One Good Dog

October 12, 2009
Fans of Marley and Me
will find a new dog to cheer for in Wilson's (Beauty
) insightful heart-tugger about Adam March, a Boston man recovering from the shame of a foolish crime, and Chance, a scrappy pit bull mix trying to escape the illegal dogfight circuit. Adam, 46, is a ruthless self-made millionaire married to an icy socialite living a picture-perfect existence that includes a teen princess daughter. Then he loses his job for slapping his assistant, Sophie, full across the face after she gives him a message that reads: “Your sister called.” Forty years ago, Adam's sister, Veronica, ran away leaving Adam with their widowed dad, who subsequently placed Adam into foster care. For his violent act, Adam is sentenced to perform community service at a homeless men's shelter where the adorable Chance teaches Adam about survival and what matters. Chance tells his story in his own words, which makes his mistreatment and return to the fighting pit powerfully disturbing. Combined with Wilson's unflinching portrayal of Adam's struggle to overcome his past, Old Yeller
's got nothing on this very good man and his dog story.

January 1, 2010
Wilson (Summer Harbor, 2003, etc.) goes straight for the emotional jugular with a tale of two battle-scarred survivors, one human, one canine, learning mutual need and trust.

Man and dog rehabilitate themselves and each other in his shrewdly engineered tale of twin catastrophes and redemption. Adam March's fall from grace is self-made, the inevitable collapse of a Don Draper–esque life built on the rocky foundations of concealed origins. Destabilized by the thought that his estranged sister, last seen 40 years ago, has re-entered his high-powered, high-maintenance existence, Adam loses self-control and commits"a self-immolating act of breathtaking nihilism"—he slaps his personal assistant. Instantly he jeopardizes everything: marriage, job, wealth and social standing. Recast as a nobody, sentenced to community service in a homeless shelter while attending anger-management therapy, Adam must learn some humility. Chance is a pit bull mix born into brutality and bred to fight. Man and dog don't exactly bond when Adam accidentally reprieves Chance from the pound (he was looking for the missing pet of a distraught homeless-shelter denizen), but over time their relationship warms up, encouraged by an attractive local pet-shop owner. A third-person account of Adam's story alternates with Chance's dog's-eye perspective as each character touches bottom and is redeemed by his counterpart in the other species. The story closes in a rush of reconciliation, a sob or two, and wiser, happier humans and canines all round.

An irresistible, if one-dimensional, cocktail of salvation and sentiment.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

November 1, 2009
Readers of Wilson's other novels, mainly women's romantic fiction romances in the vein of Kristin Hannah (e.g., "Cameo Lake"), are in for a big surprise. Adam March is a rising star in the corporate world when he explodes and slaps his female assistant. His fall from a great height leaves him doing community service at a homeless shelter, with no job, no income, and almost no money after a divorce. Doing a favor for the shelter's head, he takes on a rescued pit bull that had once been used in dog fights. The last thing Adam wants is a dog, but Chance helps Adam learn what is truly important, and Adam rescues Chance from the brutally short life of a fighter. VERDICT Narrated in two voices, Adam's and Chance's, this work will remind readers of Garth Stein's "The Art of Racing in the Rain" and should appeal to dog lovers and fans of Spencer Quinn's "Dog on It". It evokes both laughter and tears, but the ending assures you that humans and dogs are capable of redemption.Susan T. Hayes, Chattahoochee Valley Libs., Columbus, GA

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