A PUG'S TALE is a charming mystery that will delight dog lovers and art lovers alike. Alison Pace's follow-up to Pug Hill, brings back Hope McNeill, art conservator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Max, the black pug Hope is caring for while her boyfriend Ben is in Kinshasa saving the world one legal problem at a time. Hope and Max crash "Pug Night" at the Met, an event for large donors and their dogs, particularly Daphne Markham and her pug Madeline. After Max creates unexpected doggie drama, Hope escapes to her office only to discover that a valuable painting has gone missing. Now she and Max, with the help (or lack thereof) of an odd cast a characters, must uncover the truth and recover the painting.

Many of the things I find particularly interesting and/or fun are central to A PUG'S TALE— dogs, museums, art theft, and New York— giving me lots of reasons to like this story. The pugs are cute and dog-like and New York landmarks provide a nice backdrop for the unfolding mystery. Hope is likable and makes a nice focal point for the story. I suspect, however, that Hope is smarter than Ms. Pace gives her credit for. This book will not satisfy readers looking for a traditional mystery as the search for the missing painting is the weakest aspect of the plot. Hope's unraveling of the mystery does not require much investigative skill or problem solving on her part. For me, however, this limitation was off-set by the characters (human and canine) and an opportunity to re-visit New York, if only through Hope's eyes.

Book Summary

In the many years that Hope McNeill has worked at the museum, this is the first time she's been able to bring along her pug, Max. (Officially at least. Previously she's had to smuggle him in inside her tote bag.) The occasion: a special "Pug Night" party in honor of a deep-pocketed donor. Max and his friends are having a ball stalking the hors d'oeuvres and getting rambunctious, and making Hope wonder if this is also the last time she gets to bring Max to the museum.

But when a prized painting goes missing, the Met needs Hope's--and Max's--help. In her quest for the culprit, Hope searches for answers with an enigmatic detective, a larger-than-life society heiress, a lady with a shih tzu in a stroller, and her arguably intuitive canine. With luck, she'll find some inspiration on her trips to Pug Hill before the investigation starts going downhill...