Welcome back to the Book Club! Gosh, it's been a long time. We've been reading, the Boss Ma'am and I, but not so many dog books. We have caught up with all of David Rosenfelt's dog friendly mysteries, which I highly recommend. He's got a new one just out...Dog Tags which is definitely on my wish list.

Today our book is One Good Dog by Susan Wilson. It's not your usual man meets dog love story. Well, actually, in some ways it is, but in this case it takes a while for the two to learn to love each other. Fitting, since they're not really all that lovable and it takes the reader a while to grow to love them too.

Adam, the human main character, is a self made man. He has managed to rise to wealth and success from a humble start in foster homes. Unfortunately what he's made of himself isn't all good. He's arrogant and has a bad temper, which causes him to lose everything and end up doing community service at a local homeless shelter (the kind for humans, not dogs!).

The canine main character (who doesn't get a name until much later in the story) tells his own tale. He's a fighting dog--a "gladiator" in his words--who ends up in the shelter (the animal kind this time) when the fighting ring is discovered. He ends up on the streets, back in the shelter, and eventually with Adam as a case of mistaken identity.

These two have issues, no doubt about it. Both are arrogant in their own way, but both are good at heart. Finding the good takes a while. But as is so often the case in these stories, they come to depend on each other and both are better for the relationship they've developed.

It's not an easy book to read. Adam is not a likable guy much of the time. The dog's description of the fighting world is unpleasant. I still recommend it because, well, I'm a sucker for a happy ending...and these two deserved theirs.

Till next time...happy tales!