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stevelarsen's review against another edition
3.0
I read this back in the 80's and loved it. Having wanting to re-read it to see how it holds up. Just downloaded it and will read to see.
duparker's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fun read. Very quirky and that was a fun change of pace from the typical thriller mystery I've been reading. Had a Fletch feel to it. Not slapstick, but also not corny, just quirky.
dotorsojak's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars
Have read this book multiple times. I reread yesterday and the day before in order to remind myself of the scene in which Chinese Gordon and his friends shut down L.A. Great chapter.
4.25 stars
Update. I just reread this book because I found a 1983 hardback copy of it in DJ. Yay.
Let me make clear that the star rating here is a reflection not of this book's high literary quality, but of my affection for it.
Have read this book multiple times. I reread yesterday and the day before in order to remind myself of the scene in which Chinese Gordon and his friends shut down L.A. Great chapter.
4.25 stars
Update. I just reread this book because I found a 1983 hardback copy of it in DJ. Yay.
Let me make clear that the star rating here is a reflection not of this book's high literary quality, but of my affection for it.
aaronjs's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
aspygirlsmom_1995's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
dairine's review against another edition
2.0
I can't for the life of me remember where I heard of this book - I chose it because it had a cat as a character. That's just funny.
virginiaduan's review against another edition
3.0
Unexpectedly funny and absurd, I was told by a few friends that they hated it (but I gave it a go anyway for our book club). I'm glad I gave it a shot!
plantbirdwoman's review against another edition
4.0
Leroy Chinese Gordon (Wonderful name!) is a bit of an idiot savant, minor criminal, tool and die guy who lives in Los Angeles. He has lovingly hand-built his own anti-aircraft gun and mounted it in the back of his Ford van. He has two close friends who have particular skills (lockpicking and sharpshooting) and who comprise his "gang." He has a beautiful (Of course!) and smart (Surprisingly!) girlfriend named Margaret. Chinese himself is ruled by his roommate, Dr. Henry Metzger, a cat.
Chinese learns of experiments with cocaine that are being done by the University of Los Angeles. The University has a large store of the white stuff and Chinese makes a plan to steal it.
He and his cohorts are successful in grabbing the cocaine, but while they are on site, Chinese overhears a professor talking to a visitor about something very valuable that is in his office. He doesn't exactly say what this "something" is, but Chinese is intrigued. He decides to go rogue. He breaks into the professor's office and takes a locked box which is the only thing there that looks like it could possibly be valuable.
When the box is opened later, it is found to contain only papers. But what papers!
That professor had been conducting field experiments in psychological warfare for the CIA, no less. The papers in the box were his detailed reports of his findings and, essentially, contained instructions on how to wage psywar and how to bring a city to its knees. These are papers that the CIA will want back very badly.
After their caper at the university, the Gordon gang drives to a junkyard while attempting to evade the authorities. At the junkyard, through a series of events too complicated to explain here, they meet the iconic junkyard dog, a huge, black brute that does his best to devour them, and they kidnap him. Problem is no one can control the dog. That is until they get him home and he meets Dr. John Metzger. The cat takes charge of the dog. Thus, Metzger's Dog.
This is my first experience in reading a Thomas Perry novel. This particular book was first published in 1983, but was reissued in the early 2000s with a foreward by Carl Hiaasen. I read the Kindle edition which included the foreward, and, a few sentences in, Hiaasen had me laughing out loud. I thought if the book maintained the same level of humor I was in for a real treat. I was not disappointed.
The book is full of nutty characters, including many in the CIA. It is wonderfully creative and manages, in addition to the humor, to convey some clever insights into people and bureaucracies and the way they work. It is a real comic tour de force.
Most of the book has Gordon, along with his partners in crime and his girlfriend, trying to find a way to convince the CIA to turn over five million dollars in ransom in return for the papers. The CIA, unfortunately, is led by a couple of dolts, who are convinced that they are dealing with some foreign terrorist organization, and they keep trying to take that organization out while failing to deliver the money. The toll of dead bodies mounts - mostly bad guys, I should note, and none of them the actual culprits.
There is a cadre of old hands at the CIA who realize what is going on and that their leaders are screwing things up. They decide to take matters into their own hands.
The stunts that the gang pull along the way kept me smiling and chuckling. I wouldn't say the book is laugh-out-loud-Dave-Barry funny, but it is amusing. The writing is subtle. The banter between characters is sharp. All in all, it was a fun read and a nice introduction to the work of Thomas Perry. I think I'll be visiting him again.
Chinese learns of experiments with cocaine that are being done by the University of Los Angeles. The University has a large store of the white stuff and Chinese makes a plan to steal it.
He and his cohorts are successful in grabbing the cocaine, but while they are on site, Chinese overhears a professor talking to a visitor about something very valuable that is in his office. He doesn't exactly say what this "something" is, but Chinese is intrigued. He decides to go rogue. He breaks into the professor's office and takes a locked box which is the only thing there that looks like it could possibly be valuable.
When the box is opened later, it is found to contain only papers. But what papers!
That professor had been conducting field experiments in psychological warfare for the CIA, no less. The papers in the box were his detailed reports of his findings and, essentially, contained instructions on how to wage psywar and how to bring a city to its knees. These are papers that the CIA will want back very badly.
After their caper at the university, the Gordon gang drives to a junkyard while attempting to evade the authorities. At the junkyard, through a series of events too complicated to explain here, they meet the iconic junkyard dog, a huge, black brute that does his best to devour them, and they kidnap him. Problem is no one can control the dog. That is until they get him home and he meets Dr. John Metzger. The cat takes charge of the dog. Thus, Metzger's Dog.
This is my first experience in reading a Thomas Perry novel. This particular book was first published in 1983, but was reissued in the early 2000s with a foreward by Carl Hiaasen. I read the Kindle edition which included the foreward, and, a few sentences in, Hiaasen had me laughing out loud. I thought if the book maintained the same level of humor I was in for a real treat. I was not disappointed.
The book is full of nutty characters, including many in the CIA. It is wonderfully creative and manages, in addition to the humor, to convey some clever insights into people and bureaucracies and the way they work. It is a real comic tour de force.
Most of the book has Gordon, along with his partners in crime and his girlfriend, trying to find a way to convince the CIA to turn over five million dollars in ransom in return for the papers. The CIA, unfortunately, is led by a couple of dolts, who are convinced that they are dealing with some foreign terrorist organization, and they keep trying to take that organization out while failing to deliver the money. The toll of dead bodies mounts - mostly bad guys, I should note, and none of them the actual culprits.
There is a cadre of old hands at the CIA who realize what is going on and that their leaders are screwing things up. They decide to take matters into their own hands.
The stunts that the gang pull along the way kept me smiling and chuckling. I wouldn't say the book is laugh-out-loud-Dave-Barry funny, but it is amusing. The writing is subtle. The banter between characters is sharp. All in all, it was a fun read and a nice introduction to the work of Thomas Perry. I think I'll be visiting him again.
psalmcat's review against another edition
5.0
Where to start...?
First of all, no one writes like Perry. He is a master of noir-with-humor. There are similarities with Robert Parker's Spenser books, and to a certain degree with the "Lethal Weapon"-type movies (although since they came out after this book, that's not really a fair comparison), and your basic potboiler suspense novel. But there's still a twist, frequently in the characters in his books, that makes a Perry book a Perry book.
Secondly, although "Dog" is in the title, there's a lovely white cat on the cover. So you know before you open it that this book could be...unexpected. [Either that or the jacket designer completely messed up.]
Metzger is Doctor Henry Metzger. He's not an M.D.; he's unlicensable, but could probably ace any psychological practicum. He can restrain and control a killer dog like no one else. He's the one to whom we are meant to pay attention, but most of the action occurs elsewhere.
The main character is really Chinese Gordon, the leader of a band of people who blow things up and steal from others simply because they've figured out a new, fun way of doing so. The are opportunists. And they're likable. And pretty funny. And very human. Especially when they take on the sadly ridiculous government agency riddled with bureaucracy and run by the Peter Principle. One can't help cheering for the agent who eventually offs his boss in order to save the hundreds of embedded operatives across the globe that have been put in danger because the boss won't back down. The boss is a CEO brought over to 'manage' the CIA. Never ask a boy to do a man's work. And never underestimate a man who will bring his wife to his enemy's wedding as a--mostly--social occasion.
Perhaps I should say never ask a man to do a cat's work....
This is why Perry is on my list of authors. I could read this book over and over.
First of all, no one writes like Perry. He is a master of noir-with-humor. There are similarities with Robert Parker's Spenser books, and to a certain degree with the "Lethal Weapon"-type movies (although since they came out after this book, that's not really a fair comparison), and your basic potboiler suspense novel. But there's still a twist, frequently in the characters in his books, that makes a Perry book a Perry book.
Secondly, although "Dog" is in the title, there's a lovely white cat on the cover. So you know before you open it that this book could be...unexpected. [Either that or the jacket designer completely messed up.]
Metzger is Doctor Henry Metzger. He's not an M.D.; he's unlicensable, but could probably ace any psychological practicum. He can restrain and control a killer dog like no one else. He's the one to whom we are meant to pay attention, but most of the action occurs elsewhere.
The main character is really Chinese Gordon, the leader of a band of people who blow things up and steal from others simply because they've figured out a new, fun way of doing so. The are opportunists. And they're likable. And pretty funny. And very human. Especially when they take on the sadly ridiculous government agency riddled with bureaucracy and run by the Peter Principle. One can't help cheering for the agent who eventually offs his boss in order to save the hundreds of embedded operatives across the globe that have been put in danger because the boss won't back down. The boss is a CEO brought over to 'manage' the CIA. Never ask a boy to do a man's work. And never underestimate a man who will bring his wife to his enemy's wedding as a--mostly--social occasion.
Perhaps I should say never ask a man to do a cat's work....
This is why Perry is on my list of authors. I could read this book over and over.
jennseeg's review against another edition
4.0
A funny mystery novel, with a twisting plot and interesting characters.