Quintette asks writers five quick questions. This week’s interview is with:
Louisa Bennet
1. What’s the name of your latest book – and how hard was it to pick a title?
The Bone Ranger – the book was originally going to be called something else but at the final stages of the edit I was starting to write book three in the Monty Dog Detective series and I realised that the title we had picked would be better suited to book three. Because a key character in the novel is known as The Bone Ranger by Monty and the other dog characters, I suggested we named this book, The Bone Ranger, which caused Lindy, the publisher, to burst out laughing. This was exactly the response I had been hoping for.
2. If you could choose anyone from any time period, who would you cast as the leads in your latest book?
The central character is a golden retriever called Monty so it would need to be a dog in the lead role – woof! The story is inspired by my golden retriever, Pickles, and his younger sidekick, Lilly, who are clever and mischievous dogs. Perhaps one of them could play the role in a movie but they might steal all the catering. They wouldn’t be able to resist all the enticing smells!
The secondary character is Detective Constable Rose Sidebottom who is struggling with anxiety and is desperate to prove she is a good detective. She is only twenty-one years old and petite but ‘doggedly’ determined (I couldn’t resist the pun!). think the actress who was in the Star Wars movie The Force Awakens would be good in the role – Daisy Ridley. Or perhaps Felicity Jones who starred in Rogue One.
3. What five words best describe your story?
Uplifting, funny, loveable, dogtastic, howlathonic!
4. Who is your favourite fictional team/couple?
Inspector Lorenzo Fabbri and Rex (a German Shepherd) – from an Italian TV series that went global.
5. What song reflects a theme, character, relationship or scene in your book?
I Love My Dog by Cat Stevens (1966)
About The Bone Ranger
Meet Monty, the food-obsessed and totally lovable Golden Retriever who will do anything for his owner, Detective Constable Rose Sidebottom.
Of course, as these things go, Monty is no ordinary dog and Rose is no ordinary hooman. Monty has a super-smart nose; while Rose has an uncanny ability to know when people are lying. Together they make a formidable team.
When a stranger begs for their help to find a missing person, little do they know their adventure will lead on a trail of mystery, mayhem, and murder…
Funny and heart-warming, The Bone Ranger will have you smiling from ear to ear.
Buy The Bone Ranger
For readers in the US:
About Louisa Bennet
Louisa Bennet studied Literature at the University of London and went on to learn Canine Linguistics from her golden retriever, Pickles, which is how she discovered what dogs really get up to when we’re not around. Truth be told, Pickles came up with the story for the Monty Dog Detective mysteries, and Louisa just transcribed it. She’s faster on the keyboard and less easily distracted by food and passing squirrels.
There are two books in this series: Monty & Me and The Bone Ranger (published Dec 2021)
Louisa divides her time between writing novels and running courses on crime fiction and creative writing. Pickles runs courses on wee-mailing, duck toppling and drool management. To find out more about Monty the sniffer super-sleuth, please go to:
Louisa Bennet also writes thrillers as L.A. Larkin.
Social Media