Devin O'Branagan
from the world of Red Hot Property
Cover - I love the covers of Devin O'Branagan books. There are many self published books that have very weird looking art on them, almost like the worst possible computer characters being used as models, and they usually just look bad....making me NOT want to open the book. I'm sure you've seen them..But O'Branagan does not make that mistake. Nope - she uses either a beautiful Aussie Shepherd, or a very sexy high heel shoe, or a couple of roses dramatically placed....Very classy covers. This is no exception. Just look at that dog. Beautiful.
Devin O'Branagan wrote a duo of novels featuring Molly, a newly single mother and her daughter. The first book was the story of how Molly makes a new life for her daughter and herself, gets a license as a real estate broker and has many scenes of house showings weaved into a story of a woman's coming of age, or rather growing into her own. That book was Red Hot Property and was a good mix of humor and real life. There was a sequel, Red Hot Liberty that was just as fun to read. I mention them, because Talisman is a very pampered dog owned by one of the secondary characters, and later ended up in Molly's small family. There is a third novel coming, by the way - but in the meantime...
Show Dog Sings the Blues features a short story of Talisman, aka Tali, aka dog diva supreme (I made that up) and her visit to see her sister. See Tali is so pampered that her first owner made sure she had regular spa visits, massages, visits with a pet psychic, etc and when Tali ended up in Molly's family Molly and daughter continued the regimen, which included regular visits with her sister, who lived a completely different lifestyle.
Tali's sister is a working dog - a dog that works on a ranch, herding sheep and helping the ranch hands with all kinds of the jobs that make a ranch function.
Except that on this one particular visit, Tali and her sister end up mixed up - a case of mistaken identity. While her sister, who loves being a working ranch dog has to endure a day of pampering and watching through the window Tali ends up having to work the day away, not know how to handle each particular job. The ranch hand she's left with doesn't realize she's not her sister and can't figure out why his new boss says the dog is such a good working dog - she seems kind of crazy to him. And the other farm animals of course can tell Tali isn't the right dog so some of them challenge her and some of them just don't seem to respect her - especially this one kitten who decides she's a new best friend.
The book is a fun read, and though I would never dream of pampering my dog the way Tali is pampered, it's kind of funny to read about Tali and her....very spoiled ways. Her sister - way more down to earth and happy with her life, was a good counterpoint to Tali.
If you're looking for a fun short read, Show Dog Sings the Blues is a fun one, written in Tali's pov. I had fun reading it.
