Book Review: Chesapeake Crimes - Fur, Feathers, and Felonies edited by Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, and Marcia Talley

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Mostly good stories with story characters

Cons: A couple that weren’t quite to my taste

The Bottom Line:

Animal lovers

Targeted with short stories

In fun collection

Criminally Fun Animal Inspired Short Stories

I don’t tend to read short stories.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy them, but with so many novels calling my name, it’s hard to make the time for them.  However, when I was asked to take a look at Chesapeake Crimes: Fur, Feathers, and Felonies, I couldn’t pass it up.

This collection of short stories features 13 authors who are all members of the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime.  And the theme of this collection is animals.  Okay, so that was fairly obvious from the sub-title, right?  And I’m sure you’re picturing the obvious cats and dogs.  There are plenty of stories features them, but there are also some more unusual animals involved, including one with an octopus, and one with exploding cows.  Yes, you read that right.

Over the course of this collection, we meet a dog who tags along when his person runs afoul of some dangerous people, find out what happened to a lady with eight cats, meet a pet crow, and learn the fate of the famous dog of a murdered movie star.

With so many different authors and stories, there is something for everyone here.  There are stories features cops and stories featuring criminals.  The stories range from the fun to the darker, although I would be hard pressed to say any of these stories are truly dark.  And if you don’t care for one particular story (there were a couple I didn’t like), the next one will probably be exactly your pet of choice.

And it is nice to be able to sit down and read a story in 30 minutes of less beginning to end.  These stories are all lean (although a couple are leaner than others), without a wasted word.

Yet, we aren’t missing anything either.  The characters are strong in all the stories.  Even the shorter stories feature characters that seem real.  Each story includes at least one good twist – these are mysteries after all – if not more.

So settle back and enjoy tails with everyone’s favorite pets.  Chesapeake Crimes: Fur, Feathers, and Felonies, is fun collection well worth reading.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book.