One Good Dog: A Novel

Susan Wilson

Mar 2010 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

"One Good Dog is a wonderful novel: a moving, tender, and brilliantly crafted story about two fighters—one a man, one a dog— hoping to leave the fight behind, who ultimately find their salvation in each other. Susan Wilson's clear and unflinching style is perfectly suited for her story that strips away the trappings and toys we all hide behind, and exposes our essential need to give and accept love in order to thrive."—Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain

Adam March is a self-made "Master of the Universe." He has it all: the beautiful wife, the high-powered job, the glittering circle of friends. But there is a price to be paid for all these trappings, and the pressure is mounting—until the day Adam makes a fatal mistake. His assistant leaves him a message with three words: your sister called. What no one knows is that Adam's sister has been missing for decades. That she represents the excruciatingly painful past he has left behind. And that her absence has secretly tormented him all these years. When his assistant brushes off his request for an explanation in favor of her more pressing personal call, Adam loses it. And all hell breaks loose.

Adam is escorted from the building. He loses his job. He loses his wife. He loses the life he's worked so hard to achieve. He doesn't believe it is possible to sink any lower when he is assigned to work in a soup kitchen as a form of community service. But unbeknownst to Adam, this is where his life will intersect with Chance.

Chance is a mixed breed Pit Bull. He's been born and raised to fight and seldom leaves the dirty basement where he is kept between fights. But Chance is not a victim or a monster. It is Chance's unique spirit that helps him escape and puts him in the path of Adam.

What transpires is the story of one man, one dog, and how they save each other—in ways they never could have expected.

Ratings and reviews

Well, I must admit, I am the absolute prime audience for this book as not only a dog owner, but a pit-lover as well. This was a wonderful book! The writer did a lovely job of juxtaposing the life of a man and the life of a dog. She really worked to equate their lives, and it definitely worked. She evoked emotions and her plot, though slow to start, was riveting by the end. And while I think the pit bull has become a bit of a fad dog to promote their inherent goodness (and don't get me wrong, they are good dogs!), Wilson did a good job of making a beauty of the beast that society has also declared the pit bull to be. The chapters from the dog's point-of-view were a bit lacking in credibility, but all of the emotions raised in the book were quite genuine, which more than made up for her constantly pushing how similar this man and his dog were. Really, it was just a lovely book.

This book was great. The author does a wonderful job making the connection between human and canine. I also liked hoe the author told Chance's story in first person. A great book with many ups and downs to keep you glued to page after page. I didn't want to put it down.

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. The angry CEO, and the street smart pitbull mix are the perfect combination. I was hooked from the very first page.

About the author

Susan Wilson is the bestselling author of books including Cameo Lake and Beauty, a modern retelling of "Beauty and the Beast," which was made into a CBS-TV movie. She lives on Martha's Vineyard.