Shoot the Dog: A Virgil Cain Mystery
Virgil Cain, the upstate New York horse farmer with a nose for trouble, sniffs his way into another jam. The movies have come to the country, and one of the producers hires Bob and Nelly, Virgil’s draft horses, for a few days work at $500 a day. Planning only to provide transportation for his starlets, Virgil is drawn into the production when it turns out the actor set to drive the buckboard is afraid of horses. OK, it’s easy money—until the lead actress is murdered, and the production is imperiled on all fronts. Virgil’s lover, police detective Claire, is investigating the crime, but Virgil stays on the periphery, nosing about and managing to irritate most of the movie types, except for 10-year-old actress Georgia, who likes feeding apples to the horses. When Georgia is kidnapped by the killer, it’s time for Virgil to ride to the rescue. The movie angle proves a bit predictable, but Virgil remains a thoroughly charming hero in the self-reliant, bantering Elmore Leonard mold, and Smith can spin even a tired premise into genuinely entertaining fiction. --Bill Ott