“As Harriet Bailey is examining Petey, a charming Scottish terrier, she learns about the world of dog shows from his owner, Gwen. Amazed at the commitment and dedication it takes to compete in such an event, she wishes them luck in their upcoming major London competition. But when Harriet receives a frantic call from Gwen, she learns that Petey is missing and that Gwen is convinced someone stole the prize pup!
Could someone be trying to prevent Petey from participating in the dog show? Harriet will pull out all the stops to help Gwen find her pet before the big day. Petey’s disappearance is not the only mystery Harriet has to solve. When Detective Constable Van Worthington discovers an old dog collar with a medal for canine gallantry attached, he brings it to her.
Harriet sets out to discover the story behind the medal and its strange and fascinating journey to White Church Bay.”
Series: Book #5 in the “Mysteries of Cobble Hill Farm” series. Review of Book #1 Here!, Book #2 Here!, Book #3 Here!, and Book #4 Here!
Spiritual Content- Ephesians 4:25 at the beginning; A handful of Scriptures are mentioned & quoted; A couple Prayers; A talk about a sermon & parable; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Church going; Mentions of God & a parable of Jesus’; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food (including a prayer that Harriet hopes the Lord doesn’t think is frivolous); Mentions of churches/cathedrals, church going, church events, pastors and priests, sermons, & services; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; A mention of godly wisdom from a pastor; A mention of it being miraculous what animals can do (saving people);
*Note: A mention of someone saying a search and rescue dog goes “where angels fear to tread”.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’ and an ‘idiot’; The phrase “bomb the stuffing out of us” is used once in a letter from World War II; A bit of eye rolling; Letters dating back from World War II talk about bombings, fires, building being destroyed, people trapped (including children), search and recovery efforts, & deaths (up to semi-detailed); All about & many, many mentions of a missing or kidnapped dog, stolen dogs, the kidnapper, the owner being extremely worried, & ransom notes (*Major Spoiler* The dog was stolen by a grandmother for her granddaughter who wanted her dog to have puppies after she’s been injured; The grandmother asked about the stud fee, but it was too much and ends up taking the dog in a moment of weakness, later feeling terrible about doing it; The woman does not want her husband to find out what she’s done and he owner does not press charges *End of Spoilers*); Many mentions of ill and injured animals and pets (including ones that Harriet takes care of such as a cat covered in gasoline, a goat with a broken leg, a hedgehog that wasn’t taken care of properly, an abandoned rabbit, birds with broken wings, and trying to save the life of a baby alpaca); Mentions of both World War I and II, the blitz, bombings, fires, bomb shelters and damage, search and rescue efforts, people trapped, & deaths (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of deaths (including war-related deaths, cancer, & pneumonia) & grief (including for a wife and a mother); Mentions of a young girl being seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver & most likely going to be in a wheelchair and paralyzed for the rest of her life; Mentions of thieves, stealing, & criminals/looters stealing from corpses; Mentions of crimes & prison; Mentions of animals rescuing people (such as dogs rescuing people from drowning, cats alerting owners to fires, and mare that protected children from a wild boar); Mentions of animals and pets being homeless and injured during bombings in World War II; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of children sent to the countryside or even Canada to be safe from the war; A few mentions of a farming accident & a man missing fingers because of it; A few mentions of bullies & a boy being bullied; A few mentions of extortion; A few mentions of puppy mills & the terrible conditions the dogs were kept in; A couple mentions of seeing people you know being killed, burned, maimed, and buried in the rubble during a World War II blitz; A couple mentions of other wars; A couple mentions of 9/11; A couple mentions of dogs being stolen for illegal dogfighting (described as a “despicable and illegal sport”); A couple mentions of an “urban legend” about horrible animal experiments; A couple mentions of a dog being hit by a car and paralyzed & a cat being found in a burning dustbin (Harriet’s grandfather’s pets who she now has); A couple mentions of betting on a dog show; A couple mentions of the possibility of a dog nipping someone when hurt; A couple mentions of nightmares about something bad happening to a beloved pet; A mention of gangs; A mention of threats;
*Note: Mentions of Harriet vaccinating animals; A few mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of books & authors (including the Brontë sisters & Wuthering Heights); A mention of Jack the Ripper; A mention of BBC.
Sexual Content- A bit of noticing, staring, & blushes (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of dates & dating (regarding Harriet’s assistant and how many single young men were “dogging her heels”); Mentions of dog breeding, hoping two dogs with “mate”, & requests for a prize dog to be a stud; A couple mentions of a kissing booth at a church event (in 1942 and is no longer a feature of the event); A couple mentions of crushes.
-Harriet Bailey, age 31
P.O.V. of Harriet
252 pages
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My personal Rating-
Watching the National Dog Show is always a tradition for my family on Thanksgiving day (and noting that when the beagle doesn’t win, it’s all rigged, obviously) so I was excited about this book! It was also neat to have the mystery of a historical collar and metal being found and all elements that went with that. There were some letters from the dog’s owner to a family member throughout the book that added to the historical plot-line. Being a dog lover, I have to admit that I did tear up a couple of times about Rip and his important work—the unconditional love of a dog is so special!
I would say this was my favorite in the series so far, but that’s not really shocking because of the dog mysteries. :)
For potential younger teen or even preteen readers, this series has been very clean so far, but I will note that this book mentions a dog being a stud for breeding and has a few mentions of puppy mills (and the deplorable conditions) and illegal dog fights along with mentions of events in WWII like bombings and death, which may be upsetting for younger readers to learn and/or read about. There are very little details, however, so it may only bother those very sensitive to animals or death.
See y’all on Friday with a new review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
Lindsay, I really enjoyed reading your book reviews; they are so detailed. I have recently followed your blog, and I'm very impressed at how well you express yourself regarding the books that you read. I haven't read much of the books you review here. For me, it's all brand new. Of course, I read Christian books, but I'm having a hard time finding clean, Christian books, except those that are Amish-centered. I will give the books you recommend and review a try. Thanks for sharing these with those who read your blog and watches your YouTube channel.
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