On Being Read

Three months since publication. The reviews are in. I told myself I would not read them twice. I have read them several times each, and I am not sorry.

Crime Fiction Lover, in a long and serious review by Erin Britton, calls the book “sharper, darker and more emotionally sophisticated than many contemporary crime thrillers” and closes with the observation that “you really can teach an old dog new tricks.” A librarian, Abigail L., calls it “a standout crime novel that offers something genuinely different.” A reviewer on NetGalley writes that “Percy earns his place as protagonist not through novelty but through weight.” I read that one aloud at the office. Twice.

On Amazon, a reader calls Percival “one of the most memorable detectives I’ve read in years.” Another, from Germany, writes that “even Percival himself feels real, which is a strange thing to say about a talking dog in a tweed coat, but there you go.” There you go indeed.

Readers on Goodreads report the book is “funny one moment and heartbreaking the next,” and that “the ending left me thinking for days.” One reviewer could not be fully sure where the story was going at any point. That was the plan. I am glad it held.

My personal favourites concern other corgis. One reader recognised Percival in her corgi mix Daisy: “Intelligent, judgemental, sees all and knows all, stubborn and grumpy.” Another owns a corgi named after a Seinfeld character and notes: “He is not nearly as smart as Perci, but alas, he would look sharp in a suit.”

I brought a selection of these to the Detective. He read them without comment, tapped one line, and said: “This one checks her facts.” It was the review by Sue E., which ends: “I came for the corgi and stayed for the case.”

So did I, in a way. Thank you for reading. Sincerely.

The case continues.