THE MIDNIGHT DOG of the REPO MAN (audiobook) by W. Bruce Cameron

Published by Macmillan Audio in 2014.
Read by George K. Wilson.
Duration: 1 hour, 4 minutes.
Unabridged.

This short audiobook is a prequel to the book The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man, a book by W. Bruce Cameron. Cameron is most famous for his book A Dog's Life.

This book is also about a dog, at least it sort of is. Really, it is the story of how Ruddy McCann got his basset hound. Ruddy is a decent man with a checkered past and a grinding sense of shame for what he did in the past. He is also a bar bouncer at his sister's bar at night and a repo man by day. A repo man repossesses cars when people stop making their payments.

Good story, but definitely not a stand-alone story.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: The Midnight Dog of the Repo Man.

THE MIDNIGHT PLAN of the REPO MAN (Ruddy McCann #1) (audiobook) by W. Bruce Cameron

Published in 2014 my Macmillan Audio.
Read by George K. Wilson.
Duration: 11 hours, 15 minutes.
Unabridged.

Ruddy McCann is a former college football star (in the running for the Heisman Trophy) who ended up going to prison rather than the NFL. Now, he is in his early thirties, out of prison and back in his hometown in northern Michigan. He helps his sister run the family business (a dingy old bar) and he works as a repo man. A repo man repossesses cars for lenders when their owners are behind on their payments, usually with a tow truck.

Ruddy has a lot going on in his life right now. He met an interesting woman, he has a difficult repo job and the bar is in serious need of a cash infusion because the creditors are threatening to cut them off. But, most distressing is the voice in his head. This is not a pretend voice, like a conscience - this is a real voice from a guy that says he was shot by two men and buried in the woods not far from Ruddy's hometown. Ruddy believes him, too. He keeps having dreams about being chased down and shot by two men he's never seen before.

So, Ruddy and the voice in his head set off to solve the murder, repo a truck, save the bar and get the girl - and if you think that sounds complicated, you're right.

The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man is a fun book. Putting together the pieces to figure out the plan behind the murder was interesting. Ruddy's repo cases were often funny and it was quite powerful when the reader learns the reason behind Ruddy's time in prison. None of this would work except for the fact that both Ruddy and the Alan (the voice in his head) are decent guys.

That being said, the book is just a little too busy, a little too crowded for one book. Cameron has another book and a novella in this series. Here is the link to my review of the novella: The Midnight Dog of the Repo Man.

This audiobook was exceptionally read by George K. Wilson. It was the perfect match between reading style and text.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5 and it can be found on Amazon.com here: The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man.

A DOG'S PURPOSE by W. Bruce Cameron

Originally published in 2010.

This is the book that inspired the controversial movie (not due to content but rather due to how a scene was filmed). The book itself is not controversial, but a sentimental reincarnation story involving a dog who is looking for his purpose in this world.

The dog lives a variety of lives (a stray, a working dog, a pet) as a variety of breeds and eventually discovers his purpose. Along the way the author shows some very solid insight into dog psychology and has a lot of fun trying to guess the motivations of the simple (or maybe not so simple dog). 

There are times when the story is pretty sappy, but there are times when the story is gripping and very touching. It is an easy read, but worth the time of any dog lover.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

The book can be found on Amazon.com here: A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron.