Bloodhound

Summary: Beka Cooper is no longer a puppy. She’s a Dog now—a full-fledged member of the Provost’s Guard, which keeps the peace in Corus’s streets. Beka’s natural skills of observation and tenacity are augmented by her unusual magical talents, which all ow her to gather information both from pigeons and from the eddies of dirt and dust that swirl on the street corners. But even her magic isn’t very useful when unrest comes to Tortall’s capital in the form of counterfeit coins, which turn up in shops all over the city. Merchants raise prices to cover their losses, and with winter coming on, hikes in food and fuel costs could spell disaster—most of all for the city’s poor.

The Dogs discover that gamblers are bringing the counterfeits from Port Caynn—and that the Port Caynn Dogs don’t seem to be doing anything about it. Beka and her mentor, Clary Goodwin, are chosen to go undercover in port Caynn and find out what they can. And wherever Beka goes, so do some of her animals. Departing from Corus with her are the scent hound Achoo, who has been newly assigned to Beka, and the pigeon Slapper, who carries the voices of the dead.

In Port Caynn, Beka and Goodwin delve deep into the gambling world. There Beka meets a charming bank courier, who may be involved in the counterfeiting ring. Things come to a head just as Goodwin returns home to report to Corus. It won’t be enough for Beka to be her usual “terrier” self. She’ll have to learn from Achoo to sniff out the criminals—to be a Bloodhound.

Review: I have been dying to get my hands on Bloodhound since I read the first book Terrier. Most of you know that Beka Cooper: Terrier is possibly my favorite book and Bloodhound doesn’t let down. It’s not as enthralling as Terrier, but still exciting and exhilarating. This time around we are reminded much more often that the book is Beka’s journal. In Terrier it was hard to remember, sometimes, that you were reading her journal. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it makes the story seem all that more real. Given we are dealing with a fantasy land, I think that’s pretty good.
The crime this time around isn’t as exciting, generally, as child kidnapping. The crime Beka deals with is counterfeiting and though, normally, it would be boring, Tamora manages to make it just as exciting as child kidnapping with a new array of villains. Pearl is vicious and selfish, by the end of the book I was more than ready to see her captured. Dale, Hanse, and their bands of men were fun and I was very disappointed when one of them was the head of the counterfeiting ring (I won’t tell you which!).

Character wise, Tamora Pierce does just brilliant. Beka and Goodwin are very fleshed out and just very believable. Beka isn’t the perfect heroine but she’s stubborn and won’t let anyone slip by her if she can help it. That makes her a great heroine.
When all was said and done I really enjoyed the book and wouldn’t mind reading it again.

Rating: 4.7/5.0

Reviews from the Pros:

“Sixteen-year-old rookie policewoman Beka and her temporary partner, Clary, are sent to Port Caynn to investigate the source of counterfeit coins that have begun to appear in the markets and taverns. The wealth of detail, shared in diary format, occasionally threatens to overwhelm the book’s pacing and action, but quirky, endearing characters save the story.”-Booklist

“Pounce, Beka's wise cat, who is also a God, is mostly absent but Beka's other unusual magical sources of information-pigeons inhabited by talking ghosts of the dead and spirits in spinning dust funnels—continue to add to the series' appeal. Beka is as headstrong and feisty as ever and frequently makes errors in judgment but is willing to learn from her mistakes. She truly earns the nickname Bloodhound as she faithfully narrates her story through journal entries.”-School Library Journal