The Island Dog Squad Book 2: Another Crazy Mission: The Island Dog Squad, #2

By Deb McEwan

FOR DOG LOVERS

"Another Crazy Mission is a fast-paced and fun story that continues the saga of the Island Dog Squad. The plot is well crafted and exciting, and the characters are a hoot to follow as they hatch a wild plan to rid the island of a dangerous foe. 
Most highly recommended."
Reviewed By Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite – 5 Stars

Packed with action, adventure and surprises around every corner, 'The Island Dog Squad (Another Crazy Mission)' will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

The Island Dog Squad return and they have an unlikely new recruit.

When Obie escapes from his garden, he makes a terrifying discovery that could endanger the lives of both the two and four-legged residents of the village. 

Lola devises a plan to rid the village of the crazy once and for all, but will Sandy and the others be clever and brave enough to pull it off? What if the consequences are too much for their loved ones?

With change afoot in her family, will Sandy be able to concentrate on the mission? And when there's a choice between saving themselves or others, will Sandy and her people parents have the courage to do what's right?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Deb McEwan
• Release date: Apr 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201712822

Deb McEwan

Following a career of over thirty years in the British Army, Deb and her husband moved to Cyprus to become weather refugees.  She’s written children's books about Jason the penguin and Barry the reindeer and adult books about aliens, the afterlife, soldiers, and netball players.  The first book in the latest series 'Unlikely Soldiers' is set in nineteen seventies Britain. The second covers the early eighties and includes the Falklands War, service in Northern Ireland and (the former) West Germany. 'Friends and Revenge' is the third in the series, and takes a sinister turn of events.  'Court Out (A Netball Girls' Drama)' is Deb's latest standalone novel. Using netball as an escape from her miserable home life, Marsha Lawson is desperate to keep the past buried and to forge a brighter future. But she’s not the only one with secrets. When two players want revenge, a Tsunami of emotions is released at a tournament leaving destruction in its wake. As the wave starts spreading throughout the team, can Marsha and the others escape its deadly grasp, or will their emotional baggage pull them under, with devastating consequences for their families and team-mates?  'Beyond Possession', book four in the Afterlife series was published in February 2018. It's a fast-paced supernatural thriller involving child possessions, reincarnations and telepathic twins, with angels trying to keep the Devil and his evils at bay.  ‘The Island Dog Squad’ is a series of novellas inspired by the rescue dog Deb and Allan adopted this March. The real Sandy is a sensitive soul, not quite like her fictional namesake, and the other characters are based on Sandy’s real-life mates.  Deb spends her time writing, avoiding housework and playing tour guide. She also tries - and mostly fails - to keep off the pounds.  For a free book or more information visit www.debmcewansbooksandblogs.com.

Book preview

The Dog Squad Founding Members

Lola (Mission name Bunty)

Pug

Very posh. A beauty (in the Pug world)

A natural leader, other dogs listen to her and follow her orders without question.

Can be stubborn. She has a habit of tapping her front left paw when feeling impatient.

She waddles when she walks.

Sandy (Mission name Fish) – The Narrator

Lab/Husky/Collie cross

Clever and manipulative

Occasionally sarcastic and can read human emotions and tell when they’re lying.

Exceptional sense of smell (even better than other dogs)

Obie (Mission name Digger)

Spaniel cross

Loves digging and this has got him out of a number of dangerous situations.

Ends a conversation with ee

Is very fast and has a nervous laugh.

Chip (Mission name Aden)

Border Collie

He has a high-pitched bark and talks at one hundred miles per hour.

He is the fastest in the squad and is hyperactive.

Constantly twists round and around.

Chapter 1

Life was wonderful until Obie escaped from the garden and wandered into unknown territory.

It was spring, but the weather on the island was unusual for this time of year; lots of heavy rain, the likes of which hadn’t been seen for over thirty years. Our people parents were busy with their day jobs, so I hadn’t seen Lola, Obie or Chip for over a week, and we’d only been on short walks. This meant my energy levels were low and I needed a good run.

When Ellie returned from work she decided to chance the weather and take me out, in between the downpours. As we walked along the pavement, heading down the main road towards the countryside, Gina’s car pulled up alongside us. I saw Obie in the back and strangely, he didn’t acknowledge me at all.  There was no sign of Lola.

‘We must get together, Ellie,’ Gina called through the open window. ‘That’s the trouble when the weather’s bad, we hardly go out except for work. Anyone would think we were locals.’ She frowned and I could sense she wasn’t her usual happy self. I wasn’t sure if it was the weather or something else but my people parents and Gina seemed to be on a short fuse these days.

‘That would be lovely,’ Ellie said, then she looked at Obie who was lying on the back seat, totally disinterested in what was going on around him. I was pleased to note that Ellie picked up on it too. ‘Is he okay? she asked.

‘He ran away a couple of days ago and hasn’t been his usual self since,’ Gina explained. ‘He came back with his tail between his legs which is unusual as one of the kids generally has to go and find him. I did wonder if he’d been bitten by a snake or had a fight with another animal but there’s no outward sign of injury and I’m sure I would have noticed.’

‘Did you take him to the vet?’ Ellie asked.

Gina raised both eyebrows and I knew her answer before she spoke.

‘Of course,’ Ellie ignored the impatience in her voice, ‘but he couldn’t find anything physically wrong with him. Something’s happened, Ellie, but I don’t know what.’

While they talked Obie gave me a look of despair and I knew something awful had happened. All I could think of was the crazies - but that was surely impossible. We had all travelled at least two hundred miles to escape them and I struggled to believe their owners would journey that far on a hunt. Even if they did, the crazies were guard dogs so should be left behind.

‘Help me, Sandee,’ Obie whimpered.

‘I’ll see you soon, Obie,’ I replied. I knew my eyes must have narrowed as a chill ran through my body. I tried to hide my fear from Obie. ‘We’ll sort this out, whatever it is.’ I didn’t feel as confident as I sounded, but didn’t want to upset Obie further.

‘He’s suffering,’ said Gina, ‘and I don’t know what to do.’

Ellie leaned into the car and touched her arm. A sad smile passed between the women before they said goodbye and Gina drove away. I watched as Obie looked out at me from the back window. His face held no hope and I desperately needed to talk to him and Lola in private to discover what was going on.

The rain lasted the whole of the working week, and from what I could make out, the situation was even reported on the news channels.

‘Look at that,’ Ben said to Ellie as they watched the box. ‘The car park’s flooded and so are the public toilets.’

Cars were half full of water and the area had been closed off so people didn’t put themselves in harm’s way.

‘Oh my God!’ said Ellie. ‘It’s all over the island. Look at those cars. They’re ruined and they’ll sink if the fire brigade don’t do something about it; in fact, the whole flaming island is going to sink.’

‘At least the reservoirs are filling so there won’t be a drought this summer.’

‘I don’t believe you, Ben! Hundreds of people have lost their cars, maybe their livelihood too, and there’s bound to be millions of euros’ worth of damage and all you’re concerned about is that our water doesn’t go off this summer? What if someone gets killed, too? How would you feel then?’

‘Nobody’s died, Ellie. We’ve had a bit more rain than usual is all. And listen, the reporter said those people were warned not to park there, so they should have heeded the warnings.’

‘At least there’ll be less danger of fire in the summer,’ said Ellie. ‘Perhaps that’s a small consolation to those who’ve lost so much.’

‘Wrong! More rain equals more growth and you know how quickly the weather can change. That means the fire risk could be even higher when the good weather comes. Now don’t be so dramatic, and come here.’

‘Dramatic am I, Ben?