The Good Dog
Detective Zoe Mayer, Book Three
Simon Rowell
After gunshots echo through the summer night on Mount Macedon, Detective Sergeant Zoe Mayer and her loyal service dog Harry race to the summit at first light. What they find looks like a grisly murder-suicide: an alleged fraudster named Piers Johnson, and his lawyer Antony Peterson, both dead from bullet wounds, a gun lying nearby.
Something about the scene doesn’t stack up. There are plenty of suspects, but no one seems to be telling the truth. Zoe’s instincts are ignited, as the pressure to find and charge the culprit becomes intense. And that’s when Peterson’s teenage daughter Sarah is snatched off the street. The Good Dog is Zoe’s toughest assignment yet, a murderous conspiracy of greed, deceit and violence. She knows that Harry may be her only chance to crack the case.
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andThe Good Dog
‘A whip-smart read with a whole lot of heart. Harry the dog may well be my favourite character in crime fiction today.’
‘An underappreciated gem of Australian crime writing…Well plotted and briskly paced, this is another accomplished novel by Rowell that will keep you keenly reading to the end.’
‘Rowell makes effective use of location to illuminate both character and plot…As Zoe, Ben and Harry doggedly (sorry) follow the divergent potential leads, Rowell complicates and then unfurls a case that never loses a connection with the painstaking process of good detective work, or canine intuition. Go Harry.’
‘The balance between plot and character is pitch perfect…The scene setting is always strong, as is the story’s connection to the place, and nearly always, the victim’s past as well as their present…If you’re new to this series, read them all, you won’t regret it.’
‘A gripping thriller that will keep you guessing until the end.’
‘With multiple suspects, red herrings and twists and turns, The Good Dog is a page turner that many readers will want to read in one or two sittings as I did. It is an easy to read, engrossing story and I hope that I see more novels featuring Zoe and Harry.’
‘The excellent writing matches the page-turning plot and great characters.’
‘Not your typical Aussie noir. Rowell hits the sweet spot, marrying an edge-of-your seat mystery with a team of genuinely likeable crime fighters. There is also wonderfully authentic mental health rep…Harry’s characterisation is subtle, with his amazing capacities as a service animal presented for what they are—never embellished, overdone or anthropomorphised.’
‘Just as we think we know who did what, and to whom, and why, the author Simon Rowell wrong-foots us again, and cleverly brings the past into the bright life of modern police procedure. A good ripping yarn, a good detective, and a good dog.’
‘A cleverly crafted police procedural…[with] a tense climax…[Harry’s] a smart working dog who warns Zoe when there’s danger ahead, can signal when a witness is telling the truth and seek out injured victims. Harry is literally the good dog of the title.’
