BY REON CARTER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Cats may be enigmatic, but they don't have a lock on mystery.
That's what Jeffrey Marks of Green Township thought when he stumbled across a book of short mystery stories featuring felines.
"There should be a book like this for dogs," Mr. Marks recalls saying.
The mystery writer and owner of a Scottish terrier named Ellery (as in Ellery Queen) mailed a book proposal to publishers in May 1997. His idea was snapped up by Ballantine. The book, Canine Crimes ($5.99), hit store shelves this month.
The author will sign copies at 2 p.m. Sunday at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Norwood and at 7 p.m. Monday at Borders Books & Music in Springdale. Mr. Marks, 38, compiled 15 original stories from an assortment of mystery writers, such as Anne Perry, Amanda Cross, Taylor McCafferty and Laurien Berenson He penned "The Long Arm of the Paw."
Other titles include:
"You'll Never Bark in This Town Again"
"Sleeping Dogs Lie"
"Like Alpo for Chocolate: A Short Story for Fragrances"
"I hope this book will appeal to people who love mysteries and dogs," he says. "The stories range from very dark private eye-type to humorous. We go from Dobermans to beagles."
Since Canine Crimes, Mr. Marks has completed a historical mystery novel.His literary debut, a biography about 1940s' mystery writer Craig Rice, was published in France in 1994.
