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All Creatures Dark and Dangerous |
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| All Creatures Dark and Dangerous by Doug Allyn Crippen & Landru Publishers 194 pages, 1999 ISBN 1885941323 Reviewed by Lisa Eagleson-Roever I normally avoid reading series works because once I'm hooked, oh, let me tell you, it's as bad as chocolate. I think I've got the habit for Doug Allyn. I haven't felt this itchy about an author since I discovered Dick Francis and Rex Stout. All Creatures Dark and Dangerous is a collection of Doug Allyn's fluid and sometimes touching (but always provocative) short story mysteries-with-a-moral-dilemma - all featuring small-town veterinarian, Dr. Dave Westbrook. Although Dave (Dr. Westbrook seems too formal for the character) is stubborn about uncovering the truth, he is usually willing to bend the law - or shade the story which reveals the truth - to serve the greater good. Interesting to his style is that although every story contains at least one character with a flaw - be it a disfiguring injury, a terminal illness, or a debilitating/limiting condition - these flaws are never the focus of the story. They may or may not play an active role in the mystery to be solved. Allyn's writing is unabashedly honest but there's no bully pulpit. One other striking aspect of these mysteries is the lack of traditional violence. (I was a huge MacGuyver fan in my younger years, so this may explain my attraction to Allyn's style.) Brains help more than brawn in resolving the mystery and there are no calvary to the rescue endings. These stories are brain food while also being page-turners. |
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