Wednesday, March 26, 2014

A Glimpse of Veterinary Practice in a Small Town

Eden Falls is not the place Dr. Cyrus Mills wants to settle down, but when he inherits his father's veterinary practice, he decides to give it a try. Cyrus is an introverted veterinary pathologist who has never treated live animals. Now he's faced with not only difficult cases, but difficult owners. In spite of the drawbacks, and the winter weather in Vermont is one of them, Cyrus begins to enjoy what he's doing.

His new life is complicated by a rival veterinary practice, Healthy Paws, that wants to put his practice, Bedside Manor, out of business. There's also Amy, an attractive waitress at the cafe, that he wants to get to know better. Each time he and Amy seem to be getting together either one of his cases, or a tall, dark stranger come between them. Altogether, Cyrus has his work cut out for him in his new role.

The story is told from Cyrus' point of view. He sees himself as bumbling and inept in human relationships. His descriptions of himself often become highly amusing. The book is filled with other attractive characters: Charlie, who tries to set Cyrus up with her mother who happens to work for the rival practice; Gabe, the computer whiz who enjoys hacking into places where he shouldn't be; and Dr. Lewis, Cyrus' partner,
who offers good advice on life and treating animals.

I enjoyed the book particularly the description of the unusual cases Cyrus deals with. It is quite unlikely in a real veterinary practice that he would see this many hard to diagnose cases. However, they provide momentum for the story because you want to know if he'll solve the mystery and cure the animals.

Although this book is a follow on to The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs, enough background information is provided to make this book standalone. However, if you enjoy this book, you'll probably want to go back and catch up on Cyrus' early history.

I reviewed this book for Net Galley.

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