Post-socialist political economy Book

This mystery is set at a dog training symposium in New York, with PI Rachel Alexander and her pit bull Dash hired to run security. Each of the featured trainers brings his or her own dog along, so the reader enjoys a feast of dog behaviour and demonstrations of training techniques.

The people are all distinct characters, skilfully drawn so we have no trouble remembering who is whom. There is a dog who, on a hand signal, stealthily makes her way around the room sniffing in everyone's pockets and bags for drugs; a trainer who believes in food rewards even when a dog has brought a ball back and is begging for it to be thrown again; a man who uses a shock collar to discipline his pointer; a Russian called Boris with a big Rottweiler called Sasha. Because of this, the inevitable murder takes something of a back seat, until suddenly three men are dead, all of whom had engaged in romance at the hotel.

Rachel finds ingenious ways to search everyone's room, hoping for a clue as to whether the extra-curricular activities provided someone with a motive. The organiser however is a perky woman who insists that misplaced underwear must be her own, and that people are lonely and need company. Rachel isn't sure what she's gotten into and the presence of her former boyfriend at the symposium doesn't make life easier.

Benjamin must have had tremendous fun putting this carefully constructed story together, and as a dog trainer herself she brings the whole scene to life with staggering ease. By the end we know she is having a laugh, and the contrast with some of her more depressingly located stories couldn't be greater.