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The Dog Who Danced
by Susan Wilson
Readers of the LYF! blog may recall my review of Susan Wilson’s novel One Good Dog, the story of a wealthy man in a high-powered position who takes a humbling fall, discovering a newer, simpler life while performing community service at a homeless shelter and caring for a dog that had been used for dog fighting along the way. While parts of the story were a bit frustrating and depressing, it was still a good book.
The Dog Who Danced, is author Susan Wilson’s second go at writing a dog-themed tale, and she has outdone herself with this one. I absolutely loved it, and couldn’t put it down! Once I began the journey of the characters, Mack and Justine, I was loathe to stop! It grabs you from the beginning and keeps you on the verge of tears page after page! There’s never a good “stopping point” – the reader gets completely caught up in Justine’s plight, eager to track down that lousy trucker Artie and see that he suffers suitable consequences for his reprehensible behavior (abandoning Justine at a truck stop and later depositing Mack along the side of the highway!); completely wrapped up in the details of Justine’s past, what happened to make her father turn against her (and her stepmother turn even more), how she lost Tony… the Parmalee’s family’s own story of grief and loss over their daughter Stacy; the constant bitter behavior of vapid stepmother Adele; Mack’s journey to find Justine and the lives he touches and brings together in the process…
Definitely an emotional roller coaster, this one. I still want to wring Artie’s neck, and I’m still cringing at the Parmalee’s blatant refusal to even check Mack for a microchip when they “tried” to “find” his owner. I loved the characters of Mitch and Troy and that Justine at least was able to meet some decent folks who were willing to help, and gain some new friendships.
I wanted to shake Adele til her self-absorbed teeth rattled! More than once!
Through it all, the reader gets to see how Mack’s herding dog instincts are guiding him to do everything in his power to bring all of the members of his flock (new and old) together in one place, so that he can watch them all properly. All he wants is for everyone he loves to be in one place where he can keep a close eye on them!
This book surpasses One Good Dog by leaps and bounds! You won’t be sorry you read it!
Jennifer Casula is a group fitness instructor living in Texas with her husband, two turtles, three dogs and four cats. This summer, the family (minus the turtles and cats) enjoyed two camping trips to Inks Lake State Park.
