A Pug's Tale: 01/03/18

Back in 2008 I reviewed the first of Alison Pace's pug novels, Pug Hill. I didn't give it the best of reviews, complaining there wasn't much there for a 312 page novel. Put in perspective, I was swamped with reading tons of review copies, trying to keep a rigid schedule of posting, and being the parent of two young, rambunctious children.

But there was a positive feeling lingering too. And over time only the positive feelings remained. So I've gone back to Hope and Max to read of their next adventure in A Pug's Tale.

Hope works for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, cleaning and restoring paintings. A wealthy, eccentric woman is donating a pile of dough to the museum and in return, the board is letting her host a pug party. Since Hope brings her pug, Max, to work on a regular basis, she doesn't see the harm in crashing the party with him.

During the mayhem a painting is removed and delivered to the Hope's department. Of course she quickly sees that the painting is a forgery, albeit, a damn good one. Before calling the police or alerting anyone else, her boss decides that they should figure out what happened to the original by themselves.

The clues themselves aren't traditional mystery clues, not even cosy mystery clues. These are more caper clues in that each clue is designed as part of a greater treasure hunt. The nature of crime and the nature of the clues, makes the who behind the crime pretty obvious but it's still a fun read. Even Hope is well aware of who is probably behind it. But she still feels compelled to follow the clues.

It's a charming and goofy novel. I'm glad I took a chance and revisited the characters.

Four stars

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