Dorothy Johnston, The Trojan Dog

The Trojan Dog

Dorothy Johnston

Dunne, Mar 2005, $23.95

ISBN: 0312332475

While her husband Derek is in America for a year, Sandra Mahoney struggles with helping her eight-year-old son Peter cope with reading while returning to the workforce after several years as a stay-at-home mom. She gets a civil servant job with the Australian Labor Relations Service Department Industries Branch whose unpopular director Rae Evans was a friend of her deceased mother.

However, her peers, except for the zany Ivan Semyonov, make it evident they do not want her here; each fears for their job with the government changing parties as this branch is probably going out of existence. Canberra Times reporter Gail Tremboth calls Sandra as they were college cronies to ask about Rae. An email the paper received insists that Rae embezzled $900K by adding a zero to a grant check and has committed computer fraud. Sandra, remembering her mother's motto of loyalty to friends, believes her boss is innocent and tries to prove she is right with only Ivan helping her as everyone else in the office wants Sandra to take the fall even if she proves to be innocent.

THE TROJAN DOG is a terrific, Australian, amateur sleuth starring a delightful protagonist, a fabulous support cast who make the office seem real, and a fantastic look at Canberra. Though Sandra feels the world caving in on her with her spouse overseas, her son struggling with school, and her new job probably ending when the government switches leadership, she believes strongly in doing what she perceives is the right thing by not just standing loyally with Rae, but actively proving she did not commit the crimes. Dorothy Johnston provides a super investigative tale that readers will value.

Harriet Klausner