A Pug's Tale

The long-awaited follow-up to Pug Hill--from "a poignant and very funny" (Washington Post) writer.

Hope McNeill has worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for years, but this is the first time she's been able to bring along her pug, Max (without sneaking him in in her tote bag). The occasion is a party for an Animals in 19th-Century Art exhibit, but the evening ends badly when a small but important painting seems to be missing. The Met needs Hope's-and Max's-help. And Hope has to keep it all a secret from her beloved, Manhattan DA Ben Brown.

• ISBN10: 042524119X
• ISBN13: 9780425241196
• Publish Date: 7 June 2011 (first published 1 June 2011)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Penguin USA
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780425241196

Reviews

[tellemonstar]

Cross-posted at Book Reviews With The Blogmonstar

A Pug’s Tale was a fun read. Hope was a real sweetheart, and it was fun to read about her adventures trying to solve the mystery of the painting with Max, her boyfriend’s pug.

The mystery was well written, especially because it had you guessing as to who did it and how was it done in the first place. I enjoyed the fact that pretty much everyone involved in discovering the crime was a suspect – and they were all quite capable of having committed the theft, and that it really could have been any of the three people who were tied together, including Hope.

Since the book is called A Pug’s Tale, there was plenty of info about pugs, but just shared in conversations between Hope and one or two other characters, instead of major info dumps. This gave it a very natural feel, and obviously Alison Pace knows a lot about pugs, and showed that through Hope’s love of the breed and her absolute adoration of Max. That said, it didn’t over take the main plot of the book – the art theft, but helped to give Hope something else to focus on when she got a bit freaked out once or twice.

Daphne is your typical slightly-batty rich older woman, who is definitely not used to not getting whatever she is after. So I kind of pity the fool who does one day tell her she can’t have what she wants. Madeline is her somewhat spoiled, but well-behaved pug. She is the reason for the Pug Night party, and takes Hope under the wing a little bit when they meet again later in the book.

A Pug’s Tale is part love-song to pugs, part mystery, and a great summer/weekend read. If you love dogs or even if you just like dogs, this is a fun one to read.