In Dog Dish of Doom by E.J. Copperman, Kay Powell, Agent to the Paws, represents Bruno, a gifted dog trying out for the role of Sandy in the new Broadway revival of Annie. The only problem? Bruno has an abrasive human who tries to dominate everyone around him, and the producer, Les McMaster, is determined to include in the contract that Trent and Louise Barkley are not allowed to attend any rehearsals, with Kay’s being the one to take Bruno to all of them. This infuriates Trent, who blows up, but Kay copes with him. The next morning, Kay reads in the newspaper that Trent was found stabbed in the back, with his face in Bruno’s water bowl.
Events transpire to convince Kay that the murder is somehow related to Bruno. People have been trying all kinds of manipulations to get hold of the dog. He’s a nice dog, but why would anyone kill to get him? Detective Rodriguez refuses to admit the possibility that Bruno is the central figure in the case, so Kay feels the need to convince her of Bruno’s involvement.
I had a thoroughly fun time listening to Dog Dish of Doom. The storyline had plenty of interesting turns, with the plot’s holding fascinating details. The solution was really clever as well, with various details that seemed minor coming together to add up to a strong conclusion. It did a good job of making us keep changing our guesses about the identity of the murderer and who is trying to capture Bruno.
The book does a creative job of drawing the various characters and making us interested in them. We connect with Kay, who narrates the book, and want to see her succeed. Her parents are a lot of fun, being aging performers who particularly specialize in cruise ship entertainment. We also find ourselves questioning the other characters as to whom you can trust. The book does a good job of making us wonder about the nature of each character.
And Bruno, along with Kay’s own two dogs, are very delightful. The dogs come across as real, legitimate characters who provide some comic relief and have significant roles in the book. Bruno seems so special and cute as he acts in the play and loves affection from those around him.
Christy Romano performs the audiobook of Dog Dish of Doom, doing a strong job of bringing this book to life. She seems like a realistic version of Kay, who serves as the book’s narrator, using good accents, timing, and character voices.
I really enjoyed my experience listening to Dog Dish of Doom. This book was clever in its general premise of an agent for performing animals, offering a lot of promise for fun books in future books in the series. I really appreciated this delightful book and give it five stars!
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