In Case of the One-Eyed Tiger by Jeffrey Poole, newly widowed Zack Anderson has moved to a small town in Oregon where the aunt of Zack’s late wife just left him property, including a winery significant to the community. But the moment he arrives, he becomes the chief suspect in the murder of a famous artist and the theft of a priceless sculpture of a tiger. The phone records from his new house’s landline show suspicious calls before Zack even arrived in town, and Zack’s fingerprints appear on ther artist’s notebook. He discovers that Harry, a high school classmate, now lives in the town and is the local vet who also runs the local animal shelter. Thus Zack gets himself adopted by a special corgi named Sherlock, who helps him in his case. But Sherlock first leads him to another body in the winery. Now Zack has to figure out what is going on before he gets arrested for the murders.
I had an exciting time listening to Case of the One-Eyed Tiger. I loved the creative plot, with many potential murderers. After assisting both my parents today with their smartphones, I got a kick out of how much Zack’s ineptitude with his own smartphone plays a role throughout the book. He keeps complaining that the phone doesn’t just make calls anymore! And the conclusion was highly satisfying with Sherlock playing a creative role that I didn’t expect in helping with the denouement.
But even better than the fun plot were the special characters who came to life dramatically. I loved the way that Sherlock adopts Zack, making Zack take him home and assisting in the investigation. I don’t like books with animals who have special powers, but Sherlock keeps just on the normal side of his life, but is still a very special dog. The relationship that develops between Sherlock and Zack, who has had no experience with dogs before is delightful to observe. I also appreciated seeing Zack’s friendship with Jillian, owner of a local store and widow for two years. I like that while there is attraction between the two, they take things slowly and start as friends.
I do want to point out that this book fits as a cozy mystery in all ways but one. It features an amateur detective in a rural area with a dog with no graphic violence or sex. However, it does contain some bad language that really seemed unnecessary, especially if Poole wants to target the cozy mystery market.
Bob Johnson performs the audio edition of Case of the One-Eyed Tiger, which I really enjoyed. I appreciated the expression he uses without being overly emotive. I thought that he especially did a strong job of performing the content of this book.
I had a great time listening to Case of the One-Eyed Tiger. I was so fortunate to be offered this book for free to review because I probably would never have discovered it otherwise. I loved the plot, but especially the characters and their interactions. I give this book five stars!
Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the author through Audiobook BOOM, but that had no influence on the content of my review.
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