Reviews of The Barbary Dogs:
This esoteric tale, peopled with dozens of quirky characters, draws you in and spits you out dazed and delighted with the journey. — Kirkus’ Reviews
This quirky and offbeat novel may well appeal to fans of Lisa Lutz’s Spellman Files, also a little wacky and set in San Francisco.
— Jessica Moyer, Booklist
. . . a rollicking thesaurus-fueled romp through the caverns of Max’s roller-coaster mind. Those seeking a conventional whodunit should look elsewhere.
— Publishers’ Weekly
Somewhere in the authorial firmament, Raymond Chandler is attempting to steal this passage for his latest celestial novel: “Blashky introduced me to Miss Vicky. She leaned her forearms onto the bar, framing her bounteous breasts in the strong embrace of her bare arms. A man could lose his motel keys in that cleavage.” Robinson’s stylistics and Max’s theatrics—equally bravura—make for a most exotic port of call in a mystery that defies categorical gravity, quite alike a perpendicular cable-car ride.
— David Marshall James, Yahoo Shine
The serpentine story line has more wonderful curves than Lombard Street as Max, accompanied by Dixie and the ghosts, provides an intriguing tour of San Francisco. — Harriet Klausner, Genre-Go-Round
Reviews of The Dog Park Club:
Robinson’s fiction debut is an amusing dark comedy with charismatic characters and a story that seems ripped from the headlines but turns out to be far more interesting than the truth. — ★ KIRKUS REVIEWS (starred review)
Brava to Robinson for writing outside the box of more traditional mystery-novel paradigms. Max and Claudia’s retro-metro, uphill-downhill lifestyles may well attract a cult following. — YAHOO SHINE, David Marshall James
Robinson brings profound gifts to her first novel, not the least of which is her intelligent questioning of how well we really know the people in our lives. — RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, Jay Stafford
Cynthia Robinson’s first novel is a terrific character driven tale that looks deeply at an ensemble cast who makes up The Dog Park Club. — GENRE GO ROUND, Harriet Klausner
“Twisty as a leash on a lively pup, The Dog Park Club by Cynthia Robinson is rollicking fun!” — DOUBLE-DAY BOOK CLUB
Cynthia Robinson’s offbeat first novel, The Dog Park Club, will make you laugh aloud, as you follow the exploits of opera singer Max Bravo, who visits Berkeley to console a friend. When he walks her dog and discovers a local dog park, he quickly befriends some of the regulars (hence the title). Thus, when one member of the group vanishes, Max and the other dog park aficionados spring to action. This book is great fun, and I’m looking forward to future installments in this hilarious new series. — MYSTERY LOVERS BOOKSHOP [Oakmont, Pennsylvania] — LM
This is a wry, darkly comic, terminally knowing novel, which can’t quite hide the yearning at its heart. - David Gates, author of Jernigan
“This book is a lot of fun, full of unexpected depths and twists.” — Josh Bazell, bestselling author of Beat the Reaper
Drag out the dictionary, go to “S:” smart, savage, slapstick—and sympathetic. Cynthia Robinson’s The Dog Park Club is that rarest of gems, a comic tour de force that steals your heart. — David Corbett, author of The Devil’s Redhead
Sly, witty and fun, The Dog Park Club is a pitch perfect debut — a darkly comic ensemble piece wrapped in a mystery and executed with the assuredness of a master. Robinson’s opera star-cum-detective Max Bravo delivers a virtuoso performance. Bravo, indeed! — Karen Dionne, author of Freezing Point
Sly, compelling and beautifully written, The Dog Park Club will make you laugh out loud and then break your heart; Max Bravo is one of the most original and appealing protagonists to appear in years. — Jeremy Duns, author of Free Agent
Prepare to fall in love with witty baritone Max Bravo as he and a ragtag band of dog owners investigate the disappearance of one of their own. Robinson’s laugh out loud funny debut, Dog Park, is a charming aria to complicated personal relationships and the lengths to which we’ll go to keep our friends. — Rebecca Cantrell, author of A Trace of Smoke
Max Bravo is the perfect narrator, witty and monstrous in his way, he guides us through a contemporary landscape of tweakers, bikers, fleece jackets, and high-profile murders. This is Bay Area noir at its best, sometimes chilling and often hilarious. — Stephen Beachy, author of The Whistling Song
A smart, suspenseful and laugh out loud caper. Robinson writes with style and tension, and I found myself trying to guess whodunit all the way to the end. — K.M. Soehnlein, author of The World of Normal Boys