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Beka Cooper: Bloodhound


A few years ago I happened upon the Alana the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce. With a strong female heroine who overcomes prejudice to become the King's Champion and greatest knight in her realm, I was instantly drawn in. Since discovering that series, I've devoured all of Pierce's books set in Tortall including the Copper Isles, Protector of the Small and Wildmage series. I was very excited to learn that she was writing a new series based on the life of an ancestor of George Cooper (Tortall's spymaster and husband to Alana the Lioness).

I recently downloaded the unabridged audio book for the latest in this series, called Beka Cooper: Bloodhound, from audible.com and listened to it on my long commute into work. Once again, Tamora Pierce manages to pull me into Tortall and the cities of Corus and Port Caynn. Beka is a young dog (police officer) who works the roughest part of the capital city of Corus, Lower City. When a large number of false coin is discovered circulating through the realm's currency, Beka and her temporary senior partner, Goodwin, are sent to Port Caynn to discover its roots. Beka's scenthound, Achoo, some pigeons and a few dust spinners round out the cast of detectives. The story is engaging and the final hunt for the counterfeiters is tense and exciting.

However, this book (and the series) are NOT for young children. There is canoodling (sexual activities) spoken of without detail, as is homosexuality. If those things offend you, I'd recommend you read it anyway, because the storytelling is fantastic and Pierce is never preachy. The story chronicles the lives of her characters, and you may not like some of them. I personally love them all. Except some of the stinkin' rats!

You may get the idea that these books are for female readers only, since most of Pierce's books revolve around a strong central woman lead. However, my husband has become completely hooked on her writing, and reads them as voraciously as I.

To buy this book go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Bloodhound-Legend-Beka-Cooper-Book/dp/0375814698/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246713463&sr=8-1

or
http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?sku=0375814698

or listen to it the way I did by downloading it from
http://www.audible.com/
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