1.0 out of 5 stars
Truly Hateful Book - SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!, Dec 4 2011
***SPOILER ALERT***
Throughout the six or seven books in the Cotswolds series by Rebecca Tope that I've read, I've found myself mostly disliking the books, but continuing to read them anyway (partly because I paid for them). In "Fear in the Cotswolds," I finally have come upon the reason I so dislike them and the protagonist, Thea Osborne. The easiest way to explain is by way of a SPOILER (consider yourself warned): Toward the end of the novel, Thea, who has been housesitting in a remote area during a snowstorm and who has responsibility, among other pets, for a number of rabbits including a half-dozen babies born unexpectedly and a part-greyhound rescued dog, Jimmy, who had previously been abused and is in a very fragile mental condition. When Thea irresponsibly leaves Jimmy in the yard and then opens the barn door where the rabbits are and forgets to close it, she shouldn't be surprised that Jimmy, seeing the rabbits, dashes in, grabs one in his mouth and kills it. But surprised she is, and her immediate instinct, which she acts upon, is to kick Jimmy in the shoulder. Apparently she regrets it immediately, but for the rest of the book she is said to be continuing her duties, including feeding and letting Jimmy out for a pee, but the author describes absolutely no further specific interaction between the dog and the woman after that incident. Perhaps she doesn't want her readers to realize that traumatized Jimmy is going to be absolutely terrified of Thea (and probably other humans) for the rest of his life; she has made his already fragile existence immeasurably worse by her action. And she doesn't seem to care in the least.... Yes, there's a murder (well, one murder and one suicide) in the tale, and yes, Thea more or less learns the truth (though only because someone thoughtfully leaves a note for her to find), but the woman is so self-centered and superficial and downright reckless about the animals she ostensibly cares about, that I simply can't stomach her; and her treatment of Jimmy is such that if she were a real person, I'd be calling the RSPCA to get her banned from caring for animals ever again. Thank god this is the last book in the series that I bought, so that I never have to read about Thea Osborne again.
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