Lives Of The Monster Dogs: Kirsten Bakis

A very unusual first novel, unexpectedly touching and very unputdownable. A group of elegant dogs in top hats, tails and bustled skirts become instant celebrities when they descend on New York in 2008. They are refugees from a Canadian town that has been isolated for over a hundred years - they are monster dogs who retain the 19th century Prussian culture of their human creator. They talk, walk upright, have excellent manners and seem to lead charmed lives, but as Cleo Pira, a young woman who has befriended them discovers, they are threatened with extinction. Cover art by Kirsten Bakis.