Review: An Unusual Ghost Story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 1, 2011
My introduction to Dogs of War began when I received an e-mail from Brad Convissar along with a link to a book trailer for his book, Dogs of War.I will admit I felt a bit of trepidation, it sounded like a war story, something more up my husband's alley than mine. Jeff even has a poem written by the same name. War is his business, horror is mine. But I went and looked at the trailer anyway and was immediately intrigued.The book is about a man and his dog Molly, who happens to be a daschund, a breed that I am familiar with, thanks to the year I worked for a veterinarian that owned a daschund. Charlie was one of the sweetest dogs I knew. Through this book I learned several facts about this breed that I didn't know, such as daschunds were hunters and their noses and long bodies were perfectly suited for tunneling badgers out of the ground. They also have wicked sharp nails if they aren't kept trimmed.Dogs of War is essentially a ghost story, but in a way it is a love story too because Gary Lettner is a man that loves his dog. After his divorce, Gary and Molly move into a house to begin a new life. Things are going well until Gary is woken one night by Molly who appears to be terrified. She seems to be hearing something he can't hear and when she goes running to the door, Gary follows. What he sees when he looks out the window spins his world out of control and briefly has him questioning his sanity. The next day Molly digs something up in the yard that has been buried under the tree for years and Gary realizes that a crime has been committed. However he can't get the police to listen to him so he begins his own investigation that leads into a world of torture, dog fighting and murder.There are parts of this book that are a bit slow, but all in all it is a good read once you get into it. I found myself comparing him to Stephen King, mainly because I have a hard time getting into his books, but once I do I am hooked. And it was this way with Dogs of War. I felt there was a lot of detail in the house that wasn't necessary, honestly I didn't need to know the colors of the sheet and bedding, but the tale of Molly and the ghosts that haunted her was riveting. I felt the horror that Gary felt when he allowed Molly out on the second ghostly visit and he witnessed her interaction with them. I was horrified when he made a ghastly discovery in the basement and understood Molly's and the ghosts need for vengeance. It all led up to an ending that did have me hooked, unable to put my kindle down until the conclusion.I do think that this book is worth reading and any horror lover that enjoys bloody details will enjoy the end as Molly exacts vengeance on behalf of the ghosts. I especially enjoyed the `tearing' scene, but that is all I will say, since I don't want to put any spoilers in here. I am giving Dogs of War 4 out of 5 stars!