The book started out great. Larry is an odd person, and meets a group of other odd ones as they meet at the dog park. I enjoyed the thoughts and banter here and liked the story. Then Larry gets a chance to present a paper in Israel, so he leaves his dog with one of the group members, a weird one called Wayne. Little does Larry realize that Wayne is planning to build a bomb and destroy a church. Larry goes to Israel, and is confused with someone with a similar name, and he ends up getting arrested. Then he gets home and is arrested again as the authorities blame him for Wayne's actions. When he gets to Israel, and the politics and angst is added to the story I started to skim a bit more. Also didn't like the voices in Wayne's head. and finally in Larry's head. I enjoyed the first part of the book, not so much the last part. Might just be me.

Since losing his wife, Larry, a retired professor, has been lonely. Thus, he decides to get a dog and begins frequenting the local dog park, where he meets a mixed bag of people, the dog people. They are fascinating and have fascinating stories, while bonding during the time they spend with their dogs. About this time, Larry leaves for Israel, where he is to present a scholarly paper. However, things do not go as planned for Larry and, upon return he is charged with conspiracy to blow up a church and complicity in the deaths of four people. How will Larry ever get out of this mess? Will he get out of it?

The story is strange. I would have not thought it was going where it did. However, the author did a good job of bringing it together. The dog people and their stories were a fascinating read. Larry was an endearing guy, with a great dog. I found it interesting to watch the many twists and turns the book took as it moved towards the ending. This is an interesting book, to say the least. I enjoyed it. I love dogs, so that aspect made it all the more enjoyable. I am sure you will enjoy reading Larry’s tale if you are looking for something different and, if you like dogs, that will only make it better. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

An alternative read with an interesting story line and some colourful characters. A little disappointed that it ended fairly abruptly, I felt the author could have gone on further; but overall a light hearted book.

Apparently I did not fully read the book's synopsis because I was startled by the church explosion. Guess I was interested in the book the minute I found out some old guy got a dog. Dog = me wanting to read the book. So wasn't it a wonderful surprise to find myself reading a funny little story about a retired man, Larry, who reminded me of Professor Slughorn from Harry Potter and the interesting people he meets after getting a dog? The poor guy is so smart and has so much great knowledge to share with a bunch of people who just don't care! But unlike Slughorn, Larry gets himself a dog and through that event finds himself the member of a little group of people who meet regularly at the dog park. From there it is a series of missteps that culminate in Larry being arrested for blowing up a church, a domino effect, somewhat like a quirky adult version of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Mr. Henderson must have an odd sense of humor, but the book is written so lovingly with each character being handcrafted with its own unique characteristics. At one point he describes how a character gained a lot of weight. I stopped and read the section out loud to my son because it was so beautiful. Just a great read!