| | |  | Amazon Kindle | Home » » » One Good Dog | | | | | | | Description: | | “One Good Dog is a wonderful novel: a moving, tender, and brilliantly crafted story about two fighters—one a man, one a dog— hoping to leave the fight behind, who ultimately find their salvation in each other. Susan Wilson’s clear and unflinching style is perfectly suited for her story that strips away the trappings and toys we all hide behind, and exposes our essential need to give and accept love in order to thrive.”—Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain Adam March is a self-made “Master of the Universe.” He has it all: the beautiful wife, the high-powered job, the glittering circle of friends. But there is a price to be paid for all these trappings, and the pressure is mounting—until the day Adam makes a fatal mistake. His assistant leaves him a message with three words: your sister called. What no one knows is that Adam’s sister has been missing for decades. That she represents the excruciatingly painful past he has left behind. And that her absence has secretly tormented him all these years. When his assistant brushes off his request for an explanation in favor of her more pressing personal call, Adam loses it. And all hell breaks loose.
Adam is escorted from the building. He loses his job. He loses his wife. He loses the life he’s worked so hard to achieve. He doesn’t believe it is possible to sink any lower when he is assigned to work in a soup kitchen as a form of community service. But unbeknownst to Adam, this is where his life will intersect with Chance.
Chance is a mixed breed Pit Bull. He’s been born and raised to fight and seldom leaves the dirty basement where he is kept between fights. But Chance is not a victim or a monster. It is Chance’s unique spirit that helps him escape and puts him in the path of Adam. What transpires is the story of one man, one dog, and how they save each other—in ways they never could have expected.
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Average Customer Review:
 ( 249 customer reviews )
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109 of 115 found the following review helpful:
 One good dog bookMar 05, 2010
By Dr Cathy Goodwin
This book held my attention as soon as I started reading. Author Susan Wilson combines skilled writing with plot strategems that will positively be called "classic" and negative derided as "trite," depending on your perspective.
The book begins with a scenario in an animal shelter with a clever twist. We soon meet Adam March, a demanding self-centered CEO candidate of a prestigious company. March is the stereotypical man on the way up, owning three homes with a "money is no object" lifestyle.
One day, following an accidnetal emotional trigger, he commits an act that has legal, moral and financial consequences. He loses everything and ultimately finds a new life through working at a homeless shelter and yes, inadvertently adopting a dog. His pit bull mix also has been cast out by society and also experiences trouble escaping his past (sometimes literally). There's even a romantic connection to Adam, his new life, and of course, the dog.
I read the book before reading reviews, barely skimming the book jacket blurb. It's a tribute to the author that I didn't find myself questioning the plot, characters or setting. I wanted escape fiction and there it was. The pacing and suspense were flawless. The ending was plausible...just.
Inevitably this book will be compared to Garth Stein's Art of Racing in the Rain. Stein's writing is tighter and more lyrical. His book is much more painful to read, but also has stronger descriptions of the environment and some truly memorable passages.
One Good Dog should stand on its own. If I were looking for comparisons, I'd compare it more to Lost & Found by Jacqueline Sheehan, rather than Racing in the Rain.
51 of 52 found the following review helpful:
Great Book! Highly recommend!!!!Apr 21, 2010
By C. Thomas
"Wanna be Critic"
I cannot recommend this book enough. The book is good, and the writing style of the author fantastic. As an added bonus, the story takes place in Boston, and as a former resident of that great city, I can relate immensely with many of locations described in the book.
The story is really two stories. Half of the book details our hero Adam March's rise and fall within corporate America. Without giving anything anyway, Adam suffers a nervous breakdown at work which results in him losing his job. This starts a cascade of events that eventually results in Adam losing everything. The rest of this story chronicles his comeback from the abyss, as well as offering glimpses into his background that explain the reason why he is who is.
The other half of the story is told from from the perspective of a Pitt bull who started his life out as dog fighter. He is eventually rescued, and adopted by Adam March. The rest of the story chronicles the bonding process between this dog and Adam in beautiful detail. As a dog owner and animal lover, I found everything that the author described as far as the dog's thinking to be extremely believable, and not unreasonable.
In short, this story was extremely moving, and I found myself tearing up at several points in the book. I have a few key takeaways after reading this story - (1) Don't judge a book by it's cover. Pitt bulls are great dogs, and I think if you are able and in the market for a great dog, you should consider taking one of these guys into your home, and (2) dog fighting is abomination, and those engaged in this practice should be thrown in prison for life.
28 of 31 found the following review helpful:
A good read!Mar 24, 2010
By M. M. Hambly
It has been a while since a book really held my attention to the point of missing sleep and thinking about it in the middle of the day like this one did. It was a bit predictable but that didn't matter. I saw the charactors and felt a part of the story. It was about each finding resolution after a lifetime of hardknocks. Also about the bond that grows creating a better life for both of them. It really touched my heart.
46 of 56 found the following review helpful:
 Dog Lovers Beware...Aug 21, 2011
By Suzanne M. Gavett
This book is about a man and a dog who created a healing bond despite the emotional scars of their past. However, I think that there was too much detail about the horrible crimes of dog fighting. We do need to be aware that these practices exist and work to support their end but, in a time when there is already so much sadness and pain in the world, the ending could have been different. By the time I realized how heart wrenching the ending was going to be I was already so emotionally invested, I had to try to finish it. I can't believe that a the author wrote such a horribly sad ending. I was so upset I couldn't finish the book and ripped it into pieces. I can't get the images out of my heart. I do not recommend this book. It has unnecessary horror. I am so sorry that I read it.
13 of 15 found the following review helpful:
 Was the dog a college graduate?Jun 08, 2010
By Karleen Lindsey
"CalmYourDogWiththeAnxietyWrap"
This book had a great theme and since I am involved in dog rescue I really wanted to love it and recommend it to others. However, I was so distracted by the totally unrealistic "voice" of the dog, that I couldn't even finish reading it. I think the author would have done better to put the dog's part in the story in third person instead of first person. Or at least make it sound like it is coming from a dog, whose mentality is more of that of a 2 or 3 yr old, not a college graduate. When I got to chapter 27 and the dog said "I prefer an olfactory perambulation ..." I had to give it up. I don't even know what a perambulation is and I'm pretty sure a dog doesn't either. It just wasn't believable and I guess I prefer a book whose characters are believable along with a good story line rather than JUST a good story line.
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