Hello. For those of you out there in cyberspace who don't know me, I'm a five-pound, lemon and white Papillon with lots of literary opinions. Given a chance, I usually accompany my human on book signings in my persona of Sherlock Bones though my real name is Astra's Coffee'n Cream and I generally answer to Puff. But while my human is busy writing and selling, I've decided to share my opinions with whoever I can get to read them. So welcome to my page, and my opinions of some books you might find an interesting read - besides my mom's of course. [She made me say that or she won't pay for my web space.]

A New Owner's Guide to Papillons by Deborah Wood
      Now here is a book that no Papillon lover should be without. If you're a new owner or a wannabe, or have had butterfly dogs for a long while, you still want this on your desk or bookshelf.
      In the first place it is beautifully written by a nationally acclaimed author, columnist and papillion lover. The information is fresh, well described and artfully displayed on photographic quality pages. The color photos of papillons are dreamy, and as soon as I finish this review I'm going to see about getting more personally acquainted with a few of those beautiful little girls whose photos appear in the book.
      My human was thrilled with the handy index as well as the table of contents which made the vast amount of information and topics easy to locate. She enjoyed the color highlighting of the many sections' titles which made reading and rereading a breeze, and said even the breed standard was easier to visualize.
      Wood writes from experience and probably a lot of help from the two beautiful butterflies who appear with her in the photo on the back cover. This is no 'fill-in-the-blank' rendering of usual information about toy dogs with the names changed to reflect my delightful cousins. These pages are specific information about my glorious breed told by a master writer who knows us well from having lived and loved several of my kind.
      Go get one of these books for yourself. You won't be sorry. Now will someone out there please arrange a nose-to-nose introduction for me with that sweet, young thing on page 130?

Grizz's Story - A Greater Courage by Jo Helms
      Grizz was given the name of Yukon Jak on his AKC papers, which is a very appropriate name for a Siberian husky. Once he picked his humans and took on the role of upending their household and the two older resident canines there, he acquired a few other names like Schaefer Street Terror and Houdini. During his first visit to his vet, his resemblance to a little grizzly bear cub led to him being dubbed “Grizz” and the name stuck for the rest of his life.
      His story of loving and being loved by his adoring humans for the twelve plus years of his life are told in his own words. When he is stricken with cancer which claims first a leg and finally his life, he shares with us the fight and the fears, the small battles won and the war lost as he and his human battle the horrible disease. When love, strength, courage and modern veterinary science cannot win the war, Grizz turns the storytelling over to his remarkable human who vows to make of his life, his courageous fight, and his story a shining symbol of hope and help to others who might be forced to walk the same road.
      This beautifully rendered book is available only from the author at www.grizz.20megsfree.com because the majority of the purchase price is donated to canine cancer research. Consider this as a gift idea which will count as two gifts rather than one. It is an uplifting story of courage under fire, of the bonds of love that make humans and us canines strong. And the money from the purchase will support research efforts in canine cancer.
      My own grandfather died of cancer. CH Astra's Brainy Bear was only twelve and a half when he was stricken and died six weeks later. I never knew him. So I take a very personal interest in this book. Please consider adding this to your gift list.  

Murder Off the Books by Evelyn David
      This is a zany, fast-paced, well-written mystery by two very talented writers who combine their gifts under the name of Evelyn David. The partnership of a coal administrator for the Oklahoma Department of Mines and a political science major with experience in nonfiction books on parenting and education has produced a page-turning mystery that begs to be read at one sitting. Well developed characters, a tight plot, and power- punched verbiage (“. . .the repairman with the six-pack-a-day paunch” ) make this mystery a delightful read. Three teens, whose emotionally directed antics befuddle and thwart the protagonist in his goal to solve the mystery, a loveable dog who tries to keep his automotive-wrecking owner on the right track, and a major witness who never has transportation when she needs it all contribute to the laughter and the suspense that characterizes this story. Even when you think the mystery is solved, the ending has just one more final, amusing and exciting twist.
      Mackenzie ‘Mac’ Sullivan has traded his gold shield for a PI licenses, retiring from the police force to assume a quieter life as his own boss. His co-star is a delightful, gently assertive Irish Wolfhound named Whiskey. His current assignment to find a bundle of money missing from the local college’s accounts seems tied to finding the missing assistant comptroller named Daniel Thayer. Mac and Whiskey are not really concerned that Thayer’s boss, one Vince Malwick, has turned up dead. The murder, in Mac’s thinking, is the job for the police.
      Mac and Whiskey are concerned with keeping their eyes on Thayer’s sister Rachael Brenner in the hopes she will lead them to her brother and the money. From the first, Mac has more in common with Rachael than conflict. Neither seem able to keep any kind of motor vehicle running. In Rachael’s case, it’s because her 1995 Dodge Caravan, dubbed The Blue Dog, is a wreck and money is in short supply to fix it. Mac’s problem is similar. While Rachael walks or takes cabs, Mac borrows vehicles from his friend Jeff O’Herlihy. Jeff has aspirations of expanding beyond his funeral home business and keeps accepting unusual vehicles in partial payments for funeral services. Mac keeps conning Jeff into letting him borrow this vehicle and that despite the fact that he seems to wreck or trash each one. Stake-outs in an ice cream truck brings interesting rewards, especially to Whiskey, who can pig out on banana popsicles, but white vans labeled Big Sal’s Appliance Repair or the bright yellow van decorated with a large black cockroach, ‘legs in air lying next to a tombstone marked RIP’, render their abilities to blend with the background a bit difficult.
      If that isn’t enough, Mac has a great deal of unwelcome help in his detecting. Rachel’s nosy neighbor wants to assist, if someone will just help him with his wheelchair and make certain his oxygen bottle and apparatus come along. And a trio of teenagers put their noses into the investigation whether they’re wanted or not. Like the mechanical conveyances, the teens stand out in any crowd, especially Carrie Taylor who changes earrings frequently but never her purple streaked bangs.
      I loved the admission by Mac to Whiskey that ‘I should have listened to you’. Maybe my human will take note. Can’t wait for the sequel!
      For more information about this upcoming mystery, go to www.echelonpress.com.