Lessons from Tara : life advice from the world’s most brilliant dog / David Rosenfelt Many people know David Rosenfelt from his mysteries, such as Play Dead that I reviewed a few weeks ago. Lessons from Tara is about the dog rescue that he and his wife Debbie run through their Tara Foundation, inspired by their love of Tara, their golden retriever. The couple has a real affection for dogs and have had as many as 42 of the animals in their home as well as re-homing about 4,000 others. This book is a very entertaining, quick read with lots of humor. The author doesn’t hesitate to poke fun at himself and is often very humorous in describing the quirky personalities and habits of the dogs he encounters. The way in which the Rosenfelts deal with many canines, some of whom are troubled, together with the sad moments that are inevitable with pet ownership, testifies to their great dedication. I would recommend this book in audio format as well since I enjoyed it greatly while taking my walks. Although there is some overlap with this book, Rosenfelt’s Dogtripping describes how they moved 25 dogs in 3 RVs from California to Maine. The well-being of homeless dogs is altogether a labor of love for David and Debbie Rosenfelt.

Jasdip, I have listened to the audiobook format of two of Rosenfelt's Andy Carpenter mysteries and reviewed one here (Play dead) a few weeks ago. I really enjoy them too - Andy's intense focus on helping his client, his self-deprecating humor and the characters helping him with his cases. I especially enjoy the audiobooks because the narrator, Grover Gardner, sounds just like I expect Andy Carpenter to speak and really brings him to life. Fortunately, our public library has many of the audiobooks available for download.

When my daughter was about ten, she stopped reading. Said she didn't have any books she liked. I tried my favorites on her -- Little Women, Anne of Green Gables. No interest at all. I asked a much younger colleague where I worked for suggestions. She told me about Harriet the Spy and Judy Blume. My daughter loved them. I took her to the library a lot -- they had a great librarian there who picked out books that she would probably like. I started a Book of the Month club for her -- once a month we went to a bookstore and she could pick out a book and I paid for it. She's in her 40s now, and reads magazines once in a while, but has no interest in going back to reading books. I tried...

The trapped girl / Robert Dugoni. A #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller. This book, # 4 in the Tracy Crosswhite series, is another very good mystery with lots of twists and turns. An added bonus that I really enjoyed is the flavor of Seattle and Washington State that came through so vividly in the novel. Tracy Crosswhite is a Seattle homicide detective who has been called to investigate when a woman’s body is found in a submerged crab pot. The police believe that the woman is Andrea Strickland, last seen during a mountain climb with her husband. He claims that Andrea left their tent to use bathroom facilities and disappeared. It looks suspicious since Andrea’s mountain climbing equipment was still at their campsite and it was discovered that her husband was the beneficiary of her life insurance policy. But things are not always what they seem to be, in the novel or even within Detective Crosswhite’s professional life. Publisher's Weekly Review: In Dugoni's outstanding fourth Tracy Crosswhite mystery (after 2016's In the Clearing), the Seattle homicide detective investigates the death of Andrea Strickland, a young woman whose body a fisherman finds in a crab pot raised from the sea. Andrea, who was reported missing after a treacherous mountain hike, was already presumed to be dead. The victim's husband is the prime suspect and the beneficiary of a sizable life insurance policy. As the plot twists and turns, Tracy is struck by the similarities between her own life and Andrea's: both suffered family tragedies and rigidly structured their lives to compensate for the loss. For Tracy, solving the case is personal-but on a different level than the murder of her sister years before. In less deft hands this tale wouldn't hold water, but Dugoni presents his victim's life in discrete pieces, each revealing a bit more about Andrea and her struggle to find happiness. Tracy's quest to uncover the truth leads her into life-altering peril in this exceptional installment.