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Definition
- Canis (ka'nis) n. Zool. The genus including the dog (wild and domestic), the coyote, the wolf, the fox, the jackal, and
the dingo.
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- About CANIS
- Welcome
- SYNOPSIS<
- Reviews
- Author
- CANIS Chapter One
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- Where to Purchase Canis
- For the fastest response
call the publisher, iUniverse
at 1-800-823-9235
-
- For an autographed
copy send $16.45 to:
J. M. Armstrong
P. O. Box 6123
Kingwood, TX
77325-6123
-
- Or contact the publisher on line at: @ iUniverse.com
- Or try:
- @ Amazon.com
- @ Amazon.com UK
- @ Barnes&Noble
- @ Booksamillion
- @ Borders
- @ Fatbrain
- @ 1Bookstreet.com
- @ Price comparison
- @ AllBookstores.com
...price check, type in
CANIS and compare,
- or check out an...
Independent
Bookstore. -
- Great mystery links...
- Scottish Horror fiction
...by William Meikle
- Claudia McCants
- Lee E. Meadows
- The Outpost
- Whitestone Books
- New Mystery Authors
- BooksnBytes
- Creatures 'n Crooks
- Steven Jones
- Anthony Dauer's ezine
- Katherine Sutcliffe
- Mary Reed
- Joan Hall Hovey
- N. J. Lindquist
- Elizabeth Dearl
- Mary Gibbs
- Sandy Tooley
- Barbara W. Klaser
- Kim Cox
-
- ...and a few prominently featuring an animal or two.
- John Herrmann
... a Border Collie
- Sue Owens Wright
... a Basset Hound
- Alex Matthews
... a cat
- Pat Harrington
... a Norwegian Elkhound
- Mark Troy
... a Rottweiler
- Andy Straka
... a Redtailed hawk
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- Contact the Author
- * Personal Home Page
- * Write him a note.
- * See larger cover.
- * Contact the cover artist.
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Synopsis
When Dr. Duncan MacDonell took over Houston's Bureau of Animal
Regulation and Care he anticipated an easy time of it. There were even a few perks.
The first health director had provided him with a car to drive, nothing fancy, a little compact. He had a fine new building, a fleet of thirty aging trucks, and a secretary, a sweet old, cranky one. He also had six veterinarians and a withering staff of just over eighty poorly motivated and ill-trained kennel support personnel and field officers. Additionally the director had provided MacDonell a modest budget and there were even a few early model computers, excess equipment when the health department's lab got their new ones. Soon, however, there was a new director, an aristocratic physician who had little use for veterinarians. The earlier relationship fell apart.
Mac knew the job. It had priorities, and priority one was rabies prevention. In fact, before public relations became a factor, the Bureau had been called the "Rabies Control Bureau." Still the prime directive was to investigate all human contact with rabies vector animals (foxes, skunks, raccoons, bats, and unvaccinated dogs and cats). This was especially important for those cases in which human skin had been broken.
That was then - this was now. Over the years city councilmembers, and most of Houston's citizens, had come to believe that the real work of the bureau was to keep stray dogs and cats off the street, and the effort had slowly moved in that direction. On a good day the bureau apprehended 50 or 60 dogs and cats. On a bad day the number approached 100. And lately most of the days had been bad.
Then one morning the mangled body of a homeless derelict turned up in one of Houston's wooded and desolate suburbs. These
woods were well within the corporate limits of the city. The body had deteriorated
and it had also been torn apart by animals. This was not unusual. However, forensics showed there to be clear and very convincing
evidence that one or more animals may have been involved in the killing itself. Police were
perplexed and asked for MacDonell's expertise. Footprints of the suspect animal showed it to be a large canine, much
bigger than any domestic dog. Representatives from Texas Parks and Wildlife speculated
that it might have been a very large Mexican red wolf. Within a week a second body showed up, then a third. It
wasn't long before MacDonell began to suspect the killer might be human,
and it might be someone he knew.
Above, on the left, the CANIS Chapter One link will take you to the first page of chapter one so you can begin reading this mystery thriller.
If you decide you would like to purchase CANIS the
"Where to Purchase" link provides a choice of several online bookstores.
If you hate this book, tell me.
If you like it, tell a friend.
If you love it, tell everybody.
Notice!
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission
will soon transcribe CANIS into a talking book for the blind.
And readers who are senior citizens
may also find this link interesting!
Notice!
The second novel in this series
INDEX OF SUSPICION
will be published this fall.
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