It All Started With a Dog

by Leigh Somerville

Despite the good intensions of match-making friends, family and neighbors, Rachel Springer, a tough Washington, D.C. lawyer, has spent a lifetime protecting her heart from the dangerous possibilities of love. When she finds a ragged stray dog on the streets of Georgetown and brings him home with her, she starts a sequence of startling events that lead her down a path she's never explored. Along the way, she rents her downstairs apartment to a bachelor whose 5-year-old grandson has the same effect on her as the homeless dog. Rachel's expanded life in Washington takes several unexpected turns as she juggles the dramas of divorces and molestation charges; a midnight drunk on her front porch; a health crisis that treatens to disrupt her lawfirm; and a weekend tragedy that turns her world upside down. All it takes to fully open the door to Rachel's heart is the disappearance of the dog that started it all.

238 pages, Paperback

First published October 24, 2008

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leigh Somerville McMillan’s It all started with a dog reads like a tall glass of iced tea on the patio on a hot and humid summer’s day. A Washington DC lawyer of a certain age, Rachel Springer has begun to grow old alone, enjoying her large comfortable home in town and occasionally visiting relatives on the farm where she grew up. Rachel has no desire to change anything in her life or her work, but change comes uninvited in the shape of a delightful dog and continues on from there.

People, like the dog, have a knack for worming their way into Rachel’s heart. Coincidence wears the pleasing guise of love and fate in this novel, with heartwarming characters, both young and old, real-world issues, honest problems and enjoyable relationships. Rachel’s interfering friend hides a heart of pure gold and her visitor’s wounded heart bleeds diamond threads.

It all started with a dog weaves a delightful web of relationships, infusing them with love and summer sun, and tying them together in a thoroughly enjoyable way. Slow and well-detailed backstories befit the pace of a detail-oriented woman slowly turning her life upside down, and the whole is a fine tale for a long hot summer’s read.

Disclosure: I received a free ecopy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book was outside my usual literary tastes, it is well written. I would recommend it for fans of Nicholas Sparks and possibly those of Anne Tyler. The first six pages had a bit of a strange feel, with the narrative alternating with a present tense and past tense flow. From page seven onward, it flowed with a consistent and traditional third person past tense narrative, and flowed very well. It is indeed a romance novel, but was nice for a change to read about two lead characters who had passed the half-century mark. No young lovers here, but still the same emotions of new love found at any age. The characters of Rachel, John, Ben, Georgia and all the others are rich considering the limited page time. Of course, this is not to leave out Ralph, the dog in the title. The city of Washington D.C is well described and fits in nicely with the story and characters. I enjoyed reading of Rachel's life as an attorney and with her varied clientele.

If there's a complaint to be made, it's the back cover description. Please don't even read it before you read this book. The writing is simple enough that you'll figure out what's going on. This is a sweet and simple story, not an experimental one. There are, or at least could be, a few small surprises along the way. However, the back cover basically describes the whole book, including a plot point that doesn't even occur until 14 pages from the end. Having read this in advance made all but one or two things very predictable. To the author's credit, the story was quite satisfactory in spite of basically having a full outline.

[Bill Cissna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very pleasing read with well-drawn characters, told in a natural style. It may help that I know both the Washington, D.C. and southwestern Virginia settings used in the story, but I feel sure meeting these people would have been interesting in any case.

[Aldafan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got this as a gift. I liked that the star character was a 62 year old single woman but there really wasn't much of a plot. Not even much about the dog!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story about Ralph, a stray mutt, and the kind soul that rescued him. A familiar story for many dog lovers and or owners. How the lives of people cross paths because of a dog.

[Jacquie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book if you love dogs and are looking for love later in life