By Louisa Bennet
Publisher/Year: Clan Destine Press/2023
Publisher’s Blurb
Book 2 in the Monty Dog Detective series, The Bone Ranger finds the indomitable team of Monty and Rose on the trail of a new mystery.
Monty, the food-obsessed, naughty, and totally adorable Golden Retriever, will do anything for his owner Detective Constable Rose Sidebottom.
Of course, as these things go, Monty is no ordinary dog and Rose is no ordinary hooman.
Monty has a super-smart nose and a network of unique animal informers; while Rose has an uncanny ability to know when people are lying.
What begins as a missing person case, soon becomes a murder investigation, and Rose is warned not to interfere.
But, when dogs start disappearing too, Monty and Rose have no choice and set out to solve it, in Louisa Bennet’s second Monty Dog Detective book, The Bone Ranger.
Reviewer: Ashleigh Meikle
Animal detectives – you’d think they’d be chaos right? Not Monty. In this delightful detective romp, Monty helps his human, Rose, solve cases. Rose is in tune with Monty, and whilst on leave Rose is caught up in a missing persons case. Despite being told not to investigate, Rose and Monty start poking around and find out that dogs are also disappearing– maybe connecting the cases is the break they need to solve everything.
This crime fighting duo is adorable and funny, and what makes this book unique is that it is narrated by a dog – it’s not often an adult book is narrated by an animal, but it works extremely well in both this novel and the series. The story is told in from Rose and Monty’s perspectives in alternating chapters which brings depth to the story. Hearing Rose’s voice ensures Monty is also heard by those who can’t– or don’t want to – listen to him (although Rose too is often ignored). And as he two cases seemingly unrelated cases become related, things start to heat up.
The Bone Ranger — the second book in the series is a stand- alone — readers are given enough detail to know how it fits into the series. The unique crime fighting duo is exciting and perfect for a wide range of readers. The story is lighter than other crime novels, and whilst danger lurks, everything is resolved satisfactorily. It is essential a crime fighting duo needs to get along and communicate effectively, and Bennet ensures Monty and Rose do so which ensures the story work well. This interesting way to explore the crime genre stood out to me –a wonderful introduction to or continuing journey through crime fiction. An excellent addition to this series.