What dog breed would be good for a fictional sleuth?

"Melinda Shore" <shore.DeleteThis@panix.com> wrote in message:

> In Christie's first book, which was written in the first
> person, the narrator turned out to be the murderer.

I remember it well. Except for the name of the book, of course.

Suja
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"Shelly" <shelly DeleteThis @cat-sidh.net> wrote in message:

> The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (a Poirot mystery). And Poirot himself
> killed the murderer in Curtain.

He didn't have any choice, though. Wasn't the bad guy basically getting
other people to kill each other or themselves?

> I think Suja meant that the sleuth actually committed all the
> murders in the series.

Yup. That was it. The sleuth has access and can plant evidence, the
cunning to misdirect, etc.

We just watched 'Match Point' (god knows how long it's been since Woody
Allen made a good movie), and I really, really liked how it turned out. Not
at all what I expected.

Suja
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"STJensen" <RecreationalPoker.RemoveThis@gmail.com> wrote in message:

> Miss Marple pinning the blame on innocent people ... and thus sending
> them to the gallows ... and thus being responsible for killing even
> more people. *laugh*

It occured to me that people were always dropping like flies wherever the
detectives live, even if it is in the middle of nowhere. My conclusion from
that was that it would be really interesting if the sleuth were the killer.
It could be that it started off with the person needing the job and being
creative enough to concoct one, and of course, he found out that he enjoyed
outwitting everyone else and causing collateral damage in the process. Even
better if the sleuth is a Miss Marple type.

> I'm sure there are mysteries where the sleuth is the villain.

I don't think anyone has gone to the trouble of writing an entire series
from a plain old murder-mystery perspective, and then revealing at the
conclusion that the reader had been rooting for the most heinous serial
killer of them all, the sleuth. There are individual books along those
lines, but nothing where the reader is led on quite that way.

> However, making the
> detective the villain goes against what many mystery writers consider
> good mystery writing.

I really like Jeffrey Deaver's writing for the reason that he goes to great
lengths to set you up, and then pulls the rug out from underneath.
Eventually, you get to the point where you don't trust him at all and is
second guessing everything, which makes for some interesting reading. Of
course, it also often gets to the point where the author is performing some
outstanding gymnastics just to keep his plot device alive, and then it just
gets in the way of a good yarn.

Suja
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On 2008-02-11 06:02:10 -0800, "Suja" <spanaval RemoveThis @yahoo.com> said:

>
> "STJensen" <RecreationalPoker RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote in message:
>
>> Think how
>> many people have been killed in Miss Marple's little village alone.
>
> I have always thought that it would be a good idea to do a Miss Marple type
> series, and then end it with the revelation that the sleuth is in fact a
> serial killer responsible for all the mysteries that were solved.
>
> Suja

Miss Marple? Why not have Koko and Yum Yum turn out to have committed
all the murders they supposedly 'solved?' Only the police never find
out. The final book would be "The Cat Who Has Claws." In it the cats
are nearly discovered for what they really are, but manage to frame Jim
Qwilleran.

Somehow, though, it is hard to think of a sweet little old lady like
Lilian Jackson Braun allowing evil to be victorious.
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor
 >> Stay informed about: What dog breed would be good for a fictional sleuth? 

In article <47b810bb$1@news2.actrix.gen.nz>,
~shady angel~ <shady.RemoveThis@gmail.net> wrote:
>And buy this lady I just wouldn't have one give me a king charles anyday. I
>think poodles are just plain ugly IMHO.

Thanks for sharing!
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - shore.RemoveThis@panix.com

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community
 >> Stay informed about: What dog breed would be good for a fictional sleuth? 

"~shady angel~" <sh....RemoveThis@gmail.net> wrote:
> I may be well off but thought about a pit bull?

I did but, from the reading I did, the Doberman Pinscher just ranked
higher on intelligence, obedience, guard dog, and more of an indoor
dog than American Pit Bull Terrier.

I have since gone with the Doberman Pinscher and adjusted the novel to
make her part of the story. That and finished the novel. With the
first draft done, it is now at my beta readers for their input.

Scott
 >> Stay informed about: What dog breed would be good for a fictional sleuth? 

STJensen <RecreationalPoker.TakeThisOut@gmail.com> spoke these words of wisdom in
news:88ad05bf-119c-4996-aa3d-175fdc2f2c01@n77g2000hse.googlegroups.com:

> "~shady angel~" <sh....TakeThisOut@gmail.net> wrote:
>> I may be well off but thought about a pit bull?
>
> I did but, from the reading I did, the Doberman Pinscher just ranked
> higher on intelligence, obedience, guard dog, and more of an indoor
> dog than American Pit Bull Terrier.
>
> I have since gone with the Doberman Pinscher and adjusted the novel to
> make her part of the story. That and finished the novel. With the
> first draft done, it is now at my beta readers for their input.
>
> Scott
>
>

I was going to say.. if you wouldn't use a gsd because of the fear factor,
a pitbull goes over the top.
And then to lecture on the responsible breeding of pitbulls.. i won't even
go there. It would be a turn off on your book for sure
 >> Stay informed about: What dog breed would be good for a fictional sleuth? 

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 >> Stay informed about: What dog breed would be good for a fictional sleuth? 

diddy <none> wrote:
> STJensen <RecreationalPo... DeleteThis @gmail.com> wrote:
> > "~shady angel~" <sh... DeleteThis @gmail.net> wrote:
> >> I may be well off but thought about a pit bull?
>
> > I did but, from the reading I did, the Doberman Pinscher just ranked
> > higher on intelligence, obedience, guard dog, and more of an indoor
> > dog than American Pit Bull Terrier.
>
> > I have since gone with the Doberman Pinscher and adjusted the novel to
> > make her part of the story. That and finished the novel. With the
> > first draft done, it is now at my beta readers for their input.
>
> I was going to say.. if you wouldn't use a gsd because of the fear factor,
> a pitbull goes over the top.

The deciding factor on not picking a GSD was due to them being reknown
shedders. They did make the short list (as explained in the thread)
but then it came down to needing to pick one of them. Suja's and your
own review of the short list had a major influence on the Dobe being
the breed picked.

Scott
 >> Stay informed about: What dog breed would be good for a fictional sleuth? 

"~shady angel~" <sh....DeleteThis@gmail.net> wrote:
> STJensen wrote:
> > "~shady angel~" <sh....DeleteThis@gmail.net> wrote:
> >> I may be well off but thought about a pit bull?
>
> > I did but, from the reading I did, the Doberman Pinscher just ranked
> > higher on intelligence, obedience, guard dog, and more of an indoor
> > dog than American Pit Bull Terrier.
>
> > I have since gone with the Doberman Pinscher and adjusted the novel to
> > make her part of the story. That and finished the novel. With the
> > first draft done, it is now at my beta readers for their input.
>
> Pit bulls can be very inteligent when they want to.

Possibly. There were other reasons the Dobe won out. Those are
explained this thread and over at DogForum.com. I didn't expect to
find the perfect dog breed but I think the Dobe was the best choice
for what I needed.

> I'd love to read it. Hope It all goes well!

Thank you.

Scott
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diddy wrote:
> STJensen <RecreationalPoker.DeleteThis@gmail.com> spoke these words of wisdom in
> news:66e65ca9-28ec-4005-b5d1-437b68ebff81@b2g2000hsg.googlegroups.com:
>
>>
>> And a manly man's dog? :-)
>>
>> Yes, I know the Poodle doesn't have to have that silly puffy ball
>> haircut, but it is viewed by a good chunk of men as a lady's dog.
>>
>> Scott
>>
>>
>
> Well yeah. There's that. And they CAN look like Cujo if they want
> to. But the image isn't normally congruous with the breed.
>

Lol sorry but my dogs name is cujo (from the book not the movie) He is, as
I'm told looks very intimidating, yet he's the friendliest lovable mutt I
know.
--
~shady angel~

> But in spite of their image as a Ladies dog, a Standard poodle was
> orginally created as a hunting dog. A MAN'S dog. And they ARE a "REAL
> DOG" contrary to their looks.
>
> I like the Idea of the Doberman better. (But i really prefer the
> Great Dane that lived forever!)
 >> Stay informed about: What dog breed would be good for a fictional sleuth? 

diddy wrote:
> "Suja" <spanaval.RemoveThis@yahoo.com> spoke these words of wisdom in
> news:60rjsaF1ruedcU1@mid.individual.net:
>
>>
>> "montana wildhack" <montana.RemoveThis@wildhack.com.invalid> wrote in message:
>>
>>> I think he meant that the dog could be described as any color, but
>>> people would only imagine the dog looking one particular way.
>>
>> Well, Scooby-Doo is an impossible color for a Dane (and that's
>> saying a lot, considering how many mismarks can be produced in the
>> breed). People don't seem to have any trouble accepting him for a
>> Dane because of that. I am not sure if it was a deliberate move on
>> the part of the author, but at least people can't go out and get a
>> dog 'just like him', because it just isn't possible.
>>
>> Suja
>>
>>
>
> What color is Scooby Doo?
Light brown? I think.
 >> Stay informed about: What dog breed would be good for a fictional sleuth? 

diddy <none> wrote in
news:Xns9A47C4713EC19diddydiddynet@216.196.97.142:

> I was going to say.. if you wouldn't use a gsd because of the fear
> factor, a pitbull goes over the top.

Anyone who grew up during the 70s may feel the same way about
Dobermans, unless they are personally familiar with the breed. But I
guess going with the obvious cliche is easy. Boring, but easy.

Anyway, Pit Bulls are a really poor choice for the job, because they
are usually too indiscriminately friendly to make good guard dogs.
Watch dogs, maybe, if they're barky, but not guard dogs. (Yes, I
know there are exceptions, but the OP wanted his dog to be typical
for the breed.)

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)
 >> Stay informed about: What dog breed would be good for a fictional sleuth?