Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ebook. A complex novel. A murder mystery, a police procedural and a legal thriller all wrapped together to keep you involved right to the end. A novel that deals with love and hate, friendships and marriage, crime and punishment, and life and death. Great read!

Kindle Copy for Review from Net Galley, and Authors Upfront.

I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

A planned future ahead is destroyed by a missing husband become a case of possible murder. Is her husband missing or dead as things take a possible turn as his mob connections come to life.

She is stuck in a whirlwind as his assets is frozen until things are sorted out. A gripping read that will keep you glued.

Synopsis (from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.)
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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 is about to take her husband, Lindsay 'Dogboy' Kramer (a successful businessman and dog whisperer) to the cleaners, he goes missing.

The police investigation into Dogboy's disappearance leads them into the dark world of counterfeit designer goods, money laundering, and drug smuggling. With Dogboy's assets frozen and the mob protecting their interests, the missing person's case escalates to homicide. Catfish is in a race against time to get hold of Dogboy's assets before the police get hold of her.

One question remains - is Dogboy dead or alive?

First off, I love the cover ... adore the cover. Exalt the cover ... it is so clever on so many levels. The book is a thrill ride and suspenseful and worth staying up way past your bedtime to finish. Be careful what you wish for...but pick up this book with abandon and recommend it to all your friends and family to read next summer on the beach!

#shortbutsweetreviews

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy of this book!

The title was intriguing, but when I started reading it, I could not put it down. I had to read it twice that's how much I loved it. I have never really tried reading a legal thriller before, but I may have to change that after reading this.

Katherine “Catfish” Fisher gets married to Lindsay “Dogboy” Kramer, a wealthy businessman not long after her first husband committed suicide. She marks the date 18 months from her wedding date as Australian law entitled women to half their combined assets and maintenance payments until her 5 year old daughter turns 18. But just as Catfish was about to set her plan into action, Dogboy goes missing.

While the police look into Dogboy's disappearance, the investigation takes multiple shocking twists.

The book is split in three parts:
* Greed v Trust
* Power v Justice
* Dogboy v Catfish

This is the first book I have read by Luke Gracias and I am officially a fan! While some aspects I could kind of see where its going, it was written so well that I didn't even think about that. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives of what was occurring during the book. Catfish truly is the most awful character her actions are all powered by greed and yet you can't help but wonder what is going to happen to her.

Please read this book!!

Wow! What a story! From the very first chapter I was sucked in. And, even though the main character, Lindsay Kramer, goes missing almost right away, his presence is evident on every page. The search for Kramer leads into the labyrinth of drugs, money laundering, and fake designer goods from Australia to Bangkok.. I would highly recommend this book!

Thank you again to the publisher and author for this opportunity! I actually read this novel around the time of its release earlier this year and really liked it. It was my time reading work by this author, but it certainly won't be my last. This was such a good thriller read for me, filled with plenty of suspense, high stakes, and an intricately woven web of mystery and crime. I don't want to give too much away in order to avoid spoilers, but I will say that I think this is a book best gone into blind like I did (which we all know is very rare lol). I thoroughly enjoyed the wild whiplash of an adventure this story took me on (because trust me: it's a RIDE™ lol) and would definitely recommend this out to anyone who loves thrillers/mysteries or is just interested in reading something outside of their usual comfort zone!

This is an excellent and interesting story, it is quite clear that the author has carried out a great deal of research. It is very much plot-driven, you only learn information about the characters that is necessary for the story. There are many twists and turns in the story, which add to the tension.

Lindsay Kramer, known as Dogboy because of his affinity with all dogs has few friends at university. However he is an excellent businessman and is soon very, very rich. Katherine Kelly Fisher, known as Catfish Kelly, is a very smart woman with a seven year old daughter. She is used to the finer things in life! Her first husband Darren went on a short business trip to Bangkok when his daughter was two, and died there in mysterious circumstances. Catfish grieved for a while, and when her daughter was five years old she met Lindsay when she was looking for premises to open a high end boutique. Soon they were married, and for a while travelled the world, living the high life. Then he started working late and going away on long business trips, and she was sure he was cheating on her. Catfish visits one of the best family lawyers in town to start divorce proceedings. Katherine is unaware that Freya Keogh is a friend of her husband’s, and her outburst saying that she will do and say anything to win does not go down well! Freya gives her a list of all the financial information she needs before proceedings can begin, assuming that it will take weeks or even months before anything can happen, but Katherine has already sorted it all out, or thinks she has.

In Australia, when people have been married for at least eighteen months the father not only has to pay maintenance for any children until the age of eighteen, plus the wife is given the house and two-thirds of any assets. Freya really doesn’t want to be involved in this obvious gold-digger’s efforts to fleece her friend, and after she is contacted by the police to be asked why she was the last known person Lindsay contacted by e-mail before he disappeared (it just said ‘Thank you’ and she had assumed it was a wrong number), she contacts Michael Kaynes, also a lawyer, to see if the police had contacted him as well. Michael was best man at Lindsay and Katherine’s wedding, and is executor of Lindsay’s will.

From there we see a lot of the police work, they are not only searching for Lindsay they are looking into the circumstances of the death of Katherine’s first husband. They discover various things that cause them to watch her as well. Many surprises are uncovered, and the story gets very exciting. The author has completely stuck to the plot, there is no padding out of the storyline, so when all the secrets start to be exposed there is an excellent build-up of tension. Lindsay is proved to have been a great deal more clever than his wife!

This is a really good read, I highly recommend it!

I enjoyed reading this short book. I felt quite emotional upon reading the author’s note at the end as to what inspired the story. I am so glad that the author was there for his friend, Dogboy when he received the call on that fateful night. I do not agree with the author’s view that the Family Court in Australia is heavily weighted toward women. I say this as someone who’s seen so many women lose badly and being left destitute after protracted Family Court proceedings.

This is my first Luke Gracias novel. The story is divided into three parts: Part 1: Greed v Trust, Part 2 : Power v Justice, and Part 3: Dogboy v Catfish. Lindsay Kramer, aka Dogboy goes missing. We are introduced to him and his friends from University days and an event is described which explains why he’s called Dogboy. Dogboy marries Catherine fisher, aka Catfish. We read about the highs and lows of their relationship.. Catfish is a player and has a dubious talent of exploiting weaknesses and ‘taking’ people!

After Dogboy goes missing, Catfish does her utmost to get her greedy hands on his substantial assets very quickly. She elicits social media sympathy and very effectively plays the poor me card with everybody that she encounters. Some people become suspicious of her hurry to gain possession of his assets. He is, after all, apparently a missing person; this is not a murder investigation .

We read about the police investigation into the missing Dogboy. Finlay and Green, who are the investigating officers, soon realise that this is not a common and garden missing persons investigation. They have to interview many people as the parameters of the investigation widen.

There are a number of voices in this heavily plot focused book: Dogboy’s childhood friend, the police, Catfish, and other characters. There are many twists and turns in the plot and suspense is maintained. We visit a number of locations : Thailand ( where Catfish’s first husband died), Australia, and Portugal.

The book focuses upon crime, greed, love, manipulation, and abuse. The story is well told and the ending is a good one; all is explained. This is a book that I would recommend to others who enjoy reading mysteries.

My thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC.

Thank you so much NetGalley, for my advanced reader copy and the opportunity to review Dogboy versus Catfish by Luke Gracias, I was drawn to this book by the cover and title, this is the first book I have read by this author. I enjoyed the story, it’s twists and turns, delving into the seedier side of town nestled in amongst the glitz and glamour of Catfish Kelly's exclusive designer handbags.
From money laundering, drug dealers, sparkling diamonds, the markets of Bangkok, Gracias's web of deceit and wheeling and dealing heats up amongst shots being fired, with bullets ricocheting off the tree’s at close range.

Katherine thinks she's smart, so much smarter than Lindsay, as the saying goes ‘dogs are such good judges of character’ –
let the dogs decide 🐶

Dogboy vs Catfish by Luke Gracias. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this mystery.
Dogboy and Catffish get married and after just eighteen months, just as Catfish is preparing to file for divorce, Dogboy disappears.
Catfish is caught scurrying to get her hands on the money, not a simple thing when your husband is a missing person.
The police follow the trail and discover a murky world of counterfeit goods, drugs and money laundering. But just who is responsible and is Dogboy dead?
Lots of twists and turns and speculation keep this rolling along nicely and will keep readers intrigued.

This was really interesting, and it started out incredibly gripping, but ultimately this missed the mark for me. It's a different and fresh take on the domestic thriller. However, some of the twists and turns were just not for me.

one of the best books I have read lately. it was different and for some reason just impressed the hell out of me.

Lindsay Kramer, Dogboy, was a very successful entrepreneur in Australia. He made the mistake of becoming the second husband of Katherine Fisher, Catfish. Her first husband died in Thailand and was suspected of being a suicide. One day, Lindsay disappears. Katherine, being Katherine, immediately starts proceedings to attempt to gain his estate. The story is about her attempts to gain everything as his grieving wife and the Australian Police along with his friends attempting to prevent her from doing this and hopefully locating Lindsay. It deals with money laundering, fabricated designer goods, drugs, criminals of all kinds and a very successful finale that, if one did this for a novel, deserves applause. Thanks to Net Galley and the Author for an ARC for an honest review.

‘Each time she approached the glass panel doors Katherine admired her reflection.’

Meet Katherine Kelly Fisher, known as ‘Catfish’. Lindsay Kramer, known as ‘Dogboy’ is her second husband. Dogboy is Catfish’s second husband: her first husband, and father of her daughter Emma, apparently took his own life in Bangkok. Not long after, Catfish married the wealthy and reclusive Dogboy. And, on the day they married, she set the date for their divorce. Catfish was aware that after eighteen months of marriage she could claim half of their combined assets and receive maintenance payments until her daughter turned eighteen.

We first meet Catfish at a family law firm in Melbourne, Australia where she is seeking to initiate her separation from Dogboy. Alas, sadly for Catfish, Freya Keogh ultimately declines to take her case. And then Dogboy goes missing.

The police start investigating Dogboy’s disappearance and Catfish tries hard (using social media and various contacts) to get her hands on Dogboy’s assets.

What an awful person Catfish is! I nearly didn’t read this novel because of the title, but once I started, I found it hard to put down. The police investigation into Dogboy’s disappearance takes them to Bangkok where they find the circumstances surrounding the death of Catfish’s first husband are suspicious. But how is Catfish involved and where is Dogboy? A missing person case becomes far more complex when the police uncover connections between counterfeit designer goods, money laundering and drug smuggling.

The novel is divided into three parts: Greed v Trust; Power v Justice; and Dogboy v Catfish. There are more than a few twists in this story, and I would hate to spoil the read for those yet to undertake it. A complex plot which is an intriguing blend of thriller and police procedural with plenty of suspense and more than a little intrigue.

‘All you need is the head of one snake and the endless knot will unravel.’

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Many thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A brilliantly written thriller full of mystery and suspense. Gripping and a must read.

When Lindsay Kramer - Dogboy married Kath Fisher - Catfish, he married for love but she married with an eye on his fortune. That is the premise of the book but as the story unwinds you find that it is much more than that. A very interesting tale set in Australia concerning counterfeit goods, drugs and the criminal underworld. The solid police investigations uncover surprises and twists at every turn.
Thank you to NetGalley and Luke Gracias for the chance to read this book.

This was a really great riddle to solve. Kept me focused the whole way through. Somer well described characters and a storyline that said true the whole way to the end. I loved the conclusion.

This was a very unusual police procedural book full of details about counterfeit goods and illegal activities with a twist or two thrown in for good measure. A completely different read from the usual books by this author, I absolutely loved every page. Thanks to the author and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this fabulous book.

Thanks for providing a free copy of this for me to read and review.

Very enjoyable, well written, intriguing and gripping.

I'm not going to tell you all about the story as too many previous reviews have already done that but if you like a good mystery/thriller and a story you'll want to keep reading then get this.

It certainly kept me up late to reach the conclusion.

Very enjoyable read. Two very clever minds at work, one conniving, the other astute. Mix them with lawyers, detectives, and a cast of criminals, the web is spun. Exploiting Australian family law rarely figures in crime & mystery thrillers but is masterfully laid out in this tale.