Having recently finished the previously published “What a Dog Knows" by Susan Wilson, I am happy to have had the chance for the Advanced Reader’s Edition e-copy; thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press!

The adorable cover; and a sweet, thoughtful, furry found friend was the initial draw to this story.
I was not expecting the pages of this book to be filled with finding answers to the life-long mystery of abandonment as an infant, and the constant search for an unknown family. The many friendships made during these discoveries left me with a satisfying home sweet home feeling as I ended Ruby Heartwood’s journey. Her story also left me wanting to log back on to Ancestry.com to continue the search for more hints on my own mysterious family tree!

“I’ve lived with this mystery all my life and I’d like to solve it.”

I found the story and characters a little odd but the overall "feel" of the book is hopeful and positive in the end. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for something different in the general fiction genre.

If you are a dog lover, or just love books with dogs as a main character, then I encourage you to check out this book and others by Susan Wlson.

Can you imagine how awesome it would be to have the ability to talk to your dog? That's one of Ruby's gifts as a psychic, fortune teller. This is a delightful story that has a little mystery and humor while bringing in themes of faith, family, hope and self discovery. The beginning is a tad slow but overall it's a sweet, uplifting read. This is definitely a book you should give a try.

My thanks to Susan Wilson, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ruby Heartwood has always been a psychic, traveling from fest to carnival to provide psychic readings to customers. One night, while parked by the side of the road, she hears a voice asking to be let into her camper, and, upon checking the area, finds a little dog. A little dog, whose thoughts Ruby can hear, joins her in her camper. Thus, begins the travels and story of the two. Ruby now adds dog connections to her repertoire of offerings. As the story progresses, Ruby and her dog partner move from adventure to adventure, all the while encountering interesting and often helpful people. Ruby also begins a journey into her past to find out who she really is and where she came from (she had been left on the doorstep of a religious convent/orphanage while a newborn).

I have read and enjoyed other books by the author, but not this one. It moved along slowly, and there was very little plot. As I said, some of the characters Ruby and her dog companion encounter provide a good addition to the story. I found the parts of the story where she speaks with the dog and the dog speaks with her most interesting. In fact, they were what kept me reading the book. I just could not get into the tale and found the pace too slow for me. This may be the book for some readers, but it definitely was not the book or me. I received this from NetGalley to read and review,

I've enjoyed other books by this author. This book was no exception. The story and characters are engaging and the "Hitchhiker" is adorable. That being said, I did have a harder time getting through this one that I did her other books. I wasn't bored but overall the book wasn't as exciting as her others.

This was a different book than I normally read. The psychic abilities of the main character, Ruby, was unique. To be honest, I did not feel connected to the characters and could not become invested in the story. It was an okay read but didn’t thrill me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Hey folks, daddy Steve here with some more doggiebook talk. This time I’ll tell you about the latest book from one of my favorite doggiebook author Susan Wilson. That book is What a Dog Knows.

I’ll start by saying one thing: Susan Wilson has been one of my favorite doggiebook author for a long, long time. I fell in love with her words with and about dogs over three years ago when I read her first book, One Good Dog. I’ve since read The Dog Who Danced and was just as moved by the story and the interaction between the main human and dog characters.

This one here, What a Dog Knows, is a special one. It does a little in the psychic, almost surnatural. You can’t be all cerebral when reading this one. I mean, a woman who claims to be a psychic, that’s not something I believe in, in real life. Strangely, I had little trouble believing she could hear a little dog’s voice in her head. No clue why, maybe because I’d like to be able to communicate that way with my boy.

That was an excellent book, highly recommend it to any dog lover. There’s a hint of romance, some good human interest about the characters, characters that I cared about. Finally, the dog does NOT die (tiny spoiler) and there’s a fairly happy ending.

Huge thanks to NetGalley who provided a free eBook advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. This is as honest as it gets...
The book is currently available to purchase.

#Malcolmstories #doggiebooks
#WhataDogKnows #NetGalley


Link to my review of One Good Dog:
https://www.facebook.com/152390402036938/posts/281325439143433/

Link to my review of The Dog Who Danced:
https://www.facebook.com/152390402036938/posts/358330604776249/

This book was full of colorful characters, animals, and a little magic in the air. An adult on the cusp of deciding just how much she can grow up without losing the essence of who she really is. A wonderful story.

P.S. And the cover? Is that Lindsey Vonn and her dog Lucy?! :)

I’ve read and loved this book so, so much, Susan has a special talent for sure. This is a must for any animal lover. Thank you netgalley and publisher for this arc in exchange of an honest review

Princess Fuzzypants here: It is a violent storm that bring the little dog and the woman together but when she opens the door to her van, she opens up something wonderful and fulfilling. It will not be easy. Ruby and Hitchhiker, as she names the spaniel, must surmount many challenges to stay together and to launch Ruby on a successful quest to find answers to her life. The biggest challenge they face is Ruby’s overwhelming compulsion to be on the move, to never put down stakes, to be one step ahead of who knows what.

When we learn of her past and the events that moulded her into who she is today, we can understand what drives her. But when she discovers, amongst her other psychic skills, she can communicate with animals, a gift bestowed upon her when she meets Hitchhiker, unknown worlds open to her. She becomes part of a “family” of sorts, with friends and commitments that she has spent a lifetime avoiding.

She cannot understand what it is about Harmony Falls that seems to make it impossible to leave, no matter how many times she tries. She will only discover the reason at the end of the book and it is a truly feel-good conclusion. There will be a smile upon your face as you read it, perhaps a leaky eye or two too. Told from both Ruby’s and Hitch’s perspectives, it is a touching and satisfying tale.

Five purrs and two paws up.

Brought to you by OBS Review jerjen

Ruby has not had an easy life. She was abandoned as a baby in an orphanage and she lived many years there. She eventually ran away and grew up on the streets. She meets a lady who helps her and teaches her to read fortunes and make money. She becomes very good at it and lives her life doing it. One night there is a lightning strike and things will never be the same. She meets a runaway dog and Ruby realizes she can hear what the dog is thinking and the dog can hear her too. Since she can now communicate with animals, she plans on adding that to her act. Her and the dog become best friends.

The characters are well rounded and well developed. Throughout the course of the book we learn bits and pieces of Ruby’s life until we get the complete story. Ruby continues to grow and get a better handle on her life. There are parts of chapters devoted to the dog’s(Hitchhiker) thoughts and feelings, and I really liked that.

Ruby and Hitchhiker are a team and belong together, and it has been a long time since she felt that love and belonging.

This book has a lot going for it: great characters, an intriguing plot and lots of animals and their thoughts. I enjoyed reading about Ruby learning, growing and becoming a stronger person. She is stronger than she thinks and will eventually figure this out.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted women’s contemporary. I will have to look at the other books that she has written, I am sure that they are good too.

I had a hard time getting in to this book, but it was interesting enough to keep me reading until the last page. A story of love, courage, family, and the bond between animals and their owners.

While I have enjoyed many of her books in the past, this was not one of them. Too slow getting started and just too long in all. The dog characters and the renderings of their thoughts were cute, but not enough for me to really like the book.

What a Dog Knows by Susan Wilson

9781250077264

368 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: June 22, 2021

Fiction, General Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Animal Communications

Ruby, an orphan that grew up in a convent in Canada, is a psychic travelling from one fair to another. She never lives in one place for long. One rainy evening, a dog jumps into her van and makes herself at home. What surprises Ruby is that she can hear the dog speaking to her in her mind. Then another dog comes to her, and she begins to see a new career in her future – animal communicator.

The story is well paced and kept my interest. The characters are well developed, and the story is written in the third person point of view. I have taken several animal communications courses so when I saw this book, I knew I had to read it. I loved the characters. They are quirky and flawed. I love the detailed descriptions of Ruby’s costume and the places she visits. If you love animals, you should read this book.

Mary Jones was abandoned as a baby and ended up in a catholic runned orphanage. Mary told a classmate that she was going to fall and hurt herself. That classmate told and Mary was told to go to see the headmaster. The headmaster was a priest and told her she was “evil.” She was put into quarantine immediately. Mary was not allowed to talk or see anyone. She was lost in an old, dusty used sick room. Mary took the opportunity to gather her meagered belongings and escaped the orphanage — she knew her ability was a gift not evil. Mary changed her name to Ruby Heartwood and would live on the streets. Ruby find herself under the care and protection of a psychic that works in a circus. When she is raped, she knows she must leave when the psychic doesn’t believe her. She raises her daughter and works. Moving at the end of eac school year to avoid being caught as an unwed, unmarried teenager. Her daughter goes to college and afterwards married. Ruby is a grandmother but keeps working her job as a psychic and moving at all times. She ends up in a village Harmony Falls. Due to a torrential downpour of rain. As she sits in her Westalia, she hears “lett me in, let me in. Puzzled, she goes and opens the door an there is a dog soaked. Ruby calls the small dog Hitchhiker. Ruby wakes up able to read animals thoughts.. She adds animal readings to her list of psychic abilities and signs on to Harmony Falls Farmers’ Market and Makers’ Faire. She has been searching or. Her mother this whole time. Will she find her mother? She finds herself strangely unable to leave Harmony Falls, Will she decide to make Harmony Falls her home? Why?

A novel which is filled with love, grit, strength and kindness. The story is told by many different perspectives. It adds to the story of Ruby’s mystic life. The author does an excellent job of writing what an animal’s thoughts would be. Survival and determination is what keeps Ruby going. It warmed my heart reading this lovely novel.

What a Dog Knows by Susan Wilson is a cute story. Ruby Heartwood is a traveling psychic. She is looking for her next place to land when a rainstorm hits. Ruby stops in by Lake Harmony in Harmony Farms for the night where something odd happens during a lightening strike. The next morning, Ruby can hear someone outside. It turns out to be a little dog and Ruby is “hearing” him inside her head. Ruby signs up for the local Farmers’ Market and Markers Faire and adds “pet communicator” to her list of skills. This is the beginning of a new venture for Ruby where events conspire to keep her from leaving the bucolic town. What a Dog Knows is well-written with an interesting group of characters and animals. We learn Ruby’s history a little at a time. I could certainly understand her nomadic existence and her desire to run when the going gets tough. I loved the descriptions of the charming town. There was a cozy house that I would love to live in. Ruby being able to hear a dog’s thoughts was intriguing. I would love to know what my pets are thinking except after bath time. I thought the author captured the animals’ thoughts and feelings very well. I enjoyed the chapters from Hitchhiker’s (Ruby’s dog) point-of-view. I did feel the pacing was a little slow at times, and the story played out in an expected manner. I still enjoyed reading this sweet story. What a Dog Knows is a mesmerizing tale with hope, fear, family, courage, friends, romance, and lovable animals. What a Dog Knows is a relaxing story that is great to read on a hot summer afternoon (preferably while relaxing by the pool).

Ruby was left in an orphanage in Ottawa as an infant and dreamt that one day she would find her mother. She has a gift for telling the future and at 14 ran away from the orphanage when she was accused of being in league with the devil. Under the tutelage of Madame Celestine she learns how to read fortunes and make a living in the carnival circuit. Now she is 55, her daughter has opted for a stay-in-one place life so Ruby travels alone until one night she stops in Harmony Farms where a little dog comes to her during a storm and she realizes she can talk to her. There is a Maker's Faire in town so Ruby sets up shop, starts making friends and every time she tries to leave something stands in her way.

Ruby is such a great character. She lives in a VW Westphalia and doesn't take herself too seriously but she is loyal to the people she meets even with the thinking that she will be moving on soon. All the rest of the characters were just as endearing, Bull and Polly and Doug. Harmony Farms actually sounded like a nice place to be. There is a little mystery as Ruby searches for her mom and that was a cute ending.

I want to thank Netgalley and St Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of this lovely story.

What a Dog Knows is a fun book for dog lovers. Ruby is a traveling fortune teller who finds a dog on the door of her camper van. She finds out she can hear what the dog is thinking. She becomes an animal psychic and is able to tell people what their pets are thinking. I wish I had that gift! It would make dog training so much easier.
Ruby is searching for her mother, eventually the dog, Hitch, helps her find her mother, sister, and love.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's press for my advanced reader copy.

This is a delightful and enjoyable book! The characters - both human and canine - are wonderful and feel totally real. The setting is unusual and interesting with the carnivals and festivals. The story is intriguing with some bumps along the way leading to a happy ending.

The only thing that was slightly irritating to me was the way Hitchhiker's thoughts were inserted into the dialogue with no real intros, making it a slight challenge sometimes to know it was the dog's thoughts. But if that's the only 'fault' I can find with a book, it doesn't bother me!

This is a perfect, easy-going read.

I have read almost every book by this author. I am a major dog person and have never disappointed! Ruby is an amazing woman. She is truly untethered after having been abandoned at an orphanage as a little one. It was never a happy place for her so she decides to hits the road as a young teen. During her travels she meets many people and the one she trusted the most lets her down in spectacularly heartbreaking fashion. She never truly trusts again until she meets and falls in love with an adorable pup she names the Hitchhiker, with whom she can communicate. Their journey to help her find the truth of how she wound up in an orphanage, to find the woman who most disappointed her and eventually find a safe place to finally land and feel loved and safe. In true Suss Wilson fashion you will get sucked right in to this wonderful story and root for Ruby and Hitch to finally find their happily ever after.