Lost Dog by Bill Cameron; 2007; 373 pages; Midnight Ink, Woodbury, Minnesota; 978-0-7387-0966-6; Checked out from Multnomah County Library, Hillsdale Library; 12/12-12/15

On a rainy winter night in Portland, Oregon (is there any other kind) Peter McKrall and his niece go to play in a nearby park.  Lost at the playground is Patch, the nieces’ stuffed dog.  The next morning Peter goes back to the park to find Patch and instead finds a dead body.  He gets sucked into the murder investigation, which involves crazy people, stereotypical cops and a lovely coffee shop owner.  Cameron writes effectively to keep you hooked, and has several great characters.  One of the really cool things about his characters are that the all have some kind of interesting flaw, most of which the backstory reveals.  Also he gets the details of the city his story is set in right. McKrall finally retrieves Patch after going through so much, I would be this diligent in looking for my stuffed pal, AugieDog.   I am looking forward to reading Chasing Smoke his next book.  RRR