Sunday, June 16, 2013

The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs by Nick Trout

I noticed this book at Barnes and Noble, then requested it from the library.  It's about a man named Cyrus who goes back to his small hometown in Vermont after his father's death to close down his veterinary clinic.  Except that would be a short book - instead, Cyrus ends up entangled with various people in town and finds that it is not easy to just "close down" the clinic.

There are some funny characters in this book, including certain animals.  The author is a doctor at Angell Memorial, so I'm sure he drew upon his experience to create some of the characters.  At times, Cyrus feels like a character from an Alexander McCall Smith book - very smart in a small-town way, figuring out clever connections and solving petty crime.

However, I didn't find this book quite as quaint as a McCall Smith book - in fact, I didn't think the book was as quaint as it thought it was.  While I enjoyed the stories about the animals and played along with some of the connections and mysteries, (AND respect the heck out of a vet who writes a novel) I didn't love the book and I didn't find Cyrus a compelling protagonist.

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