OVHounds.com - Basset Hounds, Afghan Hounds and other Dogs

There's a lot of excitement down at Jo Beth Sidden's kennel. A full litter of ten baby bloodhounds is due any day. Though pressed for time, Jo Beth still agrees to do a favor for a friend -- finding a reclusive, wealthy matriarch's missing cat. But soon afterward, her client is murdered. Now, Jo Beth is looking for a killer. There's a slew of suspects to choose from, too -- all potential heirs to the matriarch's fortune. The quicker Jo Beth can solve this case, the soon she can get home to her dogs and get her life in order. But she's in for a surprise, and a fight she'll never forget.

Amazon.com
If Elizabeth Dole raised bloodhounds, she'd probably be a lot like Jo Beth Sidden, the heroine of Virginia Lanier's terrific series. That is to say, Jo Beth lacks a little in the warmth and empathy department, but she's very smart, very tough, and precisely the person you'd want if you were an Air Force colonel trying to locate a missing plane. "Planetrailing" isn't Jo Beth's usual bowl of grits; neither is searching for a lost cat that belongs to a crusty Southern matriarch who's even tougher than she is. But Jo Beth and her bloodhounds have the nose for sniffing out lost causes. Unfortunately, the wealthy Alyce Cancannon soon turns up dead--and Jo Beth is hired to find the murderer.

There are 10 possible suspects, and in the process of running the killer among them to ground, Jo Beth is attacked by an alligator, kidnapped by a man she had romantic designs on, and put on trial for her own life. Meanwhile, the imminent birth of 10 new bloodhounds adds to the tension!

This fifth Bloodhound adventure is somewhat melancholy, owing to the protagonist's contained emotionality and sometimes unlikable personality. But Jo Beth grows on the reader from one book to the next. And as usual, Lanier serves up a full helping of fascinating information about dog breeding, handling, training, and what can only be called "canine forensics." --Jane Adams

Ten Little Bloodhounds   January 10, 2007

Major Disappointment   October 10, 2005

I needed bloodhounds to follow the plot...   August 15, 2001

I plan to read a "How To" book about bloodhound training to cleanse my palate, and then never go near another book in this series ever again.


Magical Man (and cat) Trailing Houndies   September 23, 2000
  5 out of 5 found this review helpful

I liked this book at least as much as the earlier ones in the Bloodhound series. Virginia Lanier provides a realistic tour of the nearly mystical abilities of the bloodhound and keeps the characters busy at the same time. JoBeth is balancing ten bloodhound pups, ten murder suspects, the nasty Bubba and her business all at one time. No wonder she's short-tempered. The astonishing information on the scent machine is true--I've seen it in action. She weaves the facts and the fictional characters together in an exciting story that has humidity and 'gators crawling out of the book's covers. A great read!


Stick with the earlier books   August 28, 2000
  3 out of 5 found this review helpful

I have enjoyed the books in this series, but this is my least favorite by far. I found too many parts to be unbelievable; the protagonist was constantly alienating her friends and putting herself in extreme danger (more than usual....?). There were also a few side stories that were never really fleshed out or wrapped up, which was disappointing. And too much happened in the last chapter...cheap literary device used to tidy everything up. So, read it if you're reading the series, but skip it otherwise