A gentle and gently amusing story of an English Labrador named Mrs. Snugglesworth, who helps other dogs who frequent the Bark Park sort out their problems with a little canine legal expertise and kindness.

Mrs. Snugglesworth has just started her several days long law program delivered by dogs knowledgeable about forensics, invisibility and other important skills necessary for a good canine lawyer, when she takes on a case for a good friend, Pitter-Patter, who has been falsely accused of damaging a stuffed toy. He's desperate, as he could be ostracised for several days at the Bark Park if the real culprit is not found. Mrs. Snugglesworth immediately begins investigating, using her excellent nose and good sense, while making sure she keeps a watchful eye, and nose, out for ham falling into her food bowl.

This was sweet. Mrs. Snugglesworth is kind, wants to make sure things are resolved properly, and gets believably distracted, many times, over her investigation. Her other dog friends are wonderful, and feel realistically doggy, even while they were learning to be lawyers or judging a case. I enjoyed this story much more than I expected to, and wonder if Mrs. Snugglesworth will have any future opportunities to apply her new legal degree.

Thank you to Netgalley and to BooksGoSocial for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I love this so much! It's a shame it was archived because I want to read it again. I'll put this on my wishlist and hope for the best.

So, I write cozy mysteries so when I saw this cover and read the description I was hooked - and it's for kids, how cool! The story was really well done, adorable at times, and kept my interest as an adult. I could totally see having this book within our collection for when our son is older.

Mrs. R Snugglesworth, Attorney-at-Law is a 90-pages book well suited for young readers between 8 and 12. It’s fun, quirky and whimsical. It’s original and very imaginative. I thought it was very funny to see “human concepts” diverted in such a way it had a new life of its own in the animal world (like “passing the bar” or “peemail”, etc.).

The writing style flows well and it’s well paced, you can easily finish it in one sitting. Highly recommend if you’re looking for a fun light read.

Stories from a dog’s point of view always have the possibility of being entertaining. Just think of <i>Hank the Cowdog</i> or J.J. Tully in <i>The Trouble with Chickens</i> and how humorous their interpretations of events and their responses can be. The same is true of Mrs. R. Snugglesworth. She is “seventy-pounds-of-low-to-the-ground PRECIOUS.” (She tells us so herself.) Mrs. R. explains that jury duty at the Bark Park led to her decision to pursue a career as a lawyer. Luckily, law school only takes a week for dogs - and it will need to be quick, because she has her first case before she has even completed her training. The students of the Legal Beagles must learn “Case Law, and Stealth Evidence Gathering Forensics.” Of course, Mrs. R. isn’t worried about being stealthy. She is already very good at “Not Arousing Suspicion” so that she can “sneak extra treats.” But she will need to organize her humans into taking her on walks to gather evidence, make sure she gets to Wagsworth Legal Academy on time each day, and prepare to defend her client against charges of “Intentional Destruction of a Stuffed Animal.” Along with “Being the Best at Finding Slightly Used Sandwiches” we are lucky that Mrs. R. is also “Best at Telling Really Good Stories.” If we are even luckier, she might tell us another one soon.

While I was well aware of the age group going into this, it was still too immature for me, but decently cute for a child. I was enticed by the artwork (which is darn right adorable and the best part, IMO) and title and hoping I could find some enjoyment, but it honestly was somewhat annoying. What bothered me was the Overuse of Capitalizing Things and the haughty tone; again, though, it's likely amusing and humorous for the kiddos. Teaches lessons about humility, too (owning mistakes, correcting lying, etc).

15 chapters, plus an epilogue, cute drawings on most pages, and an elementary school reading level.

My thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for a review copy of this book.

Mrs R Snugglesworth is a 70-pound ‘butter colored English Labrador Retriever’, who lives happily with her family for whom she has her own names, the Kitchen (mom), the Vacuum (Dad) and kids, eleven-year-old ‘Snicker’, and ‘Crunchy’, who’s eight. As she (not only our ‘heroine’ but also the narrator of out tale) tells us, her first few years have been spent doing the usual dog things, but now, she wishes to do more. Crossword-puzzle champion, ski instructor, electrician, are some of the options that cross her mind, but one day at the local Bark Park, she finds herself doing jury duty at the dog court (among the many activities that dogs engage in when they congregate at the doggie park, in case you were wondering) and this experience decides her. She must become an attorney-at-law, dog law that is! So she enrols at Wagsworth Legal Academy (also at the Bark Park) with plans to be the Best. There though, she’s paired up with Maple Lane for classes and he turns out to be ultra-competitive and constantly trying to pull her down.

Meanwhile as she’s just starting to attend lectures, she comes across a dog Pitter Patter who’s been unfairly accused of breaking dog law and is up for trial in a few days time. While not yet a qualified lawyer (dog law classes last for only 7 days, but there are tests to be undergone to qualify at the end), Mrs R Snugglesworth volunteers her services and begins to investigate the allegations against Pitter Patter, while trying to keep up with her classes alongside. But things start to go less than perfectly, for while she’s determined to practice her skills, she gets distracted when her humans offer belly rubs, and then interesting food found in the street throws her completely off course. With all this to contend with, does she get through law school? Can she help clear Pitter Patter’s name?

What an absolutely delightful and fun story this was. A quick read at under a hundred pages, this also has some great black and white illustrations by Jon Davis which includes a lovely couple of pages at the start with the entire cast of characters (only the canine ones, mind).

I loved that Flanagan has created this inventive and entertaining story staying entirely within the ‘ordinary’ realm—we do not get transported to a dogs-only land nor are the characters anthropomorphised. We stay very much in this world, and all of the dogs behave very much like dogs—enjoying their walks, pats, play time and time with their humans, trats found by chance on the street, interactions with their doggie pals, but still must act at all times within the requirements of dog laws, violations of which can result in some very serious punishments. If proven of course.

The classes that Mrs Snugglesworth undergoes at the academy are a great deal of fun, and I especially liked how these combined dog and human elements. For instance, skills like ‘being invisible’ must be practiced, but alongside they also have lectures on precedents where Case Law (including The Case of the Killer Paw) is discussed in detail. While these were two classes we get to ‘attend’, there are also classes on Stealth Evidence gathering and Forensics among others and the instructors include Dr Shadow and Torts!

Mrs R Snugglesworth starts off with her work very well arranging things so that she can investigate Pitter Patter’s case as well, but she is after all a dog at heart and gets distracted when there is temptation in the way. This made her a character I felt children too would appreciate better since she is ‘realistic’ if that makes sense. She does do her best to set things right, and it is fun watching her tackle both her law degree and the case, when time is short and mistakes have already been made. She does have some good luck along the way, but this doesn’t mean she gets things easily for she has to face challenges as well.

I enjoyed myself thoroughly reading this book, and found it both amusing and clever (with the exception of one term that is used—imaginative yes, but not to my taste). I think from one possible development/observation towards the end, we can expect a sequel too, which I’d love to read whenever it’s out.

4.9 stars

What a wholesome take on lawyers and crime! I throughly enjoyed this in a quick sitting and this would be purrrfect for a child who loves dogs! The design of the book is so child friendly too

LOVED this story!! it is cute, funny, exciting and adorable! I found myself laughing at the book while reading it and even read bits and pieces to my husband, as it is just what dogs do! We are now fully convinced that the dogs do actually meet at the park and have a court case there, as they do all come together at one spot in the park! Amy Flanagan is really onto something here! Thoroughly enjoyed reading this and can not recommend it enough! There are some lovely black and white drawn illustrations in this book which gives it some more life, however I don’t feel this is necessary, as the writing makes this story come to live by itself.

I expected a picture book and was thus pleasantly surprised when i discovered it was a chapter book.
It's a really cute story about a dog who has a healthy sense of worth as she becomes a lawyer. There are lots of puns and slight perspective shifts with a dog point of view. (The mother and father are The Kitchen and The Vacuum) which had me laughing at several points throughout the story. While some of those might not be fully grasped by a young reader, this story is rich in morals and character development. (Ex: the importance of keeping promises (integrity) or being forthright over lying about a situation).
I feel like this book ended with a sense of completeness but also the possibility of more cases for Mrs. R. Snugglesworth - and I'm here for it!
My only disappointment would be the low number of illustrations in the book. I'd like to see a few more for those young readers who are hesitant to read books without pictures.
I received a dARC from the publisher via NetGalley; this is my honest review.

I was not overly fond of this story. It was a bit dry and couldn't hold my interest for long periods of time. I'm sure it's wonderful book for. Many, just not me

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. This book reminds me of the “Martha Speaks” books. This was a quick read and I loved the part about how each hair is strategically placed yet gets vacuumed up regardless. I like how the dog stands by her friends and takes responsibility. The Best at… did get a tad tedious at times.

I wish I liked this story, I was pretty disappointed to find that I didn’t. The recommended reading age is 8-12 but I feel the writing style was more directed towards even younger readers than that.

what an adorable book. this book is filled with funny jokes, a heartwarming tale, and some fascinating insights into the minds of dogs. i found both the idea of a peemail and dog attorneys to be creative and original. what a cute story, my goodness. for young readers, this would make a sweet bedtime story or even. you can count on me to read more of them as the book left open the option of more.

ARC received via NetGalley, and boy am I glad I did. Mrs. R Snugglesworth, Attorney-at-Law was a most delightful short read. I really want Amy to write more on Mrs. R - she's a hoot and a half!

Just take this paragraph for instance:

Some dogs think jury duty is a real drag and will do anything to get out of it - fake a broken toe, pretend something's in their eye, or claim they have a "bathroom emergency." That's the biggest lie of them all. When the world world is a bathroom, it's never an emergency.

Mrs. R. Snugglesworth, Attorney-at-Law by Amy Flanagan is a wonderful children's book. I read it along with my son and he was absolutely delighted at the characters and the cute story. Highly recommend this book for readers of many ages. We read a digital galley that was a little hard to read. I'm sure the hard copy of the book would be amazing. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

This book was so cute! I loved it. Amy Flanagan did an incredible job of building the dog world and the politics, laws, and factors it has. It was well written, entertaining, and charming. I hope to see more of Mrs. R!

3.5 stars

This is a cute read. The jokes are funny and quirky, and it's likely to keep young kids (and perhaps older ones) engaged. Illustrations are a great complement to the story.

I thought this was an overwhelmingly adorable and hilarious book! I loved all the little jokes and illustrations.

This is a really cute and fun read, I got through it very quickly as the plot flowed beautifully. It’s funny and quirky, and I think children young and old will like this book so definitely pick up a copy and get cozy.