Nothing But Lies

Starred review from October 27, 2014
At the start of Stacey’s extremely readable third Daniel Whelan mystery (after 2012’s No Holds Barred), the ex-cop agrees to help martial artist Joey Suzuki, a colleague from his days on the dog squad, to whom he owes a favor. Joey fears that someone is stalking his fiancée, Tamiko. Along with his trained police dog, Taz, Daniel moves into the cottage Joey and Tamiko share in a village outside Bristol in England’s West Country. One of Daniel’s duties is to drive Tamiko in a horse van to shows where she looks after a wealthy woman’s horses. On the surface, everything is serene, until the intrusion of Tamiko’s sister, Hana, pursued by her abusive partner, Jafari. Then a fatal hit-and-run reveals that a homicidal psychopath is lurking in the neighborhood. Daniel and Taz work as a perfect team in pursuit of the killer, and their warm relationship helps make this a feel-good book despite the mayhem.

November 15, 2014
An ex-cop finds himself in the soup when he helps an old friend protect his fiancee. In the years since Daniel Whelan (No Holds Barred, 2012, etc.) left the Bristol police, he's remained friends with Jo-Ji Matsuki, who took over Dan's post as dog-wrangler. So when Jo-Ji asks him to help him play bodyguard to his partner, Tamiko, who's being followed by a mysterious guy in a hoodie, Dan once again asks his boss, Fred Bowden, for leave from his job as a lorry driver. Fred assents grudgingly, and Dan heads off with Taz, his German shepherd, for Maiden Ashton, the village where Jo-Ji and Tamiko live. Their small house is busy and crowded, since massage therapist Tamiko and beautician Karen both see clients there. Siamese cats Shinju and Yasu resent Taz's intrusion into their territory. And while they live outdoors, Babs and Rolo, Tamiko's horses, add to the general commotion because they need their stalls mucked out and their coats brushed. Things get even more hectic when Tamiko's sister, Hana, on the run from her abusive boyfriend, Samir Jafari, shows up with her 4-year-old son, Jahan. Tamiko distracts them by taking them to a horse show, where they meet other breeders like Boo Travers. But their idyll is cut short when Hana is killed in a hit-and-run accident while driving Tamiko's car. Tamiko is so preoccupied with grief over her sister and concern for Jahan that Dan and Jo-Ji are left to wonder whether Tami was the real target all along. Stacey seems ready to merge his dog and horse franchises in a pleasing puzzler. Will Shinju and Yasu join in, as rivals to Midnight Louie and Joe Grey?

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November 1, 2014

Jo-Ji Matsuki asks his pal, ex-cop dog trainer Daniel Whelan, to help protect Tamiko, his fiancee and a show jumper, who feels she is being stalked. When Tamiko's sister, Hana, on the run from an abusive relationship, is fatally injured in a car crash, Daniel's job becomes even more complicated. With plenty of details about dog training and horse riding, this third series entry, after 2011's No Holds Barred, will pleasefans of canine and equine mysteries.

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