Reviews for Political economy in western democracies

The average rating for Political economy in western democracies based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-11-24 00:00:00 Carrie Bruder One of my favorite series. In this book, Rachel Alexander is hired by a woman who is putting together a conference featuring famous dog trainers, who she knows will be at each other's throats, so she hopes Rachel will help keep things running smoothly. What's most fun about the book is the way the author makes fun of the ferocity with which each trainer advocates for their method. We meet trainers who train with food, with electric shock, with alpha dog domination, and even a pet psychic who will tell you what your dog thinks. But aside from that, the dogs (who all have people names so it's hard to tell the trainers from the dogs and to figure out which dog goes with which trainer) don't have big roles to play in this book. Several murders occur and they all relate to the way the trainers train (the electric-shock trainer is killed by being electrocuted, the food-oriented trainer is killed by a food allergy, etc.). But I did have a hard time believing that the conference organizer wasn't more upset with Rachel for not doing her job. It seemed like the conference would have been shut down after three trainers in a row are killed.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-01-01 00:00:00 Hector Canpos 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.