Isle of Dogs (Andy Brazil)

The madcap doings get underway when the addled, nearly blind governor of Virginia confusedly launches a speed-trap program on isolated Tangier Island, whose prickly, eccentric residents promptly attempt secession. Cornwell adeptly interweaves other crisscrossing plot lines involving a gang of street-stupid thugs gunning for Hammer and Brazil, an angel-faced serial killer, a kidnapped dog, and more. She does miss a few beats: the pacing sags during certain episodes, and at times the writing strains so hard for laughs that instead it draws winces. Nonetheless, Isle of Dogs is for the most part a funny, diverting read and a refreshing departure for Cornwell. --Nicholas H. Allison

Product Description
The electrifying follow-up to Hornet's Nest and Southern Cross. The men and women in blue -- as you've never seen them before.

This is a truly bad novel. Although Cornwall supposedly has tongue in cheek, the icons of the noble state of Virginia that are somewhat related to this horrendous mishmash of "humor" have every right to send Cornwall packing.

The governor is downright senile, his family too ridiculous for words, the people of the island of Tangier are made to look ridiculous, instead of the charming back-country types they really are. Cornwall manages to poke "fun" at lesbians, Christians, dog lovers and the old TV show, "Bonanza", in a way that makes you wonder what each or any of these constituencies ever did to her. This is not black humor, just vile writing.

The villains are incredibly shallow, but the worst is the hero, Andy Brazil, who has come up with some obnoxious website by an alter ego named "Trooper Truth". The reader is supposed to believe that by discussing DNA, Mummies, the real history of Virginia and pirates, that his erstwhile web site somehow captures the imagination of the whole state, and all who see it are intrigued by it.

As Trooper Truth would say..."Be careful out there! Cornwall may decide to write another "black humor book" to insure that she punishes her publisher for making her write so much so quickly." It is obvious that the pace of turning out a book a year has far exceeded her ability to put interesting words on a page.

Don't buy it, don't take it out of the library, don't even wrap your trash in it.


Don't waste your time or money   October 16, 2001
20 out of 24 found this review helpful

There are precious few books that I can't finish and this is one - I simply could not make it to the end. It wasn't worth my time and it was quite painful to read. I was thankful that I got it from the library and didn't waste a penny on this horrendous book.

I love Carl Hiassen's books so I thought this book would appeal to me (more than the latest Kay Scarpetta books which were pretty bad as well). It isn't in the same league. If not for the famous name behind this book, it probably would not have passed muster in any publishing house. The humor is forced, the characters are unappealing, and the plot (such as it is) is ridiculous.


Patsy Goes PoMo   April 24, 2002
Laure-Madeleine (NYC)
19 out of 24 found this review helpful

In a departure from her many forensic thriller books, Patricia Cornwell has written in 'Isle of Dogs' a silly satire of the Commonwealth of Virginia, including Tangier Island. She skewers the First Family and the state police among others. 'Dogs' is the third book that features Andy Brazil, now a state trooper, and Judy Hammer, now superintendent of the Virginia State Police. (They were also in 'Southern Cross' and 'The Hornet's Nest.') It took me several days to finish this overlong book, unlike most of Ms. Cornwell's previous page-turners. As a fan of her Dr. Kay Scarpetta series, except for 'The Last Precinct,' I tried to suspend judgment on 'Dogs' and be open-minded about its postmodern narrative. Even so, aside from some very comical dialogue, I couldn't find much to like about this novel. Dr. Scarpetta made a cameo appearance in two chapters, but she seemed robotic. Judy Hammer was among the least-developed characters in the book. The quasi-historical Internet postings by Trooper Truth a.k.a. Andy Brazil were informative at times but distracted from the narrative flow. Governor Crimm's 'submarine' seemed like a poor imitation of Ignatius J. Reilly's valve. 'Dogs' is somewhat like other postmodern satires I've read, but it never really comes together as a novel. Ms. Cornwell, count me as another disappointed fan who would like to see a revitalized Kay Scarpetta back on the scene.