The Unscratchables (2009) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 3 stars

“This was very cleverly written about Crusher, a police bulldog and Lap, an agent of the FBI (Feline...) who team up to solve a mystery involving what appears to be a serial killer of the large cat variety. There are multiple allusions to real life places and celebrities, that take on a whole new meaning when looked at from the point of view of an animal based society.
I thought it was very good - especially the last line (except for the epilogue)
NOT children's lit!”

• Rated 0 stars

“I'm not exactly sure why I bought this alternative crime novel lol. I'm curious to see if the author can pull off a crime detective novel with a bull terrier and a siamese cat as the detectives.”

• Rated 5 stars

“What a fun book! This film-noir style satire was not only hilariously "punny", but a well-written novel with well-conceived, lovable characters and a solid plot. My only real complaint was the lack of Australian Cattle Dogs... so I do hope that any sequels include this breed! And I do hope that there will be a sequel, or maybe even a whole series! This is certainly a strong foundation! Kane is obviously a talented, not to mention funny, writer and I do hope to see more of Crusher and Lap!”

• Rated 3 stars

“This had an intriguing premise of animals as the characters averting world domination, good versus evil, and everyone not who they seemed, gritty street speak by the detectives and sophisticated FBI agents.....just like a good noir novel.
Still had to work my way through the dog and cat and other critter speak and that took time away from the story.
I was intrigued by the premise of the book when I read a review somewhere. The cover definitely caught my eye. I liked the story for the most part, but had a hard time getting through the dog-talk, cat-talk, etc. It started distracting me from the story. I did finish it and if this is a series, I'll likely give the next one a try. Now that the relationship of Crusher and Cassius is established, they can get on with the crime solving....and butt sniffing and sandbox kicking and soy milk drinking and biscuit eatin'....
Three genre-bending beans......
”

• Rated 3 stars

“Cute. The world literally gone to the dogs--and cats. First book in series; might give author one more try, but not sure if this is a keeper....”