Dog in the Manger Book

This fast-paced mystery is a lean 184 pages and combines classic private eye with a bit of paranoia thriller with a touch of Hitchcockian "man on the run". Ex-Chicago cop Eli Paxton, too honest and too decent, is a not very successful private eye in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is hired to find a missing show dog, a simple enough task that is enormously complicated by the deaths of those who witnessed the dog's journey back to Arizona. This "what is the case actually about?" puzzle takes Eli to Arizona (he has a lot to say about the heat) and to Mexico and back to Cincinnati. Eli, who reminds me a bit of Parnall Hall's Stanley Hastings, is professional and - refreshingly - well-liked by the police. Supporting characters are sharply drawn as are the locales (especially Cincinnati with the viaducts, the Reds, and a loving salute to the town's signature chili). This book (including the introduction where author Mike Resnick discusses his writing) is highly recommended.