Cats and dogs
It’s a big year for Rita Mae Brown. The Big Cat Nap is the 20th Mrs. Murphy mystery. It’s not the series’ best, but stalwart fans of Harry Haristeen and her inability to steer clear of the crime scenes in Crozet, Va., will be happy to reunite with an old friend. Peel away layers of clunky dialogue and the novel’s informational tone, and a compelling murder case is revealed. Local mechanics are turning up dead. Are their deaths linked to gambling, a stolen tire ring or the drag-race scene? Harry displays her driving chops during a breathless chase sequence.
— Carol Memmott Certain cat owners know how it goes. First you have one, then another … Not unlike consuming chocolates or chips, except these creatures are doing all the eating. Bob Tarte, who wrote Enslaved by Ducks, now describes how his six (!) cats whipped him into submission. Tarte is a bit of a (self-admitted) odd duck, but his unabashed love for his felines (especially an intriguing stray named Frannie) eventually wins you over.
— Jocelyn Mcclurg Enough about James Cameron’s 3-D Titanic. Michael Morpurgo’s Kaspar the
Titanic Cat will leave you wet-eyed and moved about the night no one seems capable of forgetting. First published in 2008 in Britain, the book tells the story of Johnny, an orphaned 14year-old bellboy at London’s Savoy Hotel. He adopts an elegant cat after its Russian owner dies and gives it to a wealthy American family returning to the USA on Titanic. The plot is clever, but it is the simple yet subtle writing and insights into human and feline pain that make this one of the best works of fiction published this year. For any age group.
— Deirdre Donahue Dogs come in all sizes, of course. But George, a Great Dane, came supersized. Five feet tall to the top of his head, 7 feet long and 245 pounds, George won the title of world’s largest dog — ever. That’s according to the Guinness World Records. Oprah had to buy five plane seats to get him to her show in 2010. He is the love of Dave Nasser’s life. “George seemed to be able to light up a room — particularly a room full of children. We realized at that point that our gentle giant seemed to have found his calling.” A quick, pleasant-enough read.
— Craig Wilson