Paw Enforcement

K9, Book 1

By: Diane Kelly

Narrated by: Coleen Marlo

Officer Luz is lucky she still has a job after tasering a male colleague where it counts the most. Sure, he had it coming - which is why the police chief is giving Megan a second chance. The catch? Her new partner can't carry a gun, can't drive a cruiser, and can't recite the Miranda Rights. Because her new partner is a big furry police dog. So that's what the chief meant when he called Megan's partner a real bitch...With Brigit out on the beat, Megan is writing up enough tickets to wallpaper the whole station. But when a bomb goes off at the mall's food court, it's up to Megan and Brigit to start digging - and sniffing - for clues. With the help of dead-sexy bomb-squad expert Seth Rutledge and his own canine partner named Blast, Megan finds herself in a desperate race to collar a killer. Will justice be served - or will she end up in the doghouse?

©2014 Diane Kelly (P)2014 Tantor

Critic reviews

Kelly's writing is smart and laugh-out-loud funny. (Kristan Higgins, New York Times best-selling author)

Not bad

I picked up "Paw Enforcement" on a Audible Daily Deal and it was just fine for the price. It's not a great book; the only character I really liked was Brigit, the dog, and much of the police procedural of the story doesn't ring true. However, the story is set in Fort Worth (a city I know well and is seldom used in fiction) and the author did a decent job of using the city in the story and portraying its personality accurately and I loved that she used a mutt as the police dog since most working dogs are purebreds, although many mutts have the potential. The author goes a little over the top on the snarkiness, but the story is entertaining and requires no major mind exertion so it makes for a good "beach read" - one of those books that works when you want totally passive entertainment. It's not as good as the Stephanie Plum books, but reminds me a bit of that series and might have some potential to get better. Coleen Marlo was OK as the narrator, but as another reviewer mentioned, she's a bit heavy handed with the sound effects.

Fun and funny

What made the experience of listening to Paw Enforcement the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed seeing life from both points of view. While Officer Luz had many good observations, Bridget kept us apprised of the true prospective.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yeah, what is Bridget going to do next in her training of Officer Luz.

Have you listened to any of Coleen Marlo’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I just kept smiling

Female Turner & Hooch

I couldn't help thinking this story was the female version of Turner & Hooch. However as the book progressed I realized the movie may have sparked an idea, but the author penned an original story. The narrator was excellent for this story. I'll be sure to give the next book in the series a try.

Enjoyable Narrator!

What did you love best about Paw Enforcement?

It was a light and easy read! I really enjoyed that there were separate chapters, albeit short, from Bridgette, the dog's point of view.

Which scene was your favorite?

I didn't have a specific favorite scene, but I enjoyed the descriptions of when Megan would bring out her police baton and the narrator's " thack" sound.

Any additional comments?

The narrator was very entertaining. There were lots of sound effects and she did them quite well. I couldn't help but smiling. My only complaint about the book is that is seemed to slow down in the middle for a couple chapters, but not for long. I look forward to the 2nd installment in this series, hopefully with the same narrator.

Great Story

I loved the story. Colleen Marlo did an excellent job of writing about Ft Worth and using very accurate geographic information about the areas where the story takes place. I wish the narrator had been as knowledgeable. She gets many street names wrong, as well as the words to an old song that would have been easily researched. I will continue to follow the series and pray for the narrator to be better.

Entertaining, good reader/narrative

Entertaining listen, like able characters. Enjoyed well enough to purchase next in series! Looking forward to more.

Entertaining Genre Writing

How can you not like a book which starts with the female cop tasering her vile sexist partner in the balls! The characters are funny and interesting, although not always believable. I read for character and place more than the mystery, and the fact that some of the characters were a little extreme didn't bother me as it was done in the interest of comedy and doesn't set out to be totally realistic--otherwise we wouldn't be getting occasional chapters from the point of view of the dog!

Coarse language and discussion, some profanity

There are a lot of areas where Diane Kelly and I are miles apart. She doesn't mind a lot of coarse language and subjects, and some profanity. She is cleanly anti-Dairy, anti-meat, anti-fur and anti-gun and pretty much anti many western values.

If you can get past all the anti-fur remarks, all the references to soy milk and granola (gag me!), then you might be able to appreciate her humor.

This is not a heavy crime novel and despite all the aforementioned, Kelly had me laughing at several dog antics,as the one thing we do agree on is dogs, gotta love 'em. I liked her humor although I could do without the constant PC agenda.

Guys this isn't a book about serious police procedure ( another reviewer complained about this), it is meant to be humorous.. . and it is.

Just wish it was a tad easier on the ears while listening.

I actually liked the extra effects the narrator put in ( it added to the comic feel of the book) and had only one major comment. Whoopee ti yi was not pronounced correctly. Any real westerner can tell you the "ti" is pronounced Tie as in tie your shoe, not tea as in tea you drink. Little things, kids, little things.

Will I read more of Kelly's books? Sorry, but most likely not.

Snarky, and fun Audible

I purposely started this book after reading a sample of Paw an Order (book two of this series). I always like to start with the first book and / or Audible in a series.
The narrator, Colleen Marlo, does a very good job in developing the rookie police officer Megan Luz.
Remember, it is a story and meant for the listener or readers amusement. Personally, I plan to continue this series, money well spent.

Blurg!!

It felt like I was listening to a Nancy Drew story. Perhaps I expected too much after listening to the entire Raine Stockton series by Donna Ball. In Paw Enforcement, the story line was thin...too many references to the sound of her baton - snap! Whish! And what the heck does Blurg mean?? IMO, that took away from the story along with the narrator's perfect pronunciation of every word. I was interested in the book because I thought it was about the adventures of a well trained pooch, but the poor canine seemed more like an accessory to the main character. The ending was predictable and the story was just BLURG. I tried to like it but just wanted to get to the ending.