Monday, May 11, 2015

TLC Book Tours Book Review: The Case Of The Invisible Dog

Author: Diane Stingley
Title: The Case Of The Invisible Dog
Publisher: Alibi
Publish Date: May 19, 2015
Review Copy Provided By: TLC Book Tours & Net Galley
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: 
After failing to launch her career as a Hollywood actress, Tammy Norman returns home to North Carolina, desperate for a regular paycheck and a new lease on life. So she accepts a position assisting Shirley Homes, an exceptionally odd personage who styles herself after her celebrated “ancestor”—right down to the ridiculous hat. Tammy isn’t sure how long she can go on indulging the delusional Shirley (who honestly believes Sherlock Holmes was a real person!), but with the prospect of unemployment looming, she decides to give it a shot.

Tammy’s impression of her eccentric boss does not improve when their first case involves midnight romps through strangers’ yards in pursuit of a phantom dog—that only their client can hear. But when the case takes a sudden and sinister turn, Tammy has to admit that Shirley Homes might actually be on to something. . . .


Review: Are you a fan of Sherlock Holmes or Sherlock or Elementary? If so, this new cozy mystery series may be right up your alley.

Believe it or not, I've not read any of Arthur Conan Doyle's books, so I can't say anything about how Shirley rates against the real Sherlock Holmes, but I can see a lot of Benedict Cumberbatch's Holmes in her.

Shirley is definitely, not right. Most of the time when she's talking or in full focus in a scene I can envision her saying she's a highly functioning sociapath. Since this is more a cozy mystery than a detective story, you have to accept that Shirley is sort of a caricature of Sherlock Holmes.

I love that her sister's name is Myra. Myra/Mycroft....AH it is so awesome.

Tammy is our Watson, and though she's not as smart as Dr. Watson, she is the type of person that keeps Shirley/Sherlock grounded.

There first case together involves a man being kept awake by a dog barking when there is no dog in the area and when Shirley finds him and assumes he's dead,  things really start to get moving and they pick up another assistant along the way.

Tammy is more the brains of this series. It was great to see her gain confidence as the story progressed and found herself wanting to solve the case.

I loved this book because I love Sherlock and this is like comic Sherlock lite. You'll see parallels to the Doyle stories here especially in the characters. I don't want to give away the ending but I'm pretty sure Shirley has a Moriarty of her very own.

Highly recommended.

Rating: 5 flowers




1 comments:

Heather J @ TLC Book Tours said...

I love the plays on all the names - what fun!

Thanks for being a part of the tour!

 
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