The Search

I've read this book more than once. If you watch a movie more than once you can enjoy a book again. I loved this book because the two main characters aren't cookie cutter characters. Unique personalities that are flawed like the rest of us. Nora also obviously spent time researching Search and Rescue dogs which was very interesting. Also a great plot. She knows how to put you in the mind of a killer.

I read most of my favorite author, Nora Roberts, books in hardback and paperback. I bought them as soon as I could afford them. I was always torn between reading them quickly, as I was dying to see what happened, and then realizing I never wanted the book to end, agonizing over reading only a chapter a day to spread the book out. What I never did until recently is write reviews on her books. She is so well -known and popular that my reviews may mean little in the scheme of things. But, it allows me a chance to go back and read some of my favorites again and write the reviews I never wrote! The Search is classic Nora Roberts. Published in 2010, it was a delightful trip back to what Ava Miles (another fave author), coined as Nora Roberts Land! The Search is pure romantic suspense. It does not have any fantasy worlds, magic or dystopia political statements. Though believe me , I love those stories as well as her classics. The Search is full of non-stop drama that builds from page 1. The suspense culminates at the very end with a heart-stopping finale. You go from edge of your seat action that is full of twists and turns, to a slow gentle stop at happily ever after. The reader closes the book with a deep exhale of breath, they didn't even know they were holding. And a smile on the face,knowing that once again, everything ends well in Nora's world! The Search contains my personal favorite elements, dogs, a Search and Rescue team, and the San Juan islands off the coast of Washington State. The heroine, Fiona Bristow, is another strong, independent and talented female who owns a dog training business and 3 smart canines who assist her in her volunteer work as a Search and Rescue dog-handler. Nora does not write about wimpy women. Her females are always the kick- a** and take names women, we all inspire to be. Yet, they all have got that way by surviving some nightmare in their life. It is this vulnerability that makes us admire and relate to her characters. The creativity that built Fiona, also knows how to construct the perfect male counterpoint for her heroines. Enter the stoic,strong silent, wood artist, Simon Doyle. As usual I wanted not to like him as he is brisk, argumentative and stubborn. But then he shows up with an incorrigible but adorable puppy to be trained and my heart like Fiona's, just melts! My More's character building talents don't end with her main character's. Nora has a masterful way of conjuring up villains who seem so real and despicable you are ready to throat punch them! "Just let me at him!" I found myself screaming several times as I read. Even woke my husband screaming,"Just shoot the f***-tard!", one evening. Her supporting characters are just as important to the story as her main character's. They redefine the word support. Without them Fiona and Simon would have crumbled and fallen on numerous occasions. Nora understands the importance family and friends are to us all. The Search brings this theme to life. Speaking of bringing to life...It is no surprise to me that so many of Nora Roberts' novels are made into movies. Her stories are so enthralling you are transported to another place and time as you read. While reading The Search I could see Orca Island, the homes, the people as though I was an extra on a movie set. All of Nora Robert's novels read as though you are part of a live performance! I am so thankful to the e-book deal that allowed me to read The Search and post this review. Thank you, Nora for giving me a few hours of respite from life's demands. Your books are like a cup of hot tea, and a blanket, in front of a blazing fire on a rainy day! Better than Calgon for taking me away! And if there is anybody out there that hasn't read The Search yet, don't hesitate to pick it up when you can. It is well worth the time and money to read it.

As is the usual case, this is a fast and fun read in which Nora Roberts places her characters in a new setting; one that is fascinating for the reader and gives us yet another refreshing change from what is the norm for most of us. The pace is fast but slows down enough for the reader to enjoy the sensual joys of the outdoors, of beautiful craftsmanship and genuine friendship. Ms. Roberts must be a good observer and listener as she gets and describes the emotions of her characters very accurately. Anyone who has ever been threatened by violence will find this book resonates with their feelings and need to redraw many aspects of their lives. I found the characters well developed, consistent and believable. In fact, so believable that I'm a bit concerned that readers will take away information on care and training of dogs from this book which concerns me as I was a former dog breeder and trainer. In this case, I would wish that there had been a bit more varied research done on the care, feeding and training of dogs as the main character is convincingly "knowledgeable" as an "expert" on these topics. I have not done search and rescue work; perhaps Ms. Roberts focused most of her research on that area and not on the basics of canine care, feeding and training. The search and rescue field seems well described, but I would need a reference book to know how well. I doubt that many of us would turn to Ms. Roberts' books which involve a plant nursery to plan our garden, yet there is so much "expert" detail in "Search" regarding dogs that I find myself a little troubled that it will be takeaway advice for dog owners. It would be very easy to take the romance of search and rescue and all of the details in this book as a package; I would hope that the reader will remember that this is fiction and while some research was done, the author's aim was to write a good story-not to tell you how to care for and train dogs. Yet at least one reviewer found "tips" on how to train and care for her dog in this book and this concerns me. This book is highly detailed regarding canine care, feeding and training. So, while I would not normally go far afield "off topic" in a book review, I find it important to note a few places in which a reader could get into trouble making fact from fiction. If the reader does keep in mind that this is fiction, and, as such, not a manual for the keeping and training of dogs, then it is simply another extremely well written and wonderfully enjoyable book. I admit that I didn't put it down for long and finished it way too fast. I liked that the ending was not completely predictable and that the author did not feel compelled to add so much horror that it detracted from the book. I don't know about others, but these days I am not looking to be maximally horrified. For those who are interested in taking away and furthering an interest in dogs, however, there are many ways of training them and no one fits all dogs. As well, when her lead character, a dog trainer says "people food isn't good for his diet", I have to disagree. What isn't good for dogs is a high fat or high sugar diet, chocolate (toxic, especially bittersweet baking chocolate which can kill a small dog fast), onions and garlic (depending on quantity-dogs love the spices and a smidge usually does not hurt them) and chewing rawhide which can get wrapped around their intestines, but I don't want to write too much about that here as invariable in making a list one leaves out something important. Suffice it to say that there are great reference books out there on these topics. This is not one of them. The best advice about feeding dogs (whether you cook for them or give them dog food) is to learn about what ingredients are good and bad for dogs, much as you would for feeding your own child. And, it is silly to think that the public can learn to feed a human child but not a dog. The raw diets ARE dangerous; just as buying old dog food which has sat on a shelf after having fat (for taste) sprayed on it generating a high bacterial load. Dogs can manage more bacterial than can humans, but an overload can and will lead to serious problems whether or not it is from home cooked food or dog food. I used to cook for my dogs and they never looked better. I used, as one primer, this text: Home-Prepared Dog & Cat Diets: the Healthful Alternative (Paperback) by Donald R. Strombeck

These days there are other good books, but the second edition of Strombeck's book (written by another person) may have a critical mistake. Or so say those who have read it; I have not yet. I also spent time reading many other books and developed a cooked diet which could be made ahead of time, frozen in portion sizes and defrosted at will. There is a raging debate in the dog world about raw vs cooked food and I won't divert more from this book to go into it, but suffice it to say that one can learn to cook for dogs. If not, second best is buying natural FRESH (like Flint River or one of the foods from the "Whole dog Journal's" list of "best in bags") from a distributor who gets it from the factory and refrigerating it. Just like the feeding of dogs, the training part disturbs me. Using a head collar is fine for many purposes; but it is not the only or best way to train. Each dog requires different methods and there are almost none that are "wrong" given a particular issue. For the average dog owner, "clicker training" is one of the fastest and best ways to train a dog. It also has the advantage that the dog thinks that it is training you to feed on command. ;- However, in any system of dog training "cues" like "sit", "stay" and others are not given until the behavior is set. Otherwise, an obedient dog will learn to sit in the position it first understood the cue. (In the case of one of my early dogs, that meant always sitting with one paw raised). For advice on training your dog, go to : [...] and/or read one of Brian Kilcommons' books. He is one of the better behaviorists of our era, believing that each dog requires different methods. As well, anyone interested in the positive only reinforcement school (with which I trained my therapy dog) you should consider trying clicker training: [...]

Whatever you chose, find a good trainer. If you go to a dog show and watch your breed show, you can ask about trainers in your area; most trainers who work with show dogs also have obedience, puppy kindergarten and Canine Good Citizen classes; and the main character in "Search" is right about dogs and owners (and others!) being much happier when a pet is well trained.

My therapy dog knew more than 100 commands before she died. Although she was not as pretty as were our champions, she was beloved of everyone who entered our house including those who were initially afraid of dogs. As well, and most troubling is that many of the dogs in this book run free without leashes. If you consider that the most highly trained obedience dog will respond to your commands about eighty percent of the time, this leaves a good margin for error if the dog is attracted to something interesting....across the street. I have known obedience champions whose trainer got lulled into believing that her dogs would never refuse a command and at least one got killed in traffic. Dogs need leashing or, better, good fencing. The kind of fencing that keeps other animals out as well as your dog safely inside. (This leaves out the "electric fence" which does not impress me for several reasons).

Sadly, the dog I gave to a family member some years ago was hit by a car due to the fact that the owner was convinced that a dog should be "free" to wander. Many breeders will not sell a pet to an owner who refuses to fence or, at minimum, promise to keep the pet on lead when outside. This is just common sense. No dog has more intelligence than a three or four year old child (though many of us are inclined to consider that they might <vbg>) and none of us would let our toddlers play in traffic.

My advice is to enjoy this book for what it is about; the love of dogs and people and take any real questions about care and feeding to a good trainer. Notice that I did not say to your vet: even your vet will agree that nutrition is a very slim part of their education, though it is getting better. Some of the worst dog foods I've seen are sold by vets to sick dogs). Now I will get down off of my soapbox and congratulate Ms. Roberts on writing about a fascinating area of the dog world and one in which so many people do so much good. The love story is also a winner. (In this case, I am talking about both the love story between the human characters and also between the characters and their dogs). I'm giving this four stars only because with a bit more research, Ms. Roberts might have learned some of the larger debates about food and training in the dog world and might have explained how her character arrived at her methods which are very outdated and do not reflect current behavioral, nutritional or training methods. Normally, I would not be concerned with that, but her character is so believable and there are so many specifics that the reader may forget that this is fiction.