THE RESCUE

4 stars

As soon as I got far enough along in this book to get to know the lovably loyal drug-sniffing pooch Joe - and the dangerous life he's been leading for most of his life - my first thought was this: please, please don't let anything worse happen to him. Of course, I won't say whether I got my wish or not - that would spoil things for others - but suffice it to say I spent quite a bit of reading time on the edge of my seat.

When they're well written, dog stories tug heartstrings to the breaking point; one of the best books I've ever read, for instance, is Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain. This book isn't like that at all - there's far too much crime and mayhem - but still, it's impossible not to sympathize with Joe as he gets shuffled (willingly or otherwise) from owner to owner through no fault of his own. He starts out with a kid, Teddy, who is forced to give him up to a man who trains dogs to help DEA agents locate drugs. When that job doesn't pan out properly, he goes to Dan Strickland, who runs a successful self-defense training center and secretly involved with a dangerous drug cartel in Tijuana. It is there that Joe is injured and found by Bettina Blazak, a journalist who came looking for a human interest story and ended up with a dog - who she renames Felix.

From that point on, the story - often told from Felix/Joe's perspective - explores the experiences of the characters from different time periods, weaving them all together amid plenty of action into a tapestry that's framed as the ending. It's mostly satisfying, but it's also the most likely scenario given what readers learn about the characters along the way. Overall, I found Joe to be a bit too perceptive (despite his obvious smarts)and Bettina too little given hers, but it all worked out well. Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy. Another one well done by this talented author.

The Rescue by T. Jefferson Parker (Forge Books, April 2023); 352 pp.