The Dog That Talked to God is the 2012 release by Jim Kraus, a writer and editor who has authored or co-authored more than 20 books. Kraus has spent the last twenty years as a vice president of a major Christian publishing house. His best-selling humor book, Bloopers, Blunders, Jokes, Quips, and Quotes, sold more than 40,000 copies and inspired several spin-off books. He and his family live outside of Chicago with a sweet miniature Schnauzer and an ill-tempered Siberian cat.

About this book: Recently widowed Mary Fassler buys a Miniature Schnauzer, Rufus, and her world is turned sideways in the midst of her grief.  It seems that Rufus speaks. And not just to her. He also talks to God. When Rufus begins sharing advice that could result in major changes, Mary gets the feeling the pooch might not be steering her in the right direction. Or, is she just afraid to take the leap and discover something she desperately needs? Only Rufus…and God…knows.

Genre: Fiction/Christian

Judge this book by its cover? “Judge this book by its cover…” quoth Publishers Weekly, “and be charmed.” That’s one opinion. Personally, I think the book contains much more promise than the cover implies. Inside this G-rated cover is a surprisingly PG-rated story.

Reminds me of… Garth Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain. John Grogan’s Marley and Me. And for tone and character, Jan Karon’s Mitford series.

Buy or borrow? Buy if you love dogs in general and quirky, heart-warming stories in particular.

Why did I read this book? To review for Litfuse Publicity. On a lark because I wanted to see if a book so far outside my preferred genres could win me over. (It did.)

Would I read another by this author? Yep.

Rating: 4/5 stars

My take: This book surprised me–in a completely good way. Though I did find an odd typo or two, The Dog That Talked to God is surprisingly–refreshingly–grown-up. If it were a movie, it would be rated PG because of the content (i.e., sexual references–yes, really). Nothing explicit, mind you, but wonderfully, honestly frank.

Another pleasant surprise was this male author’s ability to get inside a female head. The female narrator’s voice rang true–engaging, with just the right balance between sweetness and snark.

Altogether, I found The Dog That Talked to God whimsical, witty, charming, relevant. I recommend it for reading in long stretches–a road trip, long flight, sick day. (I did find it a delightful diversion on a day I had a horrific headache, which also happened to be the last day of my kids’ spring break. Not saying there’s a connection. 🙂 )

This book released last year, but I was able to read it in a piggyback deal prior to the release of Jim Kraus’ second book of this ilk, The Cat That God Sent–which is not a sequel but a stand-alone. After reading this little gem, I can’t wait to dive in.

Thanks to Litfuse Publicity and Abingdon Press for providing me a copy to review. All opinions are mine.

Visit Jim Kraus online at  www.jimkraus.com and stay tuned: on Friday, my review of The Cat That God Sent.