The Good Boy

By: Theresa Schwegel

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Edgar award winner Theresa Schwegel returns with The Good Boy, her most dramatic and emotional novel to date, a family epic that combines the hard-boiled grit of her acclaimed police thrillers with an intimate portrait of a young boy trying to follow his heart in an often heartless city.

For Officer Pete Murphy, K9 duty is as much a punishment as a promotion. When a shaky arrest reignites a recent scandal and triggers a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, all eyes are on Pete as the department braces for another media firestorm.

Meanwhile, Pete's eleven-year-old son Joel feels invisible. His parents hardly notice him—unless they're arguing about his "behavioral problems"—and his older sister, McKenna, has lately disappeared into the strange and frightening world of teenagerdom. About the only friend Joel has left is Butchie, his father's furry "partner."

When Joel and Butchie follow McKenna to a neighborhood bully's party, illegal activity kicks the dog's police training into overdrive, and soon the duo are on the run, navigating the streets of Chicago as they try to stay one step ahead of the bad guys—bad guys who may have a very personal interest in getting some payback on Officer Pete Murphy.

©2013 Theresa Schwegal (P)2013 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“A terrific piece of crime writing--propulsive action paired with the authentic sounds of a city on the make. Theresa Schwegel's ear for dialogue is pitch-perfect--from the station house to the streets, from cops to robbers to teens, Schwegel serves up fully-realized characters who pop off the page. An essential read.” —GILLIAN FLYNN

“A vivid, nuanced, and emotional tale told in prose that crackles with electricity. The characters are real, their world is our own, and their stories the kind that linger long after the last page is turned. At once a thriller and a beautifully rendered family story, it simply won't disappoint.” —MICHAEL KORYTA

“Theresa Schwegel is an Edgar-winning crime writer whose Chicago police stories are more nuanced and impassioned than most books of their genre....For all the dog books currently in vogue, it's hard to beat this one for canine verisimilitude or talent....The dog elevates a fairly conventional detective story into something much more lovable.” —The New York Times

Over acted ghetto dialog

The story is more than a bit over-written, but my real dissatisfaction is with the acting out of interactions only when they involve exaggerated ghetto speech. Really obnoxious. I need to be able to tell in advance when the story is being intelligently read (my preference) and when silly acting out with exaggerated voices is present. It ruins the book for me.

Story OK, Performance Inexcusably Bad

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

The story was okay, and people who love dogs might enjoy it more than I did. However, Luke Daniels' performance of the story made it virtually unlistenable. Some lines of dialogue, especially with female characters, were whispered so faintly I had to turn up the volume so much it made the non-whispered reading far too loud. Amazing that the producer of this audiobook let this pass. Perhaps the dynamic range of the audio would work in perfect studio conditions, but not in the real world.

Would you be willing to try another book from Theresa Schwegel? Why or why not?

No, the story was interesting at times but pretty lightweight overall.

Would you be willing to try another one of Luke Daniels’s performances?

Never. Mr. Daniels' performance of this audiobook ruined it for me. As mentioned above, he would often whisper dialogue so faintly it simply could not be heard.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Primarily frustration at the whispered dialogue.