Shoot the Dog

A Virgil Cain Mystery, Book 3

By: Brad Smith

Narrated by: Graham Winton

In upstate New York, Virgil Cain's draft horses are pulling hay in the fields when two film scouts offer him $500 a day for their use in a film. He pockets the money, but the chaotic set of Frontier Woman turns out to be more trouble than it’s worth. Producer Sam Jonson clearly has her heart in the wrong place with her husband-cum-director Robb, who costs her a major financier, not to mention the Native American casino owner Ronnie Red Hawk, who has a vested interest in an alternate leading lady. After one - and then a second - young woman is found dead, Virgil discovers that more is at stake than the interests of a casino magnate…and he’d better step in before the charming 10-year-old actress Georgia ends up the next victim of this deadly production.

©2012 Brad Smith (P)2013 Recorded Books

In the club with Spencer Quinn and Craig Johnson

OK, so Brad Smith isn't quite there yet, but his newest Virgil Cain mystery definitely steps it up a bit. His second Cain book wasn't my favorite, but I liked the first one a lot and his writing is growing on me. In fact, the whole Tough Guy as Doer genre is really growing on me. Peter Heller is another member of this "Guy" club, along with Spencer Quinn and the marvelous Craig Johnson (I'm so very glad that having a TV series hasn't ruined him as an author....)and I guess I'd also include Patrick O'Brien in the group. These books are written by men about men and they are unabashedly masculine. I love books where the characters actually do things and where the author can actually explain the what and why of the characters and the way they interact with the physical world. It makes the books feel real to me in a way that Sci Fi or even biography seldom does. It's the hands on aspect that I love. Keep 'em coming Brad, and let me tell you that as a female fan, it's important to me that you keep Claire in the picture,

Graham Winton is an excellent narrator. I've tried to get interested in some of his other (non--Smith) works just because I like his narration here so much, but alas, none of the other titles grab me. I hope the audible author community picks him up in a big way

Great title...

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

It started out as another good Virgil Cain novel but it felt as if Mr. Smith found another project to work on and slapped a so so ending on the story. I felt robbed!

Very Disappointed

I enjoyed his Western books but this one was boring & mindless. Save your money.