Novelist Jim Kraus has been steadily
building a brand writing heartwarming stories that explore the impact domestic
animals have on the human experience—and vice-versa. In The
Dog that Saved Stewart Coolidge, he crafts a story about twentysomethings
struggling to carve out their own niches in the world and how a stray dog brings
them together.
The book opens when
a loose dog sneaks into the Tops Super Market in the small town of Wellsboro,
Pa., and successfully steals a rawhide bone from the pet aisle. When the bone-wielding
bandit starts returning regularly to the scene of the crime to make additional
heists, Stewart Coolidge, a recent college graduate who can't find a job and works
as a grocery store bagger, is enlisted by the store owner to catch the elusive thief.
The recurring incidents soon become the talk of the town. Whose dog is it and where did he come from? When a local (and
conniving) used car dealer decides to capitalize on the situation--and offers a
reward for the dog, which he falsely claims is his own--Stewart, in his quest to wrangle up the stray, joins forces
with Lisa, his neighbor, also a recent college grad with journalism ambitions, who
works at the local coffee house.
While Stewart
tries to capture the renegade dog, Lisa begins to cover the story for the town
news. In their pursuit, the two become
friends. But will their past heartbreaks and disappointments in life and love
keep them from being honest with each other and prevent their friendship from blossoming into
romance?
When the vagabond canine
criminal, whom Lisa and Stewart come to call Hubert (named after The Patron Saint of Dogs),
eventually shows up at the apartment house where Lisa and Stewart live--and
Stewart decides to secretly take Hubert in--the dog's presence and his mischievous
actions deepen the couple's relationship
and things grow even more complicated around town. What repercussions will occur in harboring a four-legged fugitive?
Details of small
town life ring with authenticity, along with the stresses young people face in meeting the expectations of others and finding and taking their places in the world while remaining true to themselves. Kraus (The Dog that Talked to God) presents a lovable cast of townsfolk and a suspenseful plot that is ultimately
infused with a faith-based message that unites the spiritual themes of this
wholesome, feel-good story.
Publication Date: October 27, 2015