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5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun, fun, fun!, Feb 11 2004
Lydia Keane, former hot babe, now reincarnated into the form of a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, is not a happy dog. Given a chance to right previous wrongs, Lydia, now known as Piggy, is on her third owner, Nell Jordan. Nell is proving to be boring with a capital B, until she becomes guardian to a huge sum of money that Piggy has inherited from a recently deceased cranky old coot who Piggy visited in her new job as a therapy dog. Who would've guessed that the elderly Frank Cramer was sitting on a fortune? Certainly neither Nell or Piggy, the latter frustrated to the extreme because she isn't capable of getting her hands...er...paws, on all of that lovely money. Instant fame ensues, with both Nell and Piggy looked upon as nefarious gold-diggers in the eyes of Frank's estranged daughter, and others.
Enter heroic Dan Travis, the handsome, sexy photographer who rescues both Nell and Piggy from their crashed car. Piggy is at once suspicious of this hunky do-gooder. Who on earth would be interested in plain-Jane, dull Nell, she wonders? When Dan becomes a regular visitor of Nell's, following her around claiming he's also a journalist who wants an exclusive on the unusual inheritance story, Piggy gets her fur up. And does she ever. Trying to ferret out Dan's true intentions, Piggy is far from willing to let him hone his radar onto the now rich Nell. What ensues is a hysterical story of Dog vs. Man.
Ms. Carmichael writes flawless characterization from human to dog, with an excellent flair for humor. The reincarnation element adds a welcome twist to what is already an enthralling storyline. Secondary characters are as in-depth and intregal as the main. A sub-plot involving Dan's mother and her long-lost love adds an unexpected and poignant side to this intriguing tale.
Emily Carmichael is a wonderful writer! I missed the first in this series about Lydia/Piggy called FINDING MR. RIGHT, but plan on getting it, soon! I'm sure it will go right next to my other keepers of hers, which include A DIAMOND IN THE RUFF (the second story), and now, GONE TO THE DOGS.
For a great read to break up the winter doldrums, I highly recommend GONE TO THE DOGS. Don't miss it!
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Cute, funny, sweet and just plain fun!, Feb 6 2004
Par for the course - I've once again discovered a new author by reading the last of a trilogy! This is the third book by Emily Carmichael featuring the incorrigible Welsh corgi Miss Piggy, AKA the late Lydia Keane who, on her death, was sent back to earth in the body of a dog to atone for her sins. Prior Piggy books are FINDING MR RIGHT and DIAMOND IN THE RUFF.In this adventure, Piggy finds herself in Arizona living with freelance journalist Nell Jordan. Nell is a kind soul who has turned Piggy into a therapy dog (if you can believe it!), visiting hospitals, nursing homes and the like. When one of their patients dies (the gruff, curmudgeonly Frank Cramer) both Piggy and Nell are stunned to discover that Frank left his 12 million-dollar fortune to Piggy! (with Nell as her guardian). While Piggy is thrilled, Nell is stunned and now must be wary of leeches and hangers-on interested only in the money. But is her new love interest, photographer Dan Travis one of them? Piggy for one is very suspicious of "Studly Dan"! And perhaps Piggy has reason to be suspicious, for Dan is not really a photographer he's a former LA cop, now a private detective hired by Frank's daughter. She is convinced Nell is a conniving bimbo who charmed Frank out of his millions. While he's got a job to do, Dan finds himself captivated by the sweet and sexy Nell. Dan has other secrets he's keeping that I won't reveal here and Piggy decides to make it her mission to sabotage his romantic efforts with Nell (her efforts are hysterical!). As the days pass, it looks like Nell is definitely falling for the "studmuffin" so it looks like Piggy's going to have to kick it up a notch. She uncovers Dan's most damning secret and brings it to Nell's attention (ever seen a dog type?!) and it finally looks like Piggy's matchbusting (matchmaking in reverse) is finally working when a tearful Nell kicks him out of her life. Problem is Dan has come to have very real feelings for Nell. He has always doubted that Nell is capable of deception, but he does uncover a secret from her past that makes him wonder. Will they ever clear the air and be able to trust one another? This was a really fun book that had me chuckling with regularity. It may be too cute for some, but I got a kick out of Piggy, her ingenuity and her disdain for just about all of the humans she comes into contact with (she has some of the best lines in the book!). But she does have a heart and she proves it more than once. I haven't enjoyed getting into the mind of a dog so much since meeting Hairy from Susan Donovan's TAKE A CHANCE ON ME!. I think I will have to investigate Piggy's first two adventures and will likely also read two upcoming books surrounding Nell's friends and fellow therapy volunteers Mckenna and her cat Nefertiti (in THE CAT'S MEOW, Fall '04), and Jane with her border collie Idaho (TBD). This author also writes historicals set in the American West in the mid to late 1800's that may also be worth checking out. Highly recommended.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Cute, funny, sweet and just plain fun!, Feb 3 2004
Par for the course - I've once again discovered a new author by reading the last of a trilogy! This is the third book by Emily Carmichael featuring the incorrigible Welsh corgi Piggy, AKA the late Lydia Keane who, on her death, was sent back to earth in the body of a dog to atone for her sins. Prior Piggy books are FINDING MR RIGHT and DIAMOND IN THE RUFF.In this adventure, Piggy finds herself in Arizona living with freelance journalist Nell Jordan. Nell is a kind soul who has turned Piggy into a therapy dog (if you can believe it!), visiting hospitals, nursing homes and the like. When one of their patients dies (the gruff, curmudgeonly Frank Cramer) both Piggy and Nell are stunned to discover that Frank left his 12 million-dollar fortune to Piggy (with Nell as her guardian)! While Piggy is thrilled, Nell is stunned and now must be wary of leaches and hangers-on interested only in the money. But is her new love interest, photographer Dan Travis one of them? Piggy for one is very suspicious of "Studly Dan"! And perhaps Piggy has reason to be suspicious, for Dan is not really a photographer he's a former LA cop, now a private detective hired by Frank's daughter. She is convinced Nell is a conniving bimbo who charmed Frank out of his millions. While he's got a job to do, Dan finds himself captivated by the sweet and sexy Nell. Dan has other secrets he's keeping that I won't reveal here and Piggy decides to make it her mission to sabotage his romantic efforts with Nell (her efforts are hysterical!). As the days pass, it looks like Nell is definitely falling for the "studmuffin" so it looks like Piggy's going to have to kick it up a notch. She uncovers Dan's most damning secret and brings it to Nell's attention (ever seen a dog type?!) and it finally looks like Piggy's matchbusting (matchmaking in reverse) is finally working when tearful Nell kicks him out of her life. Problem is Dan has come to have very real feelings for Nell. He has always doubted that Nell is capable of deception, but he does uncover a secret from her past that makes him wonder. Will they ever clear the air and be able to trust one another? But when Piggy is dognapped who is to blame and who will save her? This was a really fun book that had me chuckling with regularity. It may be too cute for some, but I got a kick out of Piggy, her ingenuity and her disdain for just about all of the humans she comes into contact with (she has some of the best lines in the book!). But she does have a heart and she proves it more than once. I think I will have to investigate Piggy's first two adventures and will likely also read two upcoming books surrounding Nell's friends and fellow therapy volunteers Mckenna and her cat Nefertiti (THE CAT'S MEOW, Fall 2004) and Jane with her border collie Idaho (TBD). This author also writes historicals set in the American West in the mid to late 1800's that may also be worth checking out. Highly recommended.
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