“Every storm runs out of rain”

I can’t remember the last time I managed to devour a book in a single day, but I am so pleased that’s how things worked out with ‘Dogboy v Catfish’. Not only because I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough in my eagerness to make sure that everyone got their just deserts, both good and bad; but because I became so engrossed in the detail around counterfeit goods and money laundering, that I needed to keep that momentum and concentration going, in what was quite a complicated operation, both to explain and to understand. Having come across counterfeit clothing and accessories as part of my work in charity retail, this storyline took me back to the many hours I spent researching and recognising the signs of fraud in designer goods, on the basis that ‘if something looks too good to be true, it probably is!’ You could probably do with being something of a ‘detail person’ to really appreciate all the nuances of what would ordinarily have been quite a straightforward and uncomplicated storyline…

…

It’s 1999 and in Melbourne Australia, a group of University students and friends are coming to the end of their studies, although as yet they don’t realise that their paths are destined to cross again in the years and decades ahead. Michael and Samantha will marry, with Michael becoming a successful corporate lawyer. Freya and Lindsay are sure to remain the best of friends, although Lindsay had hoped for more back in those heady days of being single. However Lindsay’s unassuming shyness and Freya coming out as lesbian and a lawyer who works exclusively for wealthy female clients, meant that a more than platonic relationship between them, was never going to be.

Lindsay had earned himself the nickname ‘Dogboy’ because of his affinity with said animal. He seemed to be able to tune into the animals’ wavelength and they in turn, would do his bidding at the click of a finger, or the lightest of touches. Lindsay had become a self-made man and even when he had needed to borrow seed capital, he never abused his investors and stood by his principles of honesty and fairness. However, none of those traits could ever seem to help him overcome his inherent shyness, which left him alone and lonely, despite his wealth and physical assets. When widow Katherine Fisher, self proclaimed online influencer and wannabee socialite, and her young daughter Emma enter his life and seem to genuinely shower him with love and affection, he cannot believe his luck and is instantly intoxicated and smitten by the pair of beautiful ladies.

Lindsay thus makes the biggest mistake of his life ever, by marrying Katherine for love, whilst not realising until it is much too late, that she in turn, has only married him for his wealth and status. Katherine’s first husband Darren, had died whilst on a short business trip to Thailand, under some very suspicious circumstances, although officially a victim of suicide. She had earned the nickname ‘Catfish’ after fronting a very successful advertising campaign for a wine of the same name, then going on to do exactly what her name suggests when I Googled it: “a person who sets up a false personal profile on a social networking site for fraudulent or deceptive purposes”, including opening a decidedly shady designer boutique of the same name, financed and bankrolled by Dogboy and located inside one of the many prestigious shopping malls he owns.

When Dogboy discovers just how well and truly he has been humiliated, stitched up and duped by his trophy wife, who knows Australian divorce law inside out, he acts quickly to limit the damage, both to himself and his loyal investors and shareholders, to whom he feels he owes a debt of gratitude for believing in him. Then, Dogboy, who is on a business trip to Sydney, simply disappears and Catfish shows her true colours, unleashing her wrath at both Freya and Michael, when they explain to her in words of one syllable, that she is virtually penniless for at least the next seven years, or until proof of Dogboy’s death is found. The police begin to spot the similarities between Darren and Dogboy’s disappearances and suspect that foul play may be involved. When Freya and Michael, together with Inspector Sabina Green and Detective Karl Finlay of the Melbourne police, begin digging into Catfish’s past, it seems that her plans might have spectacularly backfired on her. However, this cunning and duplicitous person, has more than one iron in the fire and the ensuing investigation will literally take your breath away with its sheer audacity!

I knew who I was rooting for in this domestic drama come crime thriller, where it was almost impossible to decide where one genre started and the other stopped!…

…

Whilst the book opened in 1999, most of the action took place in 2015 Australia (Sydney and Melbourne), with brief visits to Portugal and Thailand, and a short hop forwards into 2022, just to round things off. Thankfully there was very little toing and froing between timelines and the few switches there were, were seamless and easily navigated. The chapters were also of a reasonable length, fast-paced and well-signposted, so no confusion over exactly where I was at any given time in my suspenseful journey.

The storyline was unique and unusual, well structured, tense, very detailed and quite complex. I must admit that I really enjoyed having to think quite hard about a storyline, with the mix and dovetailing of fact with fiction an excellent addition to the narrative and dialogue. The way the authorities interacted with one another, was also a great cameo within the wider plot. Finding two lawyers who were so willing to co-operate in the search and justice for their friend, each bringing a separate and relevant set of skills to the case, then incorporating their findings with that of both the local Melbourne police and the wider teams of specialist authorities. It is rare to find such sharing of information and resources in a crime novel, but with such a lot at stake and given the complexity and many layers of fraud and deceit, it really worked very well. I was also thrown off the track a few times, by the “is he, isn’t he?” and “will he, won’t he?” scenarios, which kept me guessing right to the end.

Author Luke Gracias had authentically drawn and defined a great mix of complex characters I loved, those I definitely hated and even some I loved to hate! There were even a compelling few I might have been persuaded to invest in and relate to, as through Luke’s descriptive narrative and dialogue, they were able to convince me of their true moral compass, genuine depth and code of ethics. Similarly, Luke made it easy for me to spot the emotionally starved, manipulative, greedy, money-grabbing and duplicitous femme fatale and her hangers-on. I tried to be generous and ponder on the notion that they may have been so heavily influenced by the extreme reach and pervasiveness of modern social media that they deserved the benefit of the doubt. However, I came to the conclusion that if online influence hadn’t been available to them, they would have soon found an alternative method of wreaking their havoc and destroying lives.

I awarded this book 4* for location, as whilst there wasn’t a huge amount of cosmetic detail about the five main sites of action and I couldn’t ‘plot walk’ any of them for myself, author Luke Gracias wove enough descriptive narrative and dialogue into the storyline, to satisfy this confirmed ‘armchair traveller’, on my whistle-stop tour of three continents.

I certainly do hope that Luke does decide to try and get this one optioned for film, as the storyline is powerful and compelling.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

I really enjoyed this and I didn’t expect to.

Set in Australia the book is about Katherine (Catfish) who is married to Lindsay (Dogboy) and just about to divorce him after 18months of marriage (for every penny he has) when her husband goes missing.

Cue the police investigation which uncovers fake goods, drugs and money laundering amongst other things.

This was a suspenseful thriller that really had me wondering whether he was dead or alive, I hated Catfish and was hoping she got her karma, It’s a good thriller with a fair few twists and had me hooked, though the best bit for me was the ending when it is revealed just why Dogboy ever married Catfish in the first place.

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..