28 August 2022.
ISBN: 978-1-914322-13-6 (PB)
Sophie Gorrage works as a pet
detective on the south coast of England. She uses the amazing skills of her
sniffer dog, Brownlow, and her own experience and expertise, to track down a
variety of pets who are lost, stolen or strayed. Most of the pets that Sophie
and Brownlow are employed to find have just wandered away and, because Sophie
cares passionately about the animals she is seeking, she and Brownlow often
work for people who can offer little in the way of monetary rewards for the
recovery of their pets.
Sophie is excited when she hears that reality television star, Rouki Bennett,
has had two of her dogs stolen after her dog walker was attacked and injured. While
feeling worried about the dogs and sorry for the injured man, Sophie sees this
as an opportunity to raise the profile of their firm, Brownlow And Gorrage, although
she will always prioritise the safety of Brownlow and the animals she hopes to
rescue and restore to their owner. Despite being warned off by PC Gemma
Carmichael, a rural crimes officer, who Sophie thinks of as her nemesis, Sophie
decides to offer her services to hunt for Rouki’s missing Cocker Spaniels.
Unfortunately, when Sophie contacts Rouki, that shallow, publicity-obsessed
young woman doesn’t recognise that their firm is very different to the other
‘experts’ she is consulting, such as a ‘pet clairvoyant’ and ‘pet whisperer’.
Although Rouki may care about her missing dogs, she is so addicted to
publicising her every move that she will not listen to expert advice and has
misguidedly posted an enormous reward, unaware or indifferent to the fact that
that this may endanger her dogs and may encourage the kidnapping of other
celebrity pets.
However, Gorrage and Brownlow do find employment when a second celebrity dog is stolen. The chart-topping rapper, Medalsum, was assaulted during a violent car-jacking and Sasha, his Staffordshire Bull Terrier, was stolen. Sophie’s good friend, Quinn, who runs the animal sanctuary from which she had adopted Brownlow, contacts Medalsum and recommends Sophie’s services. Although Medalsum has had to go to Europe on tour, it is obvious that the whole family adores Sasha.
Sophie is convinced that the kidnapping of Rouki’s dogs and Medalsum’s Sasha are connected. Medalsum’s young son and daughter are eager to do anything they can to help, and Sophie soon finds yet more allies in Rouki’s dog walker, and his husband. More dogs are stolen, all of whom are owned by celebrities or are famous in their own right and the situation becomes even more urgent when a small dog with a heart condition is taken. Despite being distracted when a friend invites her to join a protest about animal rights, Sophie starts to make progress in the investigation, while at the same time trying to avoid enraging Gemma Carmichael. The nearer she comes to the solution, the more dangerous the investigation becomes, not only for herself and her human helpers, but also for her beloved Brownlow.
Sniff
Them Out, Brownlow
is the first book featuring Sophie Gorrage and her dog, Brownlow. The plot is
complex and clever, and the descriptions of celebrity culture are filled with
cunning humour. Sophie and Brownlow are an engaging duo, with a wonderful
relationship, and many of the other characters are very likeable, as are the
canine protagonists. The author’s greatest strength is her success in making
the reader care passionately about the fate of the missing dogs, as well as
wanting Sophie and Brownlow to succeed and continue their loving partnership.
This is a page turner, which I recommend, especially for those readers who love
animals.
------
Reviewer: Carol
Westron
Judy Upton is an award-winning writer of plays for the Royal Court, National Theatre and BBC Radio 4. She has won The George Devine Award for stage play ‘Ashes and Sand’, Verity Bargate Award for ‘Bruises’ and Croydon Warehouse International Playwriting Award 2016 for Once Around The Sun. Plays include: ‘Ashes and Sand’, Royal Court; ‘Bruises’, Royal Court; ‘Sliding With Suzanne’, Royal Court; ‘Team Spirit’, National Theatre; ‘Sunspots’, The Red Room; ‘Noctropia’, Hampstead Theatre. She has had seven plays on BBC Radio 4, including 2019 Drama Of The Week, ‘The Bulbul Was Singing’. As a screenwriter Judy’s feature films are Brighton-set ‘Ashes and Sand’, produced by Open Road Films and Matador Pictures; and ‘My Imprisoned Heart’ produced by Sci-Fi London. A TV drama ‘All In The Mind’ was shown on BBC1, and her short films are ‘Exposed’, ‘Milk’ and ‘Blame It On The Boogie’. Judy's novella, ‘Maisie and Mrs Webster’ was published by Weidenfeld and Nicholson in 2018, and in 2021 Methuen published a second volume of her plays ‘Judy Upton Plays Two’, which includes some of her 2020/21 series of short lockdown plays. Jud's first novel, Out Of The Frying Pan was published by Hobart in 2021.
Carol Westron is a successful author and a Creative Writing teacher. Her crime novels are set both in contemporary and Victorian times. Her first book The Terminal Velocity of Cats was published in 2013. Since then, she has since written 6 further mysteries. Carol recently gave an interview to Mystery People. To read the interview click on the link below.
https://promotingcrime.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/carol-westron.html www.carolwestron.com
http://carolwestron.blogspot.co.uk/
To read a review of Carol latest book click on the title
The Curse of the Concrete Griffin
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