No Holds Barred

March 19, 2012
In Stacey’s absorbing second Daniel Whelan mystery set in the West Country (after 2011’s No Going Back), the former police dog handler and current animal feed delivery truck driver takes a job at Maidstone Farm—ostensibly to work as a driver, but in fact to look into an attack that left the husband of Maidstone’s owner, Jenny Summers, in a coma. Dan receives a number of warnings that spell trouble for him and his German shepherd, retired police dog Taz, as well as his visiting nine-year-old son, Drew. Dan uses connections from both his old job and new affiliations to supplement his investigation into members of the farm’s haulage team, a local family of poor repute, reports of missing pets, and more. Readers will forgive the contrivance that leads to the exciting climax. Fans of Stacey’s horse-centric novels like Deadfall will be pleased that Jenny’s stable means a lot of equine scenes in addition to the canine-human interactions.

May 15, 2012
Two ex-cops--one human, one canine--investigate a dog-fighting ring in rural Wiltshire. From the minute he sets foot in Great Ditton, Daniel Whelan (No Going Back, 2010) knows that someone wants him gone. First the young punk at the gas station follows him in a Ford pickup just to warn him to turn around and go home. When he gets to the Forester's Cottage, his temporary digs, he finds the place ransacked and covered in creosote. Once he's cleaned and aired the place, two masked thugs arrive, asking, "Why don't you be a good boy and go back where you come from? We don't want troublemakers round here." Worse yet, they almost capture his German shepherd, Taz, the companion who washed out of police service along with Daniel. Still, Daniel promised his boss, Fred Bowden, that he'd help Jenny Summers, owner of Maidstone Farm and more recently of Summer Haulage, find out who beat her husband, Gavin, and left him for dead in the drive. So Daniel toughs out the bullying of Taylor Boyd, in charge of the firm while Gavin remains unconscious, and his pals Dek Edwards and Macca MacAlister, so that he can keep driving for Jenny while he and Taz nose about for clues. When he sees two alleged boxer-Labrador crosses who look suspiciously like pit bulls in the Boyd family salvage yard, Daniel realizes that it wasn't just a bar fight that sent Gavin Summers to the hospital and wonders if he'll be the next. Dog lovers will cheer this fast-paced tale that shows the worst and the best of man and beast.

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May 1, 2012

Daniel Whelan is only in his late 20s, but he's already an ex-cop, with a specialty in dog handling. He and his German shepherd, Taz, have come to rural Wiltshire, England, to help out Jenny, a friend of a friend, with her struggling trucking business. Recently, her husband, Gavin, was brutally attacked and is in the hospital with a coma; between their farm and his business, Jenny is almost under water. Daniel will work undercover as a driver to figure out why Jenny's in trouble. Clearly, her husband's employee Taylor Boyd is a bully--former tenants have skedaddled and previous drivers have left and won't talk. Boyd and his crew target Daniel, the newcomer, and he survives a series of terrifying adventures including a house fire and a memorable junkyard chase scene. With the help of Woodsmoke, the local poacher/informant, Daniel snoops around and figures out that dog fighting is the high-stakes game driving the local organized crime economy. Now he has to prove it. VERDICT Whelan's winning second series entry (after No Going Back) is a welcome addition to the ex-cop-turned-investigator subgenre. Plenty of action, a great dog, and enough twists will keep the reader glued to the page until the very end. I like pairing this with Simon Wood's Aidy Westlake series both for tone and for the youthful hero making his way in the world. [See Prepub Alert, 11/11/11.]

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2012
Daniel Whelan was a police officer until internal politics and an accident that badly injured his police dog, Taz, returned both to civilian life. Daniel and Taz agree to take on a temporary job for a friend, who is working as a driver for a local business. After the recent death of the owner, his widow has taken over the company, but there are concerns that things might not be quite right. Daniel and Taz agree, especially after they are attacked on their first night in town. As the attacks escalate, Daniel and Taz realize they are up against some tough characters who are more than willing to hurt a dog and even Daniel's son. The combination of amateur detective plus dog with a gritty plot and some very bad villains makes for an intriguing mixture that should appeal to a wide range of readers. The contemporary English countryside setting adds ambiance but never overwhelms the story. A must-read series for dog lovers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)