Isle of Dogs (Andy Brazil, #3) by Patricia Cornwell


Isle of Dogs (Andy Brazil, #3)
Title : Isle of Dogs (Andy Brazil, #3)
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 075153188X
ISBN-10 : 9780751531886
Language : English
Format Type : Paperback
Number of Pages : 532
Publication : First published October 8, 2001

Chaos breaks loose when the governor of Virginia orders that speed traps be painted on all streets and highways, and warns that speeders will be caught by monitoring aircraft flying overhead. But the eccentric island of Tangier, fourteen miles off the coast of Virginia in Chesapeake Bay, responds by declaring war on its own state. Judy Hammer, newly installed as the superintendent of the Virginia State Police, and Andy Brazil, a state trooper and Hammer’s right hand and confidant, find themselves at their wits’ end as they try to protect the public from the politicians—and vice versa—in this pitch-perfect, darkly comic romp.


Isle of Dogs (Andy Brazil, #3) Reviews


  • Lew

    I'm surprised that I even finished this book. It is one of the worst books I have ever read. I'm a big fan of Scarpetti books but don't read this. I not sure it even rates a star

  • Paula Adams

    If you are looking for road pirates, state government corruption, fraud, an appearance by Dr. Scarpetta and plenty of humor (mostly dry) then you will enjoy reading this book.

  • Laura Ramos

    Skip it -- she tried to write humor, but should have stuck with the Scarpetta formula that works.

  • Asghar Abbas


    Hilarious . Or was it ?

    In any case , love Aug of 2005 .

  • Sarah

    The only possible redeeming quality of this book is it could be used as fire kindling. This could quite possibly be the worst book ever.

  • Linda

    This was quite possibly, not only the worst book I have ever read by Patricia Cornwell, but the worst book I have ever read hands down. What a disappointment. I've kept up with the Kay Scarpetta series (which has also been going downhill in the last few books), and thought I'd branch out and read the other series she has written. The Win Garrano series wasn't bad, and was short and sweet (which made it tolerable). However, the Andy Brazil series takes the cake. Hornets Nest (first in the series) was actually pretty entertaining. But her writing went into a downward spiral with Southern Cross and culminated in her worst novel yet with Isle of Dogs.

    First of all, one of the main characters, who was present through the first two books, is not mentioned at all in Isle of Dogs. What happened to her? I kept reading, thinking, she'll address this at some point, but about halfway through the book, I realized it wasn't going to happen. Poor form.

    Second, as a native Virginian (and much surprised, as Cornwell is too), I was appalled by how ignorant Cornwell made the majority of her characters sound. Thanks for making every Virginia resident sound like a bunch of redneck, slack-jawed yokels that can't even tell right from left. I can't speak for Tangerians, as I have never been to the island, but I can't imagine they're as stupid and backwards as she has made them out to be, and believe me, I've heard stories.

    You should be ashamed of yourself for writing such dreck Patricia Cornwell. How you were able to show your face in public after this disaster baffles me.

  • Belinda Vlasbaard

    3,75 sterren- Nederlandse hardcover

  • Sarah Jean

    I have not written a review on here before, but am doing so now as I was surprised at the lack of enthusiasm from readers of this book. I loved it for its quirky characters, comedy and the way it valued kindness. I found the animal scenes especially funny! It made me curious about the settings and some of the historical asides. I have not read any books by this author and from the reviews I gather it is pretty different to her usual style so maybe that explains the dislike. I have just bought a couple of the Scarpetta novels so I hope I like those too!

  • Sheryl

    I give this book one star only because it is easy to read. I was taught to find something nice to say or don't say anything at all. This one makes that a challenge. Complete with talking blue crabs and trout, the story-line in Isle of Dogs is unbelievable and the characters shallow. I would not recommend this book.

  • Ralph McEwen

    The story is silly and some what funny and a little scary. The scary part is that I really believe that there are self indulgent politicians with self involved family members, crooked cops and enough stupid people to make this almost a true story. I listened to this as a audio book and am now wishing that there was a way to rated the narration separate from the book. I would rate the book as a 2, but the narrator should be given 4 stars. She did a wonderful job creating separate voices and dialects for the characters. So with mixed feeling I give this audio book a three star rating.

  • Nanosynergy

    This is an absolutely terrible book! Cornwell is author of the Kay Scarpetta series (which I highly recommend for readers of this genre - particularly the earlier books in the series). In fact, the Scarpetta books are considered an influence in the development of the fictional, forensic television series (like CSI).

    However, Isle of Dogs is not part of the Scarpetta series. I couldn't even slog through to the end in audio format. Wincing in embarrassment for the author, I went online to check out the reviews of others who had dared to read the entire book. The reviews were overwhelmingly negative (1-star or less). Here are just a few quotes that express my sentiments: - "It's just stupid," "Waste of money," "a truly bad novel." If this was Cornwell's first novel, it would never have been published. If this is a reader's first encounter with Cornwell's writing, sadly it will most likely be their last.

    The unabridged CD version is 14 hours long (12 CDs; narrator Michele Hall). I made it to the 5th CD, grumbled at my husband about how incredibly bad it was, packed it up and returned it to the library. At least I did not spend any money on this dog.

  • Kay

    How bad can you rate a book? I feel like a liar for giving it one star- surely there is a minus star I can put. I've been reading Cornwell since she started writing and have enjoyed her books. This one is still not finished [and only the 2nd book in my life I haven't been able to finish!] I believe she was drunk the entire time she wrote an took bad advice from a bartender [no offense to bartenders!].

  • Michelle & Tony

    This is one of my favourite books!
    Quite unlike Ms Cornwell's usual books (although I am a fan of her work). This is a very funny book. Great story with some brilliant characters.
    Particularly enjoyable to all those collectors of trivets, especially if you have a seeing eye horse! Lol!
    This is a must read!

  • Jjean

    This story was very different - quirky & strange characters, comedy with talking animals/fish - different way to investigate the murders - seemed to have a lot of "filler" pages - Not an author I usually read & may not again.

  • Heidi

    Least favorite of her books... if you want a comic romp involving shady government officials... try Sick Puppy by Carl Hiassen... he does this kind of book so much better!

  • woody

    Absolute drivel! Do not read Patricia Cornwell's Andy Brazil series. It is lousy.
    Her Kay Scarpetta series is good though.

  • William Potter

    This is the worst Cornwell book I have read. The other non-Scarpetta books were okay this one...I could not even finsh.

  • Vinita

    I keep thinking that there were redeeming qualities about the book - but I can't think of any right now...perhaps the history angle? Not sure what to make of it...

  • Connie

    This was an absolutely stupid book. The author's attempts at humor fall short of the mark. Read the Kay Scarpetta novels, but do not waste time on this one.

  • Mike

    Read part of this one years ago. I'm pretty sure I gave up when the fish started talking.

  • Jackie

    What fun— who knew Patricia Cornwall could be funny?

  • Maura

    Well, this was not very satisfying. I rather enjoyed the first two books in this series. This one went WAY off course. No idea what the author was going for here, but it does not, in the least, match the style of the first two. It's like it went into a different genre or something.

    Andy Brazil and Judy Hammer are both in this one...now part of the Virginia state police. Deputy Virginia West, co-worker and on and off again girlfriend of Andy and something of a friend to Judy Hammer has disappeared completely in this story...there in book 2, gone in book 3. Where'd she go? She is alluded to by Andy once, but otherwise we get NO indication what happened to her, where she went or why no one seems to care that she's disappeared off the face of the planet. And sadly, SHE was the character I liked in the series, not Andy. Andy is basically the truly, spectacularly, pretentious ass in this story. He annoyed the crap out of me. His "Trooper Truth" essays were just...stupid. His attitude that he knows everything and can solve any problem...also annoying. And the relationship between him and Hammer is just weird.

    Then, add in the the strangeness of fish and crabs communicating and playing dead to escape being eaten...and so much absurdity in an attempt to be funny but it feels like it's trying to hard. This was not really to my taste. It had some interesting parts, which is why the 2 stars, but on the whole, not great.

  • Freyja Vanadis

    Absolutely awful. I'd have never dreamed Ms. Cornwell could write such a terrible book, but there it is. I bought it when it was first published in 2001, but sold it on Amazon as fast as I could.