Review of "Eleven Huskies: A Dr. Bannerman Vet Mystery" by Philipp Schott

Dr. Peter Bannerman, a veterinarian in the lakeside town of New Selfoss, Manitoba, is an amateur sleuth who can't help getting involved in criminal investigations.



In this third 'Dr. Bannerman Vet Mystery' - which works fine as a standalone - Peter is called into action when his acquaintance, John Reynolds - owner of the Dragonfly Lodge in Northern Manitoba - calls with an emergency. Reynolds team of eleven huskies, the fastest team in Manitoba the last three years in a row, have become terribly ill.



Peter hops on a plane to Northern Manitoba, where he finds the huskies suffering from liver damage. Peter ships the four sickest dogs to New Selfoss for treatment, the rest of the team being left to recover in Northern Manitoba. It turns out the unfortunate canines were poisoned, and amateur sleuth Peter immediately wonders whodunit.



While Peter is at Dragonfly Lodge, he learns that a private plane crashed nearby that morning, and three people were killed: Ned Fromm - the pilot; Brendan O'Daly - a bitcoin entrepreneur; and Monique Gagnon - the lead singer of The Queenston Heights band.



The police determine the pilot, Ned Fromm, had been shot with a rifle, by someone on the ground.



As it happens, Peter is already planning to return to Dragonfly Lodge in a few days, for a vacation with his family and friends. These include:

Peter's wife Laura - who knits and sells items inspired by TV shows and movies, like Game of Thrones and Harry Potter;



Laura's brother Kevin - a detective with the Royal Canadian Mounties;



Kevin's Nigerian partner Stuart - an accountant and excellent cook;



and Peter's dog Pippin - a renowned sniffer canine.



Peter and his companions are planning an extended canoe trip, and Dragonfly Lodge will be their home base.



Peter's mind is always making connections, and he suspects the dog poisonings at Dragonfly Lodge and the plane crash near Dragonfly Lodge are linked somehow. To Peter's satisfaction, he even gets to participate in the investigation when the police recruit sniffer dog Pippin to look for the rifle used to shoot the pilot.

Everyone at Dragonfly Lodge is a suspect for the pilot shooting/plane crash, including the guests, the staff, and the owner - and Peter can't help but search for clues to unmask the killer. One of my favorite characters is a guest named Pyotr, who's with a group of Belarussians who say they're in Manitoba to hunt mushrooms. When Peter thanks the Belarussians for some of their morels, Pyotr says: "Is nothing! We are pleasured!" And later, when the lodge is endangered, Pyotr says, "What is plan? We are sitting goose up here." 🙂



In the midst of the police investigation, Peter and his party embark on their canoe trip, which involves paddling down waterways and carrying the canoes overland (portages).



Unfortunately, a massive wildfire spreads through Northern Manitoba during the canoe trip, and much of the book is an adventure tale as Peter and his companions try to stay ahead of the flames and get back to the lodge.



The crimes are solved in a satisfying finale, and I look forward to the next book in the series, 'Three Bengal Kittens.'

Thanks to Netgalley, Philipp Schott, and ECW Press for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3.5 stars