"Quirky characters bring small-town politics to life."

A dog is a man's best friend, or is he? Lucy Stone is beginning to have second thoughts on that subject as the family canine, Kudo, keeps escaping the confines of his cage. To make matters worse, he's got her "in the doghouse" with her next-door neighbor, Prudence Pratt. It seems he's taken a fancy to Pratt's chickens, and these aren't just any chickens, mind you, they're blue-ribbon winners. Prudence is on the warpath, and she aims to take down the Stone family name in the cozy little town of Tinker's Cove, Maine, no matter what the cost. Meanwhile, Lucy is working hard to balance her family and her job as the feature reporter for the local Pennysaver paper.

Fourth of July is just around the corner, and Tinker's Cove is a powder keg of politics with a short fuse. Looks like the usually festive festivities are being called off one by one. Environmentalists are forcing the city to cancel the fireworks extravaganza in order to save an endangered species of purple spotted lichen. Then a group of nudist naturalists are forcing the city to cancel the parade in order to keep the nudity undercover. And the veterans are on the warpath trying to convince the city to keep both. If this isn't enough for one small town, then the lobster men will be happy to start their own war against poachers, and their claws are pointing right back at the Pratt family men folk. Lucy and her family are smack dab in the middle of it all, especially when Prudence ends up murdered in her own back yard!

A thoroughly enjoyable read as Ms. Meier brings small-town politics to life with characters who are quirky and very human. Its fast pace and wry humor will carry you along to the surprising twist in the end, proving that it's not really a dog's world after all.

Reviewed by Anne Barringer
Posted May 14, 2004