Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Even the Dog Knows
Author: Jason F. Wright
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 4/5
Recommended For…: contemporary, fiction, dog lovers
Publication Date: March 7, 2022
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Age Relevance: 17+ (child death, dog death, sickness, grief, violence, gore)
Explanation of Above: There is a child’s death mentioned in the book and there is grief surrounding it and through most of the events in the book. There’s sickness mentioned in the book and there is violence in regards to an airplane crash and car crash mentioned and shown. There’s also a stabbing. There is mention of animal control putting down a pet and mention of the dog’s death.
Publisher: Shadow Mountain Press
Pages: 336
Synopsis: Meg Gorton finds herself alone and lonely in Florida. Three years earlier, she had packed what she could fit into her sister’s car and asked her estranged husband, Gary, to take care of Moses, their beloved black Labrador. Things between Meg and Gary hadn’t been the same after the loss of their only daughter many years ago. Even after raising their grandson, Troy, it was clear that if Meg wanted a new beginning, she would have to do it alone.
Haunted by the tragedy of his daughter’s death, Gary is stuck in his life in Woodstock, Virginia. He still owns and drives the bus for their hometown minor league baseball team, and he still thinks about the day his wife drove away.
Everything changes when Meg contacts Gary with a request to bring Moses to visit her one last time before the old dog passes on. Gary is reluctant, but Troy thinks it’s an excellent idea. They could even travel together in Gary’s bus. Along the way, Gary takes a detour to visit Troy’s ex-girlfriend, Grace. Gary might not know how to fix things with his wife, but he knows he doesn’t want Troy to make the same mistakes he did.
Although Moses is just a dog, he’s very observant. It doesn’t take long for him to figure out they are going on to see Meg. He knows he’s an old dog and that his time is near, but he also knows his family needs his help.
Even the Dog Knows is a novel that will take readers on a thousand-mile journey to find forgiveness, understanding, healing, and the meaning of true and lasting love.
Review: Overall, this was a sweet book. It had a good story and I loved how the family was brought back together with the efforts of the family dog. The book had a lot of perspective from the dog, which I also liked. The character development was well done and the world building was also pretty good. The book had a lot of emotional bits in it as well.
However, I did feel like the pacing was a bit too slow for me and the time jumps were a bit jarring.
Verdict: It was good!
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