This is quite a departure from Spencer Quinn's Chet and Bernie mystery series. There is no gentle humor. There is no dog's point of view. No, in The Right Side, Spencer Quinn gives us edginess, uncertainty, and an extremely unpredictable hero with an equally unreadable dog.
LeAnne Hogan is a physical and psychological loose cannon. She's suffering from her injuries. She's suffering from PTSD. She's suffering from feelings of inadequacy and failure. She's not your usual choice for the hero of a book, and that's one of the things that makes The Right Side so good. You literally do not know which way LeAnne is going to jump from one scene to the next. Her anger is explosive and frightening, but Quinn portrays her in such a way that we instinctively know that she's a good person. We want her to get well. We want her to be safe and happy.
This woman needs help, but she's going to fight everyone who wants to give her that help every single step of the way. She even fiercely resists the dog, but this huge beast of unknown pedigree just ignores her. The dog is just as much a mystery as LeAnne, but you know this relationship will work because of one thing: the dog unerringly protects her blind side.
Quinn gives us two mysteries in The Right Side: one involving the missing child, and one that concerns what really happened to LeAnne in Afghanistan. Both are strong and grab your attention. Another mystery for me is... will Quinn write about LeAnne again? She's one of the best characters I've encountered in a long time, and I wouldn't mind reading more about her. But sometimes it's best to see just one adventure in a character's journey through life. Whatever the author does, I'm certainly glad I met LeAnne-- and I hope you'll decide to meet her, too.
LeAnne Hogan is a physical and psychological loose cannon. She's suffering from her injuries. She's suffering from PTSD. She's suffering from feelings of inadequacy and failure. She's not your usual choice for the hero of a book, and that's one of the things that makes The Right Side so good. You literally do not know which way LeAnne is going to jump from one scene to the next. Her anger is explosive and frightening, but Quinn portrays her in such a way that we instinctively know that she's a good person. We want her to get well. We want her to be safe and happy.
This woman needs help, but she's going to fight everyone who wants to give her that help every single step of the way. She even fiercely resists the dog, but this huge beast of unknown pedigree just ignores her. The dog is just as much a mystery as LeAnne, but you know this relationship will work because of one thing: the dog unerringly protects her blind side.
Quinn gives us two mysteries in The Right Side: one involving the missing child, and one that concerns what really happened to LeAnne in Afghanistan. Both are strong and grab your attention. Another mystery for me is... will Quinn write about LeAnne again? She's one of the best characters I've encountered in a long time, and I wouldn't mind reading more about her. But sometimes it's best to see just one adventure in a character's journey through life. Whatever the author does, I'm certainly glad I met LeAnne-- and I hope you'll decide to meet her, too.
I know this would be a serious book but was expecting an impactful relationship with a dog. I am 100+ pages and so far no dog has been introduced. It is well written but I am not a fan of reading about the tragedies of the wars we have become involved with. I am old enough to know full full that war is hell and the men and women who return are forever damaged (whether visible or not). Do not think I will finish.
Looking forward the return of Chet the Jet!
Looking forward the return of Chet the Jet!
The Right Side is very different from the Chet and Bernie series but I found it intriguing in its own way. I would definitely read more of LeAnne and Goody's journeys.
This is a powerful book about loss of self and loss of love. The heroine, LeAnne Hogan, is shortly to leave the Army, but gets talked into re-upping for another year for a special project in Afghanistan. During that time, a bomb exploded near her. The story starts when she is in Walter Reed Hospital, recovering from the loss of her eye, with a piece of shrapnel in her brain and severe scarring to the right side of her face. After yet another trauma she starts out on a quest but she doesn't know where to go or what to do. Along the way a dog adopts her and, in a way, she is her salvation. I highly recommend this book.
This was a good story but the protagonist had a really bad attitude (even though she had been through a lot it still seemed she was just uncaring in every way). The saving grace is the dog so it is worth reading.
