Private investigator Rachel Alexander and her pit bull, Dashiell, the most portentous new sleuths on the streets of New York, begin their search for a missing dog and refuse to leave the streets until the hip duo has sniffed out a murder. YA. A young New York artist is killed by a hit-and-run driver on an isolated pier late at night. A friend contacts Alexander and Dash, a private-eye firm run by Rachel Alexander, ably assisted by her pit bull, Dashiell. In addition to tracking down the killer, they must locate the victim's missing basenji, a competitor scheduled to enter the upcoming Westminster Dog Show. After they find the animal, his trainer is also killed. Rachel interviews the artist's friends, lovers, and colleagues. The trail winds through the Greenwich Village gay community, Soho art circles, and the dog show world. The story climaxes in an exciting confrontation with the killer. The book has a strong female character and lots of action. The dogs are realistically portrayed with no animal conversations or intuitions marring the plot. Snappy dialogue and a fast-paced story will hold readers' attention.?Penny Stevens, formerly at Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. Benjamin joins ranks with Laurien Berenson (see below) and Susan Conant in presenting a mystery centered around dogs and dog lovers. Rachel Alexander runs an investigation company in Greenwich Village with her pit bull Dashiell. Divorced, self-sufficient, and wryly observant, Rachel looks for the murderer of a gay artist whose champion basenji adds plot entanglements. Suspects include the victim's lover, his greedy and ambitious dog handler, and his love-lorn neighbor. Promising work from a new author for subject fans and others. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. Meet Rachel Alexander, dog trainer turned shamus, and her pit bull Dashiell. Rachel gets $500 a day plus expenses; Dash gets $50, but (a nice touch) Rachel covers his expenses. Rachel won't work without Dash, but that makes sense when the case is a homicide witnessed by a dog--Magritte, the missing basenji who belonged to hit-and-run victim Clifford Cole, a painter whose body was found out on the Christopher Street pier. Gay-bashing, say the unmotivated cops. But Cliff's friend and neighbor Dennis Keaton smells premeditation; why else would Cliff have gone out to the lonely pier in the dead of night? It doesn't take Rachel long to find Magritte, or much longer to track down another, human, witness (in an unexpectedly affecting scene) who tells her the dog was nowhere near the pier where Cliff was killed. But just when Rachel's ready to pounce on the likeliest suspect, he drops dead, victim of an inventive poisoning, in the middle of the Westminster Dog Show--and then, lest she be lulled into assuming the killer's gotten his just deserts, Rachel realizes she's being stalked by the real, unpoisoned killer, whose motive is as surprising as it is logical and chilling. Benjamin, a veteran of children's books and dog-training guides, has spun a first mystery that's de rigueur for dog fanciers and highly satisfactory even for readers who prefer two- legged animals. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. Used Book in Good Condition