If
you are one of the thousands of people who is a fan of Deborah Crombie’s on
Facebook, then you have already seen some adorable photographs of her dogs. Deb
is a serious dog lover, and this love inspires her to work the animal into
nearly every one of her Kincaid and James mystery novels. The latest book in
that series, The Sound of Broken Glass, is on sale and includes a couple of
German shepherds as characters. Below, Deb tells us more about the pets of her
lead characters, and the supporting role dogs often have in her novels.
Anyone who has read my bio on my books or webpage, or seen my posts on social media, will know that I live with German shepherds. Two, in fact, although last autumn we were for a short time a one-dog household. Our fourteen-year-old GSD (German Shepherd Dog is the official breed name,) Hallie, died in early October. But we missed having two dogs, so in early November we brought home an eight-week-old German shepherd puppy named Dax to join seven-year-old Neela. (You may notice a fictional theme here: Neela is named for a character on ER, Dax for Jadzia Dax on Star Trek Deep Space Nine.)
So why, with all this German shepherd love at home,
haven’t I given GSDs to the detectives in my series
of novels, Scotland Yard
Superintendent Duncan and his wife, Detective Inspector Gemma James? It seems
that fictional dogs come into character’s lives the way real dogs do—sometimes
by happenstance. Duncan’s son Kit’s little terrier, Tess, just appeared one day
when the boy was lonely and frightened. He
found her hiding in a box behind a
Tesco supermarket, hence the name. Boy and dog have been inseparable ever
since. Then, when Gemma was investigating a case involving a Notting Hill vet,
she saw a flyer in the clinic for a cocker spaniel that needed a new home. His
name was Geordie and it was love at first sight. By the end of the book,
Geordie had found his new home.
Two dogs and one cat for Duncan, Gemma, and family seemed quite enough. So how to get in the German shepherds? They pop up here, there, and everywhere in the series. I’d love to know how many readers could name every German shepherd and his or her associated book! And as a bonus, which GSDs are named after fictional characters, and from what source? The Sound of Broken Glass has its own duo, Jagger and Ginger, who were introduced in previous novels. (You might guess there is a musical theme going on in this book.)
Will there be more dogs in future books?
Undoubtedly. But they have yet to introduce themselves.
And here’s a bonus question: I seem to have a fondness for black Labrador retrievers. They show up almost as often as the German shepherds. Can anyone name them all?
Book Club Girl’s Note: if someone can name them all, we’ll send you a copy of The Sound of Broken Glass! Post your responses in the comments section.
Here are some more fun links for you to click around to learn more about Deb’s novels:
Learn more about, and buy a copy of, The Sound of Broken Glass
Read an excerpt from The Sound of Broken Glass
Browse Deb’s photos of places in London that inspired scenes from the book
Murphy, Finn are black labs.
Tosh is the German Shepherd.
Mo is the English Mastiff.
Geordie is the cocker spaniel
Tess, the Norfolk terrier
Posted by: ellie | February 20, 2013 at 10:37 AM