Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Summary:
Private investigator Rachel Alexander and her pit bull Dashiell return in this stylish, dark, emotionally complex seventh mystery from former detective and noted dog trainer Carol Lea Benjamin.
When a distraught father approaches private investigator Rachel Alexander in a New York City park, asking her to help find his missing wife, Rachel accepts––reluctantly. After all, the chances of finding a woman who disappeared without a trace––and without a word––five years earlier are slim. But it's the missing woman's daughter who touches her most deeply––a troubled young girl whose mother's disappearance has rendered her mute. The child is also suspected of the murder of her doctor, a rich neurologist who was brutally stabbed one night while he was alone in his office. Rachel knows the disturbed girl can't be a murderer, but her investigation reveals that against all odds, it could be someone from her past. And against a backdrop of betrayal, neglect, and a city at times as lonely and frightening as a child's worst nightmares, Rachel's involvement in the case uncovers issues more complex, and more heartbreaking, than she's ever seen––problems that someone was willing to die, or even kill, for.
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
Touching
Customer Rating:
Touching and heartbreaking- one of the best of this excellent series. This is a serious series, do not let the dog fool ya.
Incredible Book
Customer Rating:
I really like this book. i never really liked reading that much and as soon as a picked up this book i didnt stop reading it until i was done. i was always wanting to read more and more. It was sad when i read the whole thing. I am ready for another mystery that will do the same as that book did to me.
A word about...
Customer Rating:
I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was insightful, well written, entertaining and satisfying. I'll have to buy more of the Rachel Alexander & Dash books. I'd never heard of them before I picked up this book, but I'll look for more in the future. The mystery was just right and Rachel's handling of the suspect, Madison, felt very realistic.
A good read!
Customer Rating:
Author Benjamin, a former detective and dog trainer, lives in Greenwich Village with her three dogs.
Rachel Alexander also lives in Greenwich Village, and is a P.I. with a four-footed assistant, Dashiell, a rescued pit bull. Rachel is in the park dog run when she is approached by an inarticulate stranger who wants to hire her to find his wife who has been missing for five years. She went out to walk the family dog and never returned.
Rachel is hesitant to take the case until she meets the missing woman's daughter, 12-year-old Madison. Shortly after her mother disappeared, Madison was diagnosed with a nervous tic, and she has not spoken since. She is a very real suspect in the murder of her pediatric neurologist as she was the last patient of the day--and he was killed with the syringe meant for her.
Rachel cannot stand to think of the poor girl being railroaded into the role of chief suspect, and she sets out to find the missing mother, if she is still alive, and also to learn who really murdered the doctor.
Rachel is good both with dogs and also with lonely, traumatized and abandoned girls as she was once one herself. Through a trail of altered medical records, lies and deceit, and another murder, Rachel follows like a dog following a scent, until she discovers the truth.
This is the eighth book in the series, and every bit as gripping as the first seven. The next book, The Hard Way, comes out in October 2006.
Armchair Interviews says: Dog, detectives and hurting daughters make for a good read.
A Mystery with Literary Merit
Customer Rating:
"Without a Word" is more than just a page-turner (although turn the pages you will). Benjamin was created indelible characters, places that are real and vivid, a mood that's equal parts brooding, disturbing and exciting. If you're often let down by the abrupt, unbelievable conclusions of most mysteries, read this book. The ending lingers long after you've finished.
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