An exciting, roller coaster read. A great story to curl up with.
Many thanks to the author and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Dogboy V Catfish
by Luke Gracias

Description:
Suspense Thriller

🐕 Husband goes missing
🐕 Corruption
🐕 Money Laundering
🐕 Set in Australia

I didn’t know anything about this book before reading it and definitely took me on a roller coaster ride. It starts off a bit slow but once you get near the halfway point you won’t want to put it down.

It’s a short read of only 247 pages and definitely worth reading.

My rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Thanks, NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

#dogboyvcatfish #netgalley #lukegracias

Thanks to Luke Gracias and NetGalley for ARC.

The premise is cracking. Obscenely wealthy Lindsay Kramer (Dogb0y), tech bro and husband of Melbourne model/influencer Katherine Fisher, goes missing in Sydney. Suicide is suspected, or is it foul play?
The public see Fisher as a sympathetic figure, appealing for her beloved's safe return. Two of Kramer's old university pals have reason to doubt that her love and grief are all that they seem. They contact the Melbourne police to share what they know, despite their ethical reservations. Melbourne and Sydney police find their investigations hampered in some ways, mysteriously helped in others, by a shadowy figure with a lot of resources.

The strands of the plot include Australia's marriage/partnership laws, the culture of social media, designer goods importation and drug trafficking as well as mental health and the perils of greed.
There's so much going on, and quite frankly so much money sloshing about that it stretched credulity for me.
There's a side trip to Thailand in which our Melbourne investigators and their contact are in considerable danger. My problem with that subplot is simply that the undercover and very dangerous meeting, could definitely have been an email, especially as one of the shadowy contacts had already made an explanatory short film. The goodies and the baddies are very baldly drawn and the origin of the Dogboy nickname made no sense to me, nor was it convincing as a plot device.

I applaud Gracias for the impetus to write such a book and the cleverness of trying to uncoil the strands and tie them together in a neat bow. For me it fell short, but I can see why this has its ardent fans.

This was something very different.

I found it totally absorbing and could not put it down.

A real mix of characters and a great story line.

Dogboy v Catfish by Luke Gracias

247 Pages
Publisher: Luke Gracias
Release Date: May 10, 2023

Fiction (Adult), General Fiction (Adult), Literary Fiction (Adult), Mystery, Thriller, Australian

Katherine Fisher, also known as Catfish Kelly, is married to Lindsay “Dogboy” Kramer. She meets with an attorney to file for divorce. She tells the attorney, Freya, she wants to file as soon as their 18-month anniversary as possible so she gets what she deserves. Freya has a bad feeling about it and contacts Michael Kaynes, Lindsay’s best man at the wedding.

A hotel manager contacts the police when Lindsay misses his checkout. They are concerned when they find a Glock semiautomatic gun and a detective’s telephone number in his room. The police speak with a private detective in Bangkok. He tells them a cryptic story and comes to Bangkok to learn more.

The book has a steady pace, the characters are developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. This book has it all with a missing person case, fraudulent goods, and a greedy wife. What is not to like.

This book was well written and kept me entertained. The disappearance of”dogboy” aka Lindsay calls into question wife “catfish” aka katherine and did she have anything to do with it. A few months prior to his disappearance she consulted a lawyer on separating and divorcing. The story goes through catfish’s actions and what happened to dogboy.

Dogboy v Catfish- A perfect crime novel with a dose of suspense.

A former Miss Australia beauty finalist (Catherine, aka Catfish) and her wealthy, tech millionaire husband (Lyndsey, aka Dogboy) seemed to have it all. However, when the story opens, it is clear that Catherine loves her husband's money and possessions more than her husband. She plans on divorcing him and indulging in his assets, but then the husband goes missing. Although she is acting in great despair, things become interesting as she is planning on divorcing him and taking advantage of his assets.

This fast-paced book was quite a trip, and I enjoyed everything it offered. It has it all: drugs, the underworld, money laundering, murders, and characters who will do anything for what they believe. You know from the start who the “bad egg” is- the wife, although you don’t see what we suspect her of. The writing style is very unique. I felt like I was reading a newspaper report and appreciated the story moving back and forth in time as needed. The Melbourne police investigating Dogboy’s disappearance are diligent (which was refreshing to read), and I found myself cheering them on while they take on Katherine. Furthermore, I like that this story touched base on a law topic I have not read about in fiction books before- emphasizing how it can be abused.

Luke Gracias is a new author for me, and I would read another book by him. Great work!

Well developed story line and a good deal of research went into this book. Catfish is intentionally unlikable and the concept of Dogboy was interesting. I enjoyed it and would recommend to others.

The basic premiss of the book was quite clever, the lead characters were well drafted. With Dogboy almost permanently non present this was inventively achieved. The plot, although convoluted, was handled pretty well and intelligently structured to pull the reader through at a reasonable pace. You should sense a but by now. But, all the positive elements were sadly let down by a story telling/writing style that was clunky, repetitive and insisted on explaining the obvious. That's a bit like explaining a joke, if it needs to be explained it's wasted. The reader has to be credited with some intelligence.

On the day of her second wedding, Katherine Fisher, aka ‘Catfish,’ set the date for her divorce. In precisely 18 months, she would be entitled to half of their combined assets and receive maintenance payments until her five-year-old daughter, Emma, turns 18. Just as Catfish was about to take her husband, Lindsay ‘Dogboy’ Kramer to the cleaners, he goes missing. Can she find him and face the mob to get her money, or will she never get what she feels is her due?

A weird twisted devious smart, but interesting book. The best laid plans…..Katfish is planning her divorce before the signatures on the marriage certificate are dry. She is only in out for the cash payout. When Dogboy(Kindsay), her husband disappears before she can file her plan goes belly up and she has limited time to get access to his fortune before the police catch up with her. Clearly she isn’t who Dogboy/Lindsay thought she was and now she is using all she can to stay ahead of the detectives on her tail. It’s a smart, crafty, twisted who done it that I found a bit hard to get into initially, but once I did was intrigued. A new author to me, but will be looking for more.

I read this back in December and initi wrote a review, but I've since reflected on this.

This book was well written and would suit fans of detective novels, as the majority of the book is piecing together whp Dogboy and Catfish are, and how they're linked.

The characters were brought to life and the plot became quite surprising. I won't spoil anything, but there were some unexpected twists.

This isn't my typical genre, but I would recommend it to detective readers that like morally questionable characters

This was a good read - I really enjoyed this book. I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

5.0 out of 5 stars
A Crime suspense worth picking up !!
A crime suspense worth picking up. The narrative is procedural with characters who are defined by their concise actions and clear intent. It was refreshing and intuitive, not getting bogged down with excess -because there is a lot in this story worth paying attention to. Fast-paced, informative, and mystically fascinating to the last page. Make sure you read the author's note at the end for some profound insight.

When Lindsay Kramer (Dogboy) goes missing just days after his wife, Katherine Fisher (Catfish) visits a divorce lawyer, she becomes the number one suspect in his disappearance. It's suspicious how organized she was on her visit to the divorced lawyer. So much so that the lawyer, also a former college classmate of Dogboy, informs the police. The search for Dogboy leads the police to an overseas crime ring, that they try to connect to Catfish.

This book gives a thrilling, almost Gone Girl style vibe and had me hooked and guessing from the beginning.

It was a bit long and some parts feel unnecessary, however the way things all add up in the end it was very entertaining. Sometimes as I read books, I envision them as a movie or limited series and the way this plays out was no different!

Thanks to the publisher, the author, and Netgally for the ARC, all opinions are my own

Amazing book. The plot is really thrilling. Mainly Dogboy, I just loved his character. All the chase leading to the truth at the end, I was very much invested. I could not wait to see how it ended. The smooth flow of the story, with relatable characters brought a very exciting plot to life.
Mainly because I had never read anything like this, the crime scenes, were intriguing. Also the title, I loved it. It was very comfortable to read because the style of narration was like watching something unfold before your eyes.
Totally unexpected twists at the end. But I find the ending really satisfying.
A great read!

This was set in Australia and involved a couple, recently married (18 months) and the wife Katherine ("Catfish") was delving into her husbands, Lindsay ("Dogboy") funds for her own business dealings. The husband is missing and Katherine was just about to file for divorce to acquire the most she could from her husband. What ensues is a race to find Lindsay and stop Katherine from moving forward. It is a good story but nothing new. Stopping Katherine leads to many countries and a varied set of characters with different backgrounds..

I was kind of excited for this book and then was incredibly disappointed when I began reading. The writing is incredibly stilted, and more like a travel guide fact sheet than smooth narrative prose. You can almost tell how strongly organized the authors mind is because the writing doesn’t really flow at all.

I hesitate to express my true (and unfortunately mostly negative) feelings about this book because I can tell how much work the author put into it. It’s incredibly well researched and I can kind of tell the author researched police procedure, counterfeit law, even the details about Bangkok and Australia’s tourism industries to a great extent. I can tell he spent time building characters, even though I found them to be unbelievable and so narrowly focused as to make the characters ironically less believable. L’s mythic dog powers. C’s no redeeming gold-digging qualities, the lawyers only being great lawyers and having no other hobbies…I just struggled with every element of this book. The plot was unbelievable and stilted. The characters were also either all good or all bad and very one-sided and also stilted. The world expanded only exactly enough to include what was relevant to the plot and NOTHING else, robbing it of its richness. And even while the author really tried (again, the author put in a lot of effort!) to make it an even gender split, sexism reared its head enough that I found it difficult to continue. When the (female!) lawyer says she was disgusted with how this woman tried to take advantage of her marriage, the other lawyer (male) said, “Ugh! Are all women like this???” And I just…ugh. It was hard for me to decide to continue, though I did.

I am afraid I can’t recommend this to anyone. Two stars for effort and accuracy. Review posted to Goodreads.

This was such a wonderful and enjoyable read!!!! I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This may have been the biggest sleeper of 2023. Dogboy vs. Catfish is a true thriller by Luke Gracias, one that grabbed me by the front of my shirt at the beginning and didn’t let me go till it was done with me. My thanks go to NetGalley for the review copy. This book is for sale now.

A couple of Goodreads friends raved about this book, and right away, I was curious. The title: not your usual formulation. Then there’s the setting; I haven’t read many books set in Australia, and fewer Australian mysteries and thrillers than fingers on my hand. And finally, the book’s premise: a well-to-do, famous, glamorous woman turns up at a lawyer’s office, and she’s excited, because she’s been married to this man she doesn’t care much about for nearly 18 months, and in Australia, that is the magic time length that will entitle her to take him to the cleaners, particularly with regard to her daughter’s support. He has a lot of money, but it’s about to be hers. She expects this attorney will be thrilled, because what a payday it will be! Sadly for her, the attorney has principles and scruples, and she backs away from the case.

But then the man—Dogboy, of course—turns up missing. He’s told his best friend that he is certain his wife is going to leave him and take almost everything, and he’s not sure what he can do about it; now he is nowhere to be found. Is he alive? Nobody seems to know.

In investigating the man and his estranged wife, the internet darling named Catfish Kelly, it soon becomes clear she is mixed up in money laundering and drugs. The search takes the cops to Thailand, where their informant is literally shot to death before their very eyes. And all of these things happen early, so I am giving nothing away. The book goes quickly at the start, then ramps up to an even more heart pounding pace.

It's difficult, with a thriller that moves so rapidly, to find a way to establish characters. Nobody here is a truly dynamic character, but we don’t need a lot of character development. What is most admirable is the lightning quick way Gracias bonds us to Dogboy, whom we mostly don’t even see. We know three things about him. First, we know that he married a terrible woman who’s about to bleed his assets out from under him. Second, we learn early on that he is concerned that his investors’ funds will likewise be siphoned away, and to prevent this happening, he returns all of their investment moneys to them before he disappears, so that he will be Catfish’s only victim. And third, we know that he is unusually appealing to dogs, to the point where dogs that do not know him and have never met him, nonetheless seek him out, and also try to protect him when danger is present.

With just these three facts, given to us briefly, we cannot not love Dogboy. I’ve never seen this done so fast and so smoothly.

I know nothing whatsoever about Australian law or its justice system, and perhaps that helps, too. At one point, the investigators are burning through what appears to be a lot of the state’s resources without obvious or immediate results, and just as one of my eyebrows lifts and I begin to think that this could never…I realize that I don’t know whether it could happen or not. Probably not in the U.S. Most likely not in England. Australia? What the hell do I know about Australia? So instead, I just take the author’s word for it.

There is not a single misstep in this story, no slow part, no inconsistency. The ending is enormously satisfying. For all that love the genre, this book is highly recommended.