Genius As A Dog In Michael Gideon's Burning Man

Having one of the main characters as a dog, Sirius, is certainly an intriguing premise for a police procedural and a lesser writer could not have pulled it off as well as Alan Russell in Burning Man. The novel is written from the first person of Sirius's owner, Michael Gideon, and this is what helps the character of the dog actually work. As any dog owner will tell you, we all have imagined conversations with our dogs. Having the human character be the narrator of the overall novel makes the interplay between Michael and the dog Sirius work wonderfully. So if you're worried about the primary character's partner being a dog in this police procedural, put that worry to rest - Mr. Russell does a good job on this score.

The book is really two stories in one - the actual mystery and police procedural, and then the unfolding of Michael's trauma from a fiery incident in the book's prologue (thus the title, burning man). Throughout the book, Michael suffers post-traumatic disorder nightmares involving fire. And each time, he wakes to his dog licking him and whimpering. In part because of this - and in part because of other factors I won't go into so I can avoid spoilers - his personal life is in disarray. Thus, part of the book is …show more content…
At about three-fourths of the way through the book, you will undoubtedly be tempted to skip the "personal life interlude" chapter so you can proceed with trying to figure out the mystery. I understand the need to have the personal life of the detective present. Henning Mankell or Jo Nesbo show how good writers slip personal life points and sub-plots into police procedurals and mysteries so they don't jump out at you ala Monty Python's "And now for something completely different...." Thus my comment about the slightly uneven plot