to do with the department feels safer staying as far away as possible, Dr. Armstrong and his office are still burdened with the modern day problems of a shortage of qualified and competent staff, financial woes, and unwanted pets. Add to that, a simple lack of appreciation for his necessary job and Dr. Macdonald is just a bit fed up and then his problems suddenly get massively worse.

Dr. MacDonell is in the parking lot of the posh Kingswood Country Club one summer evening waiting for his wife as attendees of a $500 a plate political fundraiser dinner begin to leave. Various dignitaries and others leave with their groups and police escorts quietly into the early summer night until someone starts screaming that the Governor needs a doctor. The Governor, Pat Sawyer, is the former Governor of New Jersey who is just days away from in all likelihood accepting his party's nomination for President in Dallas during the convention. In the meantime, he has been viscously mauled by something and is loosing blood rapidly.

MacDonell treats him as best as he can while Sawyer explains that he needed some time alone and had just sat down in his car when he was attacked. He thinks it was a Bobcat or something but is so traumatized by the viscous attack he isn't sure. Dr. MacDonell soon manages to control his bleeding and then is moved out of the way when the Paramedics arrive. MacDonell checks the car and sees a viscous animal acting berserk. But it isn't a Bobcat but instead a housecat which might have rabies.

While initial tests on the cat come up negative and Governor Sawyer seems to recover, his health soon begins to take a nosedive. As soon as Governor Sawyer becomes deathly and terminally ill with no hope of recovery, Dr. MacDonell becomes the murder suspect in the eyes of various law enforcement types. Either he was grossly incompetent and didn't handle things correctly or he was totally involved and orchestrating events in the eyes of law enforcement and CDC staff investigating the case. While seeking to clear his good name and keep his office intact under a mounting political firestorm, Dr. MacDonell begins to work the case. He begins to suspect that a deep and abiding personal hatred by someone closest to Sawyer just might have been the motivation to kill. That person is still motivated and as so many others have found out over the years, the cover-up is always messier than the original crime itself.

This is another excellent book in this new series and another pleasurable read. In this author's novels, when people die, they die in unusual and interesting ways and this novel repeats that pattern. The author neatly brings the reader into his world and while informing the reader on various issues, manages to deftly mix in a story with a complex mystery. In so doing, the author demonstrates his ability to follow the old rule about writing what he knows while at the same time, making a very good book. Like his first book "Canis," this is another non-stop murder mystery full of action, complicated characters and nifty plotting, which results in another fine page turning read.

Rating:
Summary: Robert Armstrong has penned a winner,and well worth the read
Review: It looked like Pat Sawyer would be the next Republican candidate for the office of President of the United States. Everything was going great until that hot July night in Houston, Texas, when he got into a rental car to leave a fund raising. Everything changed at that moment. Not only for Pat Sawyer, but also for a lot of people.

One of the people whose life dramatically changed was Dr. Duncan MacDonell. He just happened to be in that parking lot when Pat Sawyer exited from the car with horrible lacerations, and bite marks, on his face and body.

Dr. MacDonell is the city veterinarian, and the only one in the area, at the time, remotely qualified to help Pat Sawyer, before he bleeds to death. He is also the only one qualified to see just what in the world is in the car that could have caused such horrible injuries. After stabilizing Mr. Sawyer, Dr. MacDonell manages to get a look into the car and sees a rather large, very irritated, tabby cat.

After finally extracting the cat from the car, Dr. MacDonell transports it to his offices to examine, although he already suspects that the cat has rabies, due to its behavior.

Things really go crazy after that. There are problems with the testing; other people are dying around the state, and Dr. MacDonell becomes a target as he begins to unravel a scheme that goes all the way up the hierarchy of the political ladder.

Robert Armstrong has written a very powerful novel in INDEX OF SUSPICION. One that only a person with a strong knowledge in the veterinary sciences could possibly write with such accuracy. With this wonderful knowledge he has spun a terrifying mystery that keeps you wondering, and guessing, until the end. The characters are vivid, and the scenes, although at times very disturbing, are very real.
You come away from INDEX OF A SUSPICION with the feeling that this could really happen. And very thankful that there are people, such as Dr. Duncan MacDonell, out there to protect us.

INDEX OF SUSPICION may be a work of fiction, but is the idea? I wonder, and I very highly recommend that you read it and make up your own mind. You will not be sorry, INDEX OF SUSPICION is wonderful, and makes you think. Robert Armstrong has penned a winner, and well worth the read. One that you will not want to miss.

Rating:
Summary: Highest Recommendation!
Review: Patrick Sawyer, former Governor of New Jersey, sneaks away from a five hundred dollar a plate fund-raising dinner, hoping to get a little time away from Secret Service agents and fawning admirers. A suave and sophisticated politician, who commands respect from men and women alike, Sawyer appears to be a shoo-in for his party's presidential nomination. As he sits alone in a rental car parked outside a country club in Houston, a crazed cat, which mysteriously found its way inside the locked vehicle, savagely attacks him. Veterinarian Duncan MacDonell is nearby when a call goes out for help. He is shocked to see the candidate's condition and certain that the cat is rabid. MacDonell traps the animal and takes it back to the lab for testing. He is surprised when the test comes back negative. His gut instinct tells him that something is wrong. His instinct proves correct. Patrick Sawyer contracts rabies. Now, the CDC is involved, and it looks like MacDonell's job is on the line unless he can explain why the original test failed to reveal information that might have saved the life of the next President of the United States.

The family of the man who may replace Sawyer as the party's next candidate contacts MacDonell, asking him for help to dispel any cloud of suspicion that might hang over a run for the White House. A quest for the truth propels MacDonell into a world of lies, deceit, and murder. Was there a conspiracy at work? Who is involved? Who knows the whole truth?

INDEX OF SUSPICION offers a complex and compelling story that grabs you and holds you until the very end. Duncan MacDonell and his wife, Jeannie, are richly drawn and believable. They are definitely characters you want to visit again. This is a top-notch novel, full of intrigue, yet underscored with a human element that makes the overall presentation near perfection.

INDEX OF SUSPICION, the second book in the Duncan MacDonell series, rates the highest recommendation I can give. Expect to hear more from its talented author, Robert Armstrong.

Rating:
Summary: The cat's out of the bag: INDEX OF SUSPICION has real bite.
Review: You might think a veterinarian's life would be dull and routine, a regular procession of dogs in need of worming, cats with mange, or livestock off their feed.

Not so, if the vet in question is Dr. Duncan MacDonell, protagonist of Robert E. Armstrong's mystery novel, INDEX OF SUSPICION. The veterinarian for the City of Houston, in charge of the community's large Animal Control Center, and responsible for the activities of a diverse group of personnel, "Mac" has a penchant for becoming involved in unusual events with far-reaching consequences.

Take his latest case. It opens with presidential candidate Pat Sawyer campaigning in Texas. After a fund-raising dinner, Sawyer steps into a locked limousine where he is attacked by an angry cat. Mac is reluctantly on hand at the venue, thanks to his wife Jeannie's political affiliation, and treats the candidate's wounds. Mac captures the cat and, suspecting the animal may be rabid, follows proper procedure: the cat is humanely put to sleep, decapitated, and its head is sent to a lab for testing.

The tests come back negative, and all seems well. But over the next few months the candidate falls deathly ill with symptoms of rabies, and eventually succumbs to the disease. His running mate -- Senator Antonio Quintana, an Hispanic given much less chance of winning than Sawyer because of his long-time estrangement from his wife -- replaces the stricken man at the head of his party's ticket. Mac is further embroiled in the case when Dr. Caroline Quintana, the senator's daughter, asks the vet to investigate the circumstances of Sawyer's death and eliminate any doubt that might cloud her father's candidacy. Agreeing to do so, Mac encounters the CDC, the FBI, and politics on both local and national levels. He is unwittingly swept up into a vicious whirlwind of conspiracy that results in several violent deaths and a great degree of personal risk for himself and his wife before the case unwinds to its startling, but entirely logical, conclusion.

INDEX OF SUSPICION, despite its tame title, has a lot going for it. Characters, particularly feisty, no-nonsense Duncan MacDonell and his equally feisty wife, are very well drawn, believable, and original; the veterinarian's perspective and his position as a vital cog in the machinery of a city's government make for an interesting point of view. Dialogue, which incorporates many different segments of society -- from the very rich to the very poor -- and various ethnic groups, is crisp and rings true on the ear. The evocative Texas landscape and the unique metropolitan Houston melting pot are used to good advantage. The prose, which lags only when dealing with technical issues (which are necessary for understanding and presented with an insider's knowledge) is straightforward, lively, and compellingly readable. The well-paced story is intriguing, timely, and satisfying -- an excellent effort on all counts.