Review: Four Stars for Fred
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 21, 2014
Yes, Fred – the golden retriever – is the big star in this book.  His main problem, however, is a weak bladder.  Fortunately, he communicates his needs in advance.  That’s more than can be said for the wimp telling the story.  He would have fewer money troubles if he didn’t drink so much beer.  In many ways, this book might be called the tale of two bars.  Even though the author claims to live in the Ozarks, his view of women is derived more from fictional Daisy Duke than reality.  Perhaps Houston simply thought he ought to insert some sex in the story, even though it was not needed, nor were details of when and where Jake and Fred relieved themselves.  Repeatedly, I wanted to break out the bar of soap to scrub the conversation, as the author had even the most respectable characters swearing unnecessarily.  Subtract a star for language!In spite of all the grammatical errors and omitted words (typical of Kindle books) I really enjoyed the story.  For me, it was a real page-turner, and I stayed up late to finish reading.Those reviewers who complained about the story have probably not spent enough time in the Ozarks to appreciate that region’s culture or sense of humor.  While the town of Truman is fictional, Houston’s descriptions of the area surrounding Lake of the Ozarks is accurate and positive.I give the book four stars and would have given five except for the problems listed earlier.