If this is your first Ann Garvin book, I encourage you to read On Maggie‘s Watch which is MUCH better than The Dog Year. This book had a very long beginning & an abrupt ending. I felt like 95% of the book was leading up to the last chapter. Ultimately I feel like the book would‘ve been better had the first 300 or so pages been consolidated into maybe 150, then the last half of the book could have been an extended version of the final chapter.