Amorous Accident:A Dog's Eye View of Murder opens on a homicide scene in Richmond, Virginia in the early 1990's. The victim is an oncologist at the prestigious Commonwealth Cancer Institute. The murder investigation is assigned to Lt. Kevin Andrews, a fifty-seven year old bachelor with a weight problem.
The research lab in which the body is found contains live animals including two dogs. When various individuals press to get the dogs, as well as the victim's research notes, Andrews suspects that the dogs may hold some key to the murder. He arranges to house the dogs where he knows they will be safe. He carries them to Williamsburg, to the home of his godson, Jonathan Colt, a science fiction writer. Colt's wife, Genna is a consulting engineer with NASA, but more importantly to Andrews' needs, a breeder and lover of all dogs, especially a tiny breed called Papillon.
The homicide coincides with the arrival of another dog in the Colt's household, a long awaited puppy -- named Amorous Accident -- born to the Colt's pampered and much-loved pair of champion Papillons. The top dog in the Colt's household, a spoiled, jealous champion called Sky, short for CH Wing's Red Sky At Morning, is not at all happy with the arrival of his son which he sees as competition for Genna's attention, but welcomes one of the lab dogs as a playmate.
Andrews initial investigation quickly identifies a host of possible suspects. Dr. Harold Ketterholt, the administrator of the Institute is very protective of the victim's wife Danielle, but also a little nervous when her name is mentioned. The victim's partner, Thomas Berkley, suggests to Andrews that Danielle was suspicious of a relationship other than professional between her husband and his secretary, Piper Morgan. Berkley is also quick to enumerate the many clashes between the victim and a fellow researcher, Dr. Matthew Langston. The victim's callous disregard for the animal subjects of his research has prompted several bitter exchanges between the victim and Langston in the past. The victim has been receiving letters in recent weeks accusing him of a child's death along with references to a poem entitled "Brown Eyes" which stresses the poignant thoughts of a dog being subjected to an overdose of drugs and treated with insensitiveness. An old patient in a wheelchair is quick to tell Andrews that the victim had the bedside manner of a barracuda and was probably the victim of some patient's revenge.
Ketterhold aggressively tries to shift the blame away from members of the institute, stressing the probability that animal rights activists are responsible. The poem "Brown Eyes" received by the victim certainly lends some support to his line of reasoning, but Genna is as quick to argue against that idea as she is to identify the owners of the smaller dog found in the lab from the tattoo on the dog. She contacts the owners and arranges to return the dog to them without concern for the legalities, promising to use her own funds to fight the institute.
The methods of the two slueths contrast the professional and the amateur. The pampered life of Genna's Sky and the endearing scenes of the care lavished upon Amorous Accident, the new-born puppy, contrast sharply throughout the book with the impending doom and callous disregard for the worth of the unclaimed dog from the lab, which Genna names Blacky. The sadness of Blacky's plight are offset by the wily antics of Andrews as he tries to solve a complex mystery while avoiding his diet.
Both human and canine characters are believable and appealing, the descriptions of Virginia in the spring are a delight, and the complex mystery is entertaining and challenging.
Jean C. Keating holds degrees in Physics, Mathematics and Information Systems. As an aeronautical engineer with NASA and later Research Coordinator for Virginia's Higher Education coordinating board, she authored more than 50 scientific and data management reports and studies. She retired in 1998 after 35 years of government service and turned her hand to writing about the animal companions that share her life. A member of Dog Writers Association of America and Vice President of the Chesapeake Bay Writers Club, she published this first in a planned series of mysteries featuring the Papillon Sky in 1999, followed it with a collection of short stories entitled "Pawprints On My Heart" in 2000. She lives in Williamsburg, Virginia and is currently at work on the second in this dog mystery series, "Beguiling Bundle: Death Takes Best of Breed", assisted as always by the 15 Papillons and 2 cats that rule her home and heart.
