FORGOTTEN BOOK: HOUND DUNNIT

Hound Dunnit edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg, & Carol-Lynn Rossel Waugh (1987)

This may not be as much a Forgotten Book as it is a Lost in the Shuffle Book among the 100+ anthologies to bear Asimov's name and the 1000+ anthologies with Greenberg's name.  Hound Dunnit present seventeen mystery/detective/crime stories about dogs...Wait.  That's a lie.  There's seventeen stories with dogs as a part of the story, sometimes in the most peripheral way.  There are smart dogs, dumb dogs, loyal dogs, evil dogs, dogs who happen to just be around in the story, dogs who carry the story, dogs that are man's best friend, and dogs that are man's worst enemy.  There's even a werewolf, which can be considered a sort-of dog.  With so many stories, some of them are bound to be...well, dogs.

Most of the stories are interesting and at least one is outstanding.  In several of the stories **SPOILER ALERT** the dog dies -- something most writers and readers know is strictly verboten.  (More than one author told me of the quick response they got from their editors when they tried to kill off Fido; another author told me she could easily kill anyone whom she thought was a threat to her dog.)  What weakens this anthology most is the surprising number of stories that revolve around dogs made heir in their rich owners wills -- the staple of many a bad television, film, or written mystery.

Perhaps I quibble too much and I freely admit I am more of a cat person.  (Don't tell that to Declan, our older-than-they-told-us, somewhat flatulent rescue dog of whom I am quite fond.)  Hound Dunnit is light, diverting reading.  And sometimes that's all I need.

• "The Sleeping Dog" by Ross MacDonald
• "The Enemy" by Charlotte Armstrong
• "The Dog who Hated Jazz" by William Bankier
• "Silver Blaze" by Arthur Conan Doyle
• "The Dark Road Home" by Paul W. Fairman
• "The Emergency Exit Affair" by Michal Gilbert
• "How Come My Dog Doesn't Bark?" by Ron Goulart
• "Dispatching Bootsie" by Joyce Harrington
• "Captain Leopold Goes to the Dogs" by Edward D. Hoch
• "Lincoln's Doctor's Son's Dog" by Warner Law
• "The Dogsbody Case" by Francis M. Nevins, Jr.
• "Puzzle for Poppy" by Q. Patrick
• "Chambrun Gets the Message" by Hugh Pentecost
• "Raffles on the Trail of the Hound" by Barry Perowne
• "Coyote and Quarter Moon" by Bill Pronzini & Jeffrey Wallman
• "Sellin' Some Wood" by John Rudin
• "A Dog in the Daytime" by Rex Stout