Canis

Rating:
Summary: Gripping thriller!
Review: After reading the first paragraph of Canis, I found myself wanting more. Robert Armstrong has weaved a tale of intrigue mixed with politics and a bit of humor and has captured the local flavor of Houston. The characters were believable and the story compelling. Armstrong is definately an author to keep your eye on...Bravo!

L.C. Martin

Rating:
Summary: A dark and enjoyable vet mystery
Review: CANIS is a dark story-- have you ever noticed that nearly all
good vet mysteries are dark? Robert Armstrong's main character, Duncan MacDonell, is the Houston city vet. He works for animal control in a city where the annual euthanasia statistics are given in TONS. He spends a lot of his time trying not to beat the snot out of local politicians who want to look good to the animal-loving public while doing absolutely nothing to help his
department, where morale is understandably low. And then something starts attacking homeless people.

CANIS is a good example of Lawrence Block's comment that people who really know their subject can confidently take you along without telling you every step. Armstrong injects credible information when and where it's needed, and he doesn't overdo it. At the same time, readers are so steeped in the miasma
of the Animal Control department that I had to stop reading several times, because I was getting as depressed as some of the euthanasia techs. A warning to sensitive readers: chapter twenty-four is very hard to read. We're taken along as Mac does his weekly walk-through of the shelter, and in few vivid lines he describes what the workers there deal with every day. There were a few descriptions of animals in the euthanasia ward that haunted
me all weekend, even though they were only a couple of lines long. (Your pets ARE spayed and neutered, right? Right?)

The thing is, by this point in the story, Mac is up to his neck in trying to figure out who and what is responsible for the gruesome deaths of at least four people, and the chapter reinforces our impression of his state of mind. It's atmospherically very effective. And his feelings of anger and
helplessness are channelled into his quest to solve this crime.

Mystery-wise, I suspected everyone. There's at least one unexpected turn of events that converts the story from a thriller to a true mystery, and although I suspected everyone, I completely missed a number of clues and so was honestly surprised by the solution. I also give Mr Armstrong kudos
for making the victims into real people, rather than pieces of a puzzle. This isn't a story for the squeamish, but it features real people and a satisfying mystery.

Rating:
Summary: CANIS, by Robert E. Armstrong
Review: In Canis, by Robert E. Armstrong, the head of Houston's Bureau of Animal Regulation & Care is Dr. Duncan MacDonell, a man of compassion, intelligence and common sense who's already doing what anyone will recognize as a difficult, depressing and thankless job. Then street people begin to turn up dead, victims of attacks by a huge canine. The police come to MacDonell for help. Is this killer beast a loose dog? A wild animal? A wolf-dog hybrid? Is it under someone's control?

In the process of sorting it all out, MacDonell goes up against local politicians, his boss, the news media, animal rights activists, and some shady characters who sell vicious guard dogs to criminals and to ... well, politicians.

MacDonell, with years of experience as a military veterinarian behind him, enlists the help of his employees, some trusted and some not. He recruits a former Air Force colleague who is an expert dog trainer. MacDonell even seeks the aid of his delightful wife, Jeannie. Just when he learns who is turning huge canines on homeless people and why, MacDonell finds himself in immediate danger of becoming the next prey in a deadly hunt.

This gripping story, its details handled with sensitivity, balance, and just the right dashes of humor and brilliance, will keep you enthralled to the heart-palpitating end. A great read.