GIVE A DOG A NAME

A tricky challenge for ex-army Captain John Cunningham (Doghouse, 1992, etc.), who, along with wife Beth and neighbor Isobel, runs dog-breeding and training kennels at Three Oaks Farm in the Scottish Highlands. Horace, a neighbor's dog, has been peppered with shot for no apparent reason, and John, entrusted with the dog's recovery, is asking questions of nearby farmers—among many others, Dan Sievewright and his womanizing brother George. Soon there are scurrilous accusations, floated in high places, of dog abuse at Three Oaks Farm; then the kennels are broken into, and a dog kidnapped. Beth is sure that someone wants the truth about Horace's incident kept under cover. Her persistence and intuitive detecting pay off—in an inspired last-minute confrontation. An often confusing puzzle neatly resolved; to be enjoyed most by lovers of dogs, especially those of the hunting kind.