The Barker Street Regulars

Sherlockians especially will enjoy Conant's latest dog mystery (after Animal Appetite, 1997) featuring journalist Holly Winter in her most intricate case yet. Holly and her champion Alaskan malamute, Rowdy, who has earned his Rx.D. as a certified therapy dog, regularly visit a Cambridge, Mass., nursing home. There they meet Althea Battlefield and her two elderly admirers, Hugh and Robert, all three of whom are fanatic fans of Sherlock Holmes. Holly also meets Althea's wealthy younger sister, Ceci, who is actively mourning the death of her favorite dog. When Althea's grandnephew is found dead in the backyard of Ceci's home, Hugh and Robert jump at the chance to put Sherlockian technique to the test. Ceci, like many bereaved Cambridge animal lovers, has been swindled by an unscrupulous psychic. Even Holly finds herself reluctantly impressed by the psychic's apparent abilities until the fog parts during a late-night stakeout in Ceci's yard with her elderly cohorts. Conant cleverly incorporates Holmes and Watson lore into her plot and writes eloquently of what it is like to lose a beloved pet. Her story is further enhanced by her sensitive depictions of the residents of the nursing home Holly and Rowdy visit. Though their faculties may be failing, the elders' simple enjoyment of an animal's touch speaks volumes about the good a therapy dog can accomplish. (Mar.)