Mastiff: The Legend of Beka Cooper #3

I couldn't put this book down, staying up most of the night to finish it. The plot sweeps you up and carries you away until you're racing against the clock with Beka. While I agree with some other reviews that Beka's late fiancee seems to be irrelevant to the plot, it certainly isn't enough to detract from the beauty of this final installment. New characters are interesting and engaging, in particular the depth and complexity of Farmer's character continues to keep the reader enraptured and rooting for him until the end. I eagerly await the next book Pierce publishes.

Tamora pierce returns to the world of Beka Cooper after a long wait, and it was So Worth it! It was brilliantly written, and I loved the return of Beka as a much more mature character. The beginning was a little confusing with the death of her fiance, who I totally do not remember from the previous book. Once we skip past that, the plot starts off with a bang, and I was immediately hooked. The pace was fast, the characters fully developed. Basically If you liked the first two, you will find this one just as awesome. I agree that the climax was a bit confusing emotionally. I am not sure I like the way it went either, maybe there wasn't enough buildup to that point? Of course if there was buildup, the surprise factor would have been gone. Perhaps a reread is necessary to take it all in, there was so much going on. I missed being able to revisit Corus characters I had come to love so much, but this book more than made up for it in new characters. You will Love and laugh at Farmer who is so awesome. Silly and serious, and so twisty that it takes the whole book for his character to be revealed. This book reminded me of why I deem Pierce as my favorite author. I can't wait for her next book, and I am sad to see the end of Beka. (Good sad though)

Spoiler Alert:

A main character goes from being a hero who is a very smart and good person to being a murderer of an 8 year old, an attempted murderer of a 4 year old, an attempter murderer of a person who was their friend and that they had worked with and trained for years, and to also being incredibly stupid for not realizing that if he had succeeded at killing the 4 year old and Beka that the bad guys would just murder him like they had so many others that they had recruited to help them with their nefarious plot in the last 40 pages of Mastiff. This ending spoiled the whole series for me.

Book gets 1 Stars instead of the 5 Stars I would have given it without this crappy and stupid ending. I would have re-read this series over and over again though the years like I have the Protector of Small series, the Lioness series, and the Wild Magic series if the ending had been good, but now I won't re-read this set of 3 books at all.

Thanks, Tamora!

I am a huge Tamora Pierce fan and frequently re-read the Alanna series. The Trickster books, and to only a slightly lesser extent, the Immortals books, are also favorites. I loved Terrier and enjoyed Bloodhound, but was disappointed with Mastiff. There are moments when the plot jumps in setting or events without enough context to bring the reader along and the characters' motivations and actions do not always feel right. I wondered, reading it, if Pierce was trying too hard to make Beka unlike Alanna in having her make some different choices, and that as a result, Beka made choices that didn't feel true to her character.

Without giving anything away, for me, the ending felt too neatly tied together, and I thought Pierce hit us over the head with connections between series which felt more fun when we were noticing them on our own than when she spelled them out for us.

That said, the suspense Pierce is talented at building did keep me motivated to finish reading the story, and there were parts of the novel that I truly enjoyed. About half to two-thirds of the way through the book, however, my disappointment with the aspects I mentioned hampered my enjoyment. I think that the Terrier world and the character of Beka were interesting enough on their own to keep us reading; for me, Mastiff feels like it is trying too hard.

However, I can't say I regret reading it, and I'm sure that die-hard Pierce fans will read mediocre reviews and still pick up this book and find something to love in it.

This is a fun book! I liked the characters, and I like the diary aspect of the book, where Becca not only explains what happened, but when and where she finally had a chance to write all this down. I would also say that this is a stand-alone book. There are two prequels which are sometimes referenced, and it had been a long time since I read them, but the plot of this book didn't really depend on the prequels.

The plot itself is just a little thin, because it felt too much like the bad guys are "dangerous, but not too dangerous" in a way that didn't feel authentic to me. However, I love the heroes and the writing style.

If you like Becca and you liked the prequels, you'll probably like this.

What happened? I do not understand. Tamora Pierce is an amazing and engaging writer, parts of this book were so badly written my mind would wander.

Update 3 years later:
I am re-reading Pierce books and was dreading this one remembering how much I disliked it. This time around I liked it, especially the end. It would seem the terrible editing was fixed.

Spoilers:
I will increase it to three stars. I can not give it more because the traitor still bothers me. It still does not fit the character. In re-reading I could only find clues pointing to the fact that he did not care about money or status and would never harm an innocent. It still does not make sense, the psychology does not add up no matter how good the twist.

the editing is bad. there are several places where someone needed to tell pierce that the writing was disjointed.

the writing is sub-par for pierce.

the love interest story line with the mystery storyline with the political intrigue storyline would be interesting, if it weren't for the fact no one of the storylines are fleshed out completely. each one leaves the reader dissatisfied.

* * *

ultimately i hate what she did with the characters at the end. to say what happens is out of character and/or disjoint is to put it mildly. while i finished the book, my husband had to stop reading halfway through because the writing was so bad.

Great book. Wasn't the literary MUST READ, but it wasn't back of the shelf boring. For someone into this genre, and especially this author, it was a good read. Recommend it to anyone who likes Pierce's books, because Beka is a must-love.

***major spoilers***

I don't see why everyone is so dissatisfied with the book

I am sad to see if come to a end but I think it end off rather well though I was sad about tuntstall. I couldn't help smile like a silly lobby when beka gets together with farmer and I loved the epilouage that little bit with George makes me sans dig out my copiea of the alanna series and re read them

I loved the book, Pierce did a beautiful job--yet again--of pulling the reader in and illustrating a thrilling, heart-wrenching story for her fans. I'm sad to see another mini-series of books end, but this book ended it perfectly, and I highly recommend it.

Another great book by Tamora Pierce. The ending was a complete shock to me. Beka and Tunstall get a special mission from Gershom that takes them far from Corus and the area they know. A wonderful way to end this series. Looking forward to her next storyline.

I am in my 50's,but I feel young and as if all is possible again when I read Tamora Pierce's books. I own all I can find- which as far as I know,is all but the graphic novel she and her spouse co-wrote...and I'm looking for that!

***** Spoilers alert********
I own every Tamora Pierce book she has ever written (to my knowledge) and love love love the author, however I feel as if groundwork that she laid in the previous books was completely abandoned. First of all Beka was engaged in between Bloodhound and the beginning of Mastiff to someone we never met and treated Beka badly which makes little sense to me because Beka is a strong character and with her friends I can't see them letting her put up with it. Also, I wanted to see Beka with Rosto and feel that her romance with Farmer was contrived and more than a little forced. She doesn't describe our main new cast or characters in the same Dog fashion I'm use to Beka using, it leaves me at a loss for what Farmer actually looks like now. So yes I gripe about the loss of the local characters

I do like Beka having grown up though having a borderline verbally abusive boyfriend/fiancée was not the way I expected the author to go about it. While out on her hunt the magic she possess makes barely a paragraph of use even if its talked about. When she is injured it seems to male less of an impact on her performance than in the other books. Her relationship with Turnstall was solid and showed throughout the story. Bekas love of children wasn't even mentioned, save for one sentence at a grave side.

All in all there were soooooo many elements missing in this book compared to my private expectations of it. I would have loved for this book to have taken place in the in between Bloodhound and the time this one started or left just enough time for Beka to get her experience as a senthound handler, then start this book, kill the fiancée, start the Hunt, the romance with Farmer would be smaller and then the climactic ending with it's heart wrenching twist and Beka would go home with the major announcement by the King done she would break it off with Farmer and a new book would start after that with the full Corus crew. That would be my ideal Beka Cooper books but it looks like Tamora is done with the series sadly.

It was not my favorite, though as always well written a.d gripping.

Tamora Pierce is the best YA fantasy writer on the map, and her Tortall series should be essential readings for all young fantasy fans, and especially for young women. Her characters are strong, brave, and honest. Highly recommend.

Love Tamora Pierce and all of her books. This series felt like they tried to quickly shove the romance aspect in which made it a little difficult to swallow for me. However, I didn't feel like it ruined the book for me.

I've been waiting for this for what feels like forever! This is the final installment of the Beka Cooper series and i must say Tamora Pierce has outdone herself. The progression of the story is fast paced, engaging, and inspiring. I've always love the strong female characters that are portrayed in all of her books. Highly recommended by me if your human, and even a immortal.

I love Tamora Pierce books for the empowerment. She makes us girls to become confident, tough achievers, who will not give small excuses not to achieve. She encourage us to aim high. I like every one of her series. The values that she teaches us in her books are relevant and valuable for today's life.

I've enjoyed Tamora Pierce's other books very much, so i started buying hardbound copies of the "Beka Cooper" books as they were released. The first two books in the series were very good, but the third book "Mastiff" was awful. I kept losing interest, but gritted my way through the rest of the book. Then came the worst ending i have ever read in any book. Mastiff went straight into my trash can. I couldn't return it and i wouldn't give it to my worst enemy. I can't imagine buying another Tamora Pierce book. trash.

I was constantly surprised and touched throughout this book. I was, however more than happy with the ending! It was awesome. Romance, betrayal, New characters, old ones, and continuous excitement! I loved it!

Masftiff included many of the best elements of the novels of Tamora Pierce. It has a strong female heroine, plenty of interesting supporting characters, moments of humor, adventure, and a satisfying romance, all of which takes place in a world of kings, swordfights, and magic.
However, in the last quarter of this book the two main protaganists act inconsistantly with the characters that Pierce had spent the first two books developing. Beka, despite being described again and again as a having a personality reticeant to opening up or to trusting, falls head over heals in love without a second thought. If Beka really had the personality that had been previously been developed this would have been near impossible. Finally, towards the end of the plot their is a "unexpected" twist which seems contrived and unlikely. It reads as if Pierce needed to figure out a way to wrap up everything and this was all she could think of. These two events combined with a picture perfect ending belittle a series which spend so much of its time highlighing the nitty gritty of hard work and the flaws of any society.

I absolutely love this book, and I love everything that Tamora Pierce writes, so this isn't a review on the content, but on the book itself. When it got to me, the cover was bent and tore in the worst kind of way along the spine. It looked like someone already tried to trash this book before I could read it. And I'm not please with that.

I've enjoyed the Beka books so far, though it took a while for me to get over the bizarre jargon surrounding the career of "dog" and all of the "hunts" and "puppies" that go along with it.

Having patiently waited for the third book, I bought it on my kindle the morning it came out. I had read the sneak peak and was eager to see Beka engaging with royalty. (A side note, it has always interested me to see the non-royal side of Tortall, which is all we get with Alanna, Daine, and Kel. And also kind of wtih Aly : . However, I found myself very disappointed.

First, I thought the huge fuss of the dead fiance was out of place. I don't know Holborne. I know Rosto, and I like Rosto. I liked Dale, Kora, et al. I was disappointed that Pierce sort of dropped those characters (more so than in Bloodhound) and instead presented a new cast. I understand that the nature of Beka's job is to work in new environments, but, as a reader, it is so frustrating to get attached to characters only to see them abandoned.

I understand the use of Holborne as a figure who forced Beka to grow in many ways, preparing her for her ten-second love affair with Farmer (which seemed entirely un-Beka.), but I think it would have been more effective if Pierce had planned for this and used Dale, or introduced Holborne previously so that we had some active scenes with him, because all we as readers know of him is his past-tense character flaws.

In terms of the plot, I found it lackluster in several places, dwelling on in ways that were probably meant to be tense and frustrating (the marsh, the final dungeon, Port Caynn) but for me it came off as "this book needs to be longer. Chapter four, in which Beka and Tunstall spend a few days in Port Caynn waiting for their orders." Yuck.

I was also entirely shocked and annoyed by the final "twist". I didn't think that Pierce's characterization in any way prepared us for that. The inconsistency--and the motivation for the traitor's decision--felt ingenuine and thrown together. I was waiting for Pounce to comment about it, since he is the 3rd person voice of reason (I love Pounce! I want a Pounce trilogy!) and he never commented! No, "sorry Beka, but you know how it goes. I can't betray traitors" or anything! I was happy about Pounce's handling of Achoo, and glad to see a reason for his absence until Alanna.

I felt that this book was repurposed to give a happily-ever-after, but also explain some of the history of Tortall. I just wish that it had been staged better, because in many places there was no foreground for an event, it just jumped out and left me shrugging and mumbling "well, I guess that's happened then..."

A second read in a couple of months may change my mind, but my initial reaction is a frown.

I really hope that Pierce writes the Numair and Maura books. And Pounce. Always Pounce.

I could read Tamora Pierce's Beka books for years to come. The language is so rich, the characters so lively, and the stories so full of complex intrigue and a great deal of heart. Mastiff, the third in Pierce's Beka Cooper books, brings a glorious end to the series. As a long-time fan who first read Alanna's books as a young girl, I can easily say that Beka's books show Pierce at her best. And Mastiff is no failure in this.

There are flaws ... or maybe less flaws than disappointments. The issue with her betrothed seemed largely unnecessary. It starts off the book and is mentioned a few times. It was mentioned in the summery of the book if I remember correctly, but it has little to nothing to do with the plot. For me every word concerning him was a word wasted. Like Bloodhound, the majority (VAST majority) of this book is spent away from Corus, meaning most of the characters I (and I'm assuming a few others) would like to catch up with are only mentioned in passing. Basically if you're interested in reading for someone other than her partner Tunstall ... well, don't. Most of the supporting cast in this book is new. (Or newly involved. Some of the royalty is dealt with, and while they existed in the other books, they were hardly a PART of the other books).

The climax, I believe, would be for every individual to come to terms with. I'm still not sure if I buy it. If I like it. If I can live with it. But it happened and that's all there is to it.

Still, I loved it. I loved the ending. I love how it was brought around, all over again, to George. Nicely done. I believe her next Tortall books take us back to Numair? This book leaves me plenty excited for her next!

I have heard much disappointment about this book. However I rather enjoyed it. It explains much and the epilogue ties up some loose threads. It is a fitting ending to the series a long as you don't try to make it some huge epic of morality. A good fast read with enjoyable characters and a missing piece of the Tortall Universe. Definitely enjoyed it. Recommend it as well.

All the waiting for this book was worth it in the end. Mastiff is not only the perfect conclusion to the Beka Cooper trilogy, but a very nice lead into the Song of the Lioness Quartet. You see all the little details you were wondering about from the beginning finally answered. Although there are a lot of very predictable moments in the book (who she falls in love with, a traitor in her midst) everything still feels right. Nothing in the book feels forced and everything just falls into place like it was meant to. Beka Cooper is one of the best heroines Tamora has come up with yet and she does not disappoint.

The book was a good read however the typos were horrible. Numerous words were misspelled and simply crossed out and left in the e book. Words that should have been capitalized were not, and there was plenty of missing punctuation. Really for how many typos that were in the the store e book, the price is not worth it.

I read Mastiff before reading other people's comments and glad I did so. These other "critics" are probably not very avid readers. I have literally read thousands of books in my 45 years and can say this particular story was well written. I enjoyed it immensely and didn't want to put it down. Don't listen to the reviews, read it for yourself!

I loved everything that Tamora Pierce wrote...until I read Mastiff. It was such a bad book that I now cannot reread the shelf full of other books I have by this author. I feel that Pierce betrayed the integrity of her worlds and characters, and it left me feeling that she did not actually believe in any of the other characters she wrote in her other books - that they were only shams as well.
The crux of the action in this book is that a savvy and sympathetic character we have known from all of the prior books in this series is 'turned' in one brief meeting into a traitor who will offhandedly slay children and friends in an attempt to attain a totally implausible goal. Even if you grant that this individual had been a closet psychopath for all the prior novels - and was able to maintain his facade of being of good character under some extreme circumstances - one does not find it rational that the streetwise and intelligent character would believe for a moment that the 'bad guys' would actually follow through and leave him alive, let alone pay him the bribe.
The only way that a character can behave this way is for the author to yank him around like a cardboard cutout - which is what Tamora Pierce does in Mastiff.
I have waiting for two years to write this critique of Mastiff, in order to be certain that I could write it based on rationality and not based on emotion.

Please don't read this book.

**UPDATED 24 September 2014** When I first published this review and gave the book 1 star, I was comparing Mastiff to Tamora Pierce's other work. Now I realize that I have to rate this book as compared to all the other books out there. I may still dislike Mastiff but Tamora Pierce on her worst day is still light years better than Stephenie Meyer or E.L. James on their best day.**

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With my review, I won't mince words, I LOVE Tamora Pierce but I HATE this book. I bought it back in October on its release date; I had waited for so long because I loved Terrier and Bloodhound and I was psyched to read Mastiff. I am an avid reader and have read everything of Tamora Pierce's that I can get my hands on. Some of my books are about to split from having read them so many times. This book makes me angry, angry enough to write a review of it because I think people should read Terrier and Bloodhound and then imagine Beka and her friends' future for themselves.

From this point on, there are *MAJOR SPOILERS*.

Again, I am laying my opinions out there on everything so *MAJOR SPOILER ALERT! (Not just Mastiff but other Tamora Pierce novel spoilers)* and I'll put a tl:dr version below because I think this might be very long.

I was disappointed when I discovered that Beka's latest escapade would not take place in Corus like Terrier. I enjoyed the fact that Bloodhound was in Port Caynn because that gave the readers a chance to see how Beka works without Pounce and without her safety net. I was hoping that Mastiff would truly come full circle and have a large portion of the action in Corus so we could catch up with old friends like Ersken, Rosto, Kora, Aniki and so we could see how Goodwin is doing in her new job.

Much of the storyline felt like an updated, slightly changed, version of Kel's Lady Knight. They even stopped in some of the same locations like Queensgrace and the fact that she was chasing after a child/children felt a bit rehashed. With all the other Tortallan books we have enough dealings with the nobility and royalty. I enjoyed the fact that Beka's books were set in the "muck and ice" and dealt primarily with the commoners with the exception of Lord Gershom, Sir Tullus, Lady Teodorie and Lady Sabine and her friends. Bringing back a king and queen felt redundant. Prince Baird bore more than a slight resemblance to Prince Bronau of Trickster's Choice, being a lady's man, power hungry and willing to kidnap the heir.

Another problem, for me, was that the tone of the book didn't feel like Ms. Pierce's. I had read about her having surgery or something of that nature and I began to wonder if perhaps she hired a ghostwriter in order to make the deadline. Beka's voice didn't sound like Beka's voice and she was not the same kind girl we had met. Her tone towards the nobility was really snotty and Pounce's observations, while usually wickedly funny, also seemed nasty. Tunstall and Lady Sabine didn't sound like the people we had met in the previous novels either and I don't know how else to say it but their speech patterns were different. I found it strange that Beka was willing to call Lady Sabine "Sabine". She's always been so respectful, especially around the nobility and in a few weeks she gives that up? And Tunstall was incredibly rude to Farmer, which struck me as odd because I have never known him to be so disrespectful to anyone, especially a fellow Dog. (That also made me predispositioned to dislike Farmer because I trusted Tunstall's judgment.)

The heavy-handed method used to decry slavery was too much but Melting Stones also was quite heavy-handed in its portrayal of protecting the environment. These two books seem to be so issue driven that character development and the plot are sacrificed. I think that the Trickster series, which dealt with race relations, was a much better example of how to address an important issue without hammering it home. Another great instance of a particular issue being dealt with is how the Circle series handled Daja being a lesbian, by not making an issue of it at all.

But back to Mastiff, Ms. Pierce has always made a point of using made up swear words with minor exceptions like "bitch" which makes sense in this particular world. Beka and Goodwin are dogs and are females and female dogs are bitches so it's a fitting insult to use against them. However, in Mastiff, there are regular 4 letter swear words that took me out of the setting and brought me back to modern day and that felt off. The swearing multiplied in Mastiff and Beka just couldn't seem to stop herself, which seemed out of character. I understand how things are in the police (I was in the Army and it's quite the same situation) but there was barely any swearing in Terrier and Bloodhound by anyone. I also thought that Farmer stuffing things up his bum was cringe worthy and not necessary at all.

Beka's relationship with Farmer didn't make sense either. She is known to not warm up to people easily, to not be very trusting and all of a sudden she's acting like a love sick nymphomaniac. When she bedded Dale in Bloodhound, she started out by playing the part of the pretty, spoiled pet Dog. Beka put herself into this character in order to Hunt and because of that, being away from home, and her attraction to Dale, she allowed herself to be more free than she usually is and to do things she normally wouldn't do. In the context, it made a lot of sense.

In the beginning of Mastiff, Beka buries Holborn, a Dog that we had never met before who also seems to be an incredible jerk. Nothing in the description of his character would lead me to believe that Beka would have ever dated someone like that. Over and over we've heard about the horrible men that her mother had dated and how Beka wouldn't want to end up like that. Then, she meets Farmer a few days after she's buried Holborn and a couple of weeks after that she's ready to marry him?! To believe that would happen, I would have to deny everything I know about Beka. She would not neglect her duty for any man, especially on such an important case. I don't think she's the type of woman to propose either. The fact that she's going to marry Farmer and he's going to be the ancestor of George makes no sense considering how Rosto was set up for that spot, even naming the Dancing Dove after his mother. Plus, Farmer changing his last name just seems weird, random and like Ms. Pierce had planned on having Rosto be the father of Beka's baby but changed her mind at the last minute.

Now, for the traitor. This is yet another place where I would have to forget everything I know about a character in order to believe that he could go rogue. Tunstall might be feckless and child-like but he enjoys his freedom and he loved the relationship that he had with Lady Sabine. I can understand that seeing her in her world and being separated might have upset him but Tunstall would NEVER have betrayed his friends like that and he NEVER would have killed a little boy for such ridiculous reasons. Tunstall has shown that he respects all life, just like Beka. He was kind to the Ashmiller children, he gave Pounce the nickname "Hestaka" out of respect and he takes care of his own. Tunstall is also an intelligent guy; he would have known (because they discussed it) that the conspirators would never have given him the things they had promised. He would have been dead like the Lord High Chancellor of Mages. Furthermore, had he really wanted that position, Tunstall would have known that he could have received far better rewards from a grateful king and queen.

I think that plot twist was added for shock value (a lot of the things that happened in this book seem to have been added for that reason) and it blows my mind. There were no indications that Tunstall would turn traitor in any of the books. If there had been indications for Beka and her group to see, she would have seen them. She has been called a "suspicious mot" by her own cousin, and she's always wary. Trying to say that Tunstall could have fooled both Beka and Lady Sabine is insane and they also had a detached observer in Farmer. None of them saw any indication that Tunstall had become a traitor, none. There was no indication in any of the previous novels that Tunstall had this side to his personality.

A more than fleeting thought that crossed my mind is that, somehow, Stephenie Meyer got her hands on this novel and became the ghostwriter. That's why simple things like the word "doxie" were changed to "doxy" and why the plot has so much filler of them running around the country. It was quite convoluted and disorganized, much like the Twilight series. (I do realize that I'm being harsh but, like I wrote before, I have had this book for almost 9 months and I've tried to give it a chance multiple times but I just HATE it.)

So, to try and make things right (at least in my own mind), I have started thinking up my own plot for Elkhound (the original title of Mastiff). Since Barzun is still its own country and hasn't been acquired by Tortall, I thought it would be incredibly fascinating to involve the beginning of the war where Tortall defeats the people of Barzun. Kora and other mages (like the Provost's mages) could be taken hostage or have mysteriously disappeared and the Rogue has to work with the Provost's Guard in order to figure out what's going on. They could even pull in Nestor and Okha for help with disguises and such.

During this war, they save Kora and the other mages. There is some incident that causes Beka and Rosto to share one passionate night (in which she is impregnated) and then, sadly, he dies, leaving her to raise her child alone. She never did figure out if he had a last name so her son receives her last name of Cooper, thus setting up the lineage for George. There could also be some sort of royal connection that allows Tunstall to receive a degree of nobility (maybe even a house that we see in the Alanna series) and marry Lady Sabine.

We also see that Kora and Ersken have their own house (they might have been planning a wedding before she was kidnapped and then the could hold it after she's returned). This allows us to catch up with Aniki, Phelan, Goodwin, Beka's siblings, the rest of House Haryse, the Jane Street Kennel, Nestor, Okha, etc. Achoo can have another litter or two of puppies that continue to serve the Provost's Guard, even in George's time, unbeknownst to him. Pounce wouldn't have gotten banished and, that way, we could fit in a couple more Pounce related stories before the start of the Alanna series.

TL;DR: This book broke my heart and I don't believe that Tamora Pierce was the one that wrote the bulk of it. You're better off if you write your own fan-fic to give these characters a better-deserved conclusion.

So, I suppose it's time I get around to this, I've been done with this book for weeks, but I haven't been able to bring myself to write this review. I guess I finally ought to, just to get this out there and off my chest.

I should begin by saying that Tamora Pierce is not just my favorite author. She is my idol, and the only person whose books have never gone out of style with me. Other authors are interchangeable to me. Pierce is a rock. I also got the chance to meet her and spend 3 days with her last August, and immensely enjoyed her as a person as well. I don't just "judge a book by its cover" with her, you can say.

That's why Mastiff was such a painful read. Out of all the works I've read, the Tortall universe is my favorite. I want to drop myself right in there beside all her main characters. When Pierce returned to Tortall for Terrier, I was blazingly excited and the book did not disappoint. Bloodhound, the second book, was certainly a change of pace, but a good one for the most part. Mastiff should have been a glowing finale but to me it's...not.

To be fair, there is technically nothing wrong with Mastiff. It's written in the typical, amazing Tamora Pierce style. It's funny. It's exciting. It's impossible to put down. If we were judging this book on technicality alone, it's an immediate 5 stars. It's the reason I couldn't give it any less than three.

The problem is that it's a third book. It's the FINAL book. The problem is that we have been set up for two large books and gotten to know the characters. The problem is that, by now, I am so invested in the characters that I wanted something grand and blinding for the finale. Maybe the fault lies entirely with my opinion, but I just don't feel like I got it.

~MILD SPOILERS AHEAD~

The book got off to a very bad start for me. Its 3 years after Bloodhound, and Beka is burying her fiancé, who was mentally and physically abusive towards her. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems vaguely out of character that Beka would allow that to go on. Especially when she says that the only reason she even vaguely loved this guy is because of the great sex. I just couldn't wrap my head around this for Beka. Things just go downhill from there, as the entire Corus gang minus Tunstall, Pounce, Achoo and Sabine are absent from this book except for a little bit at the beginning. I did like Farmer as a character after the fact, but when he was introduced I was just in the disposition of not liking him. Plus, I really loved Rosto, even though I knew nothing between him and Beka would never happen. I just thought SOMETHING would happen between them.

Still, up until the end of the book, I was tolerating things. I tolerated Beka's new, bordering-on-obsession with sex. I tolerated the lack of the Corus crew and the injection of new characters I got less than a whole book to love, who played major roles when I thought they'd be taken up by characters I knew well and loved well. If the end of this book hadn't happened, it would have managed a 4 to 4 ½ star rating, perhaps. I'll never
know.

I'm going to try to do this without spoilers here, but...argh. Beka's jumps out of character were bad enough, but I can't forgive something this bad. I can't say much, but there is a traitor at the end of the book and ... it's bad. It's unforgivably bad. I never would have expected it, true, but not in a good way. Never before have I had such a huge desire for the book to end with "And Beka woke up to find that it was all a dream."

I'll repeat again that, technically, there is nothing wrong with this book. To another person, there might not be anything wrong with this book. Personally, I just wanted so much...more, for Beka. I wanted so much more for all the characters, really. I guess the ends of series can never be everything you want them to be, but Mastiff disappointed me more than most.

Beware: **************Moderate Spoilers**************

First, I am a loyal Tamora Pierce fan and have been since grade school, so I was pretty excited to read a new series set in Tortall. I liked "Terrier" well enough and sort of slogged through "Bloodhound", but it wasn't until "Mastiff" that this series really lost me. Suffice it to say, this series will not be joining the much-beloved Tamora Pierce collection on my bookshelf.

First of all, the book begins with the death of Beka's random, semi-abusive fiance, who we have never heard of before. Where did he come from, why should we care about him, and WHY was it necessary to include him?? It seems completely out of character for Beka to have even gotten involved with someone like Holborn in the first place, and I can't see that it really affects her that much. She gets some guilty twinges every once and a while, but that's about it. It seems to me like his sole purpose in this book was to provide some extra drama, but for me it just made the book kind of cluttery.

As some other commenters have pointed out, the characters, both old and new, all felt off. For the most part, the cast of characters we've come to know and love (Rosto, Aniki, Kora, Ersken, etc) were chucked out after playing background characters for a chapter or two at the beginning. Beka seemed completely different from the rational, reserved girl we've gotten to know in past books. She was brash and, at least for me, unnecessarily aggressive at times. The royalty we met were like hollow copies of other Pierce royalty (I'm talking Jon and Thayet, mostly): beautiful, powerful people who were surprisingly compassionate to common folk. But in this case, they felt flat, unrealistic, and merely played the one-dimensional "damsel in distress" role. I liked Farmer a lot: he reminded me of Numair, whom I love. He made up for the fact that the building relationship between Rosto and Beka established in the last TWO BOOKS was thrown out without so much as a by-your-leave. But his relationship with Beka was kind of strange. It came out of nowhere: no realistic buildup, no tension, no nothing. It didn't ring true to me. Romance aside, he was still one of my favorite characters in this book.

The biggest character problem for me, though, was the motivations of the "bad guys". The motivation of the kidnappers was poorly fleshed out to me. It's a pretty horrific and convoluted plan for takeover, involving mass-slaughter, unbreakable curses, sinking boats, odd cover plans, and pretty obvious direct involvement of all the biggest conspirators, and when I finally learned the motivation for it from the mouth of a conspirator, I was... unimpressed, to say the least. It just didn't ring true to me. That was a crazy, complex plan, for reasons that felt petty. When even one of the people who'd been committing violent murder throughout the book in the name of this plan couldn't articulate the "whys" in a way that made any sense, that's a problem. It did not feel remotely real to me. (Side note that's been rankling me: if the conspirators wanted to kill the king and queen, there are about FIFTY ways they could have done things differently. Why kidnap the prince and not just kill the monarchs outright? Why take him onshore again RIGHT next to the place you just ransacked, leaving giant magical signposts behind you? There were conspiracy-aligned mages RIGHT NEXT to both of the monarchs all the time, they couldn't have just put some sort of magical wasting spell on them and gone around all this crap?? But anyway, I digress.)

As others have noted, about three quarters through the book, we're given hints that there might be a traitor among Beka's group. I'm willing to accept that people can change, but as with the big conspirators, the motivation for the traitor's choices just felt false to me. It doesn't dovetail with anything else in this whole series. I'm not saying it's impossible for a well-loved character to change, but when the previous two and half books go against it, there needs to be some a seriously compelling reason behind it. And there just wasn't. It all felt wrong, unrealistic, and unjust to me. One of my favorite characters got caught up in Pierce's need for a shocking twist, and I felt tremendously sorry for this character. The author did him wrong. I ended this book deciding that I was just going to pretend the end hadn't happened. No exactly the best way to end a series.

Not the worst book ever, the characters just didn't feel like real people to me and their motivations were severely lacking. If you've already gotten to this book in the series, you'll probably have to read this just to know how Beka's story ends. I think I'm going to go read the Immortals quartet to recover.

Now a full-fledged Dog, Beka Cooper has overcome much of her shyness and is devoted to serving the realm in small ways, capturing Rats with the help of her partner Tunstall and scent hound Achoo. Her duties have been limited to her small sphere in the Jane Street kennel's district of Lower Corus until now, when she is called by the very highest authority of the land - King Roger and his young bride - to save their country and, more importantly, their kidnapped son from an unknown enemy that has infiltrated the noble ranks and amassed a large following of powerful mages and lords. Beka, though daunted by the implications of this Hunt, is glad for the opportunity to escape from the memory of her fiance's death and from the watchful eyes of her friends. Through it, her ability will be tested to the point of breaking, her convictions will be sorely tried and all that she holds dear - including the loyalty of her closest friends - will be put at risk. Will she stand the test or fall with the Kingdom?

I've loved Tamora Pierce's books since I first read Alanna in middle school and I was so very disappointed with the conclusion of this trilogy. It started out so well with Terrier, which is peopled with full-bodied characters that easily found their way into my heart, just as Alanna and George did so many years ago. Unfortunately, those same characters are missing from this book. I, like other reviewers, was very unhappy that the relationship between Beka and Rosto was discarded in favor of a new relationship with the mage Farmer, which seems contrived in so many ways and completely inharmonious with Beka's character. In addition, the book reads much more like a travel diary and police report than a novel. There were so many points in the story when I just wished that the end would come sooner because I was actually getting bored. It wasn't until the last third of the book that I actually felt compelled to read a little later because the action had finally picked up and the storyline had developed enough twists to keep me interested. I hate saying that about a Pierce book, but it's true! Lackluster dialogue, one dimensional characters and a disappointing final twist that doesn't fit well with the history established in the previous two novels all made for a disappointing read. I can only hope that this is a one time occurrence for Pierce and that she returns to top form in the future Tortallan books.

Tamora Pierce is one of my favorite young adult authors, but "Mastiff" (Random House, $18.99, 581 pages), the conclusion of the Beka Cooper series, is the weakest novel of hers I've read.

In addition, it took a long time for her to deliver "Mastiff," and the delay didn't seem to help her any. The plot creaks audibly, even for a young adult effort, and the succession of hairbreadth escapes and implausible rescues pile on one another until the willing suspension of disbelief finally hangs by a single, frayed thread.

In any event, "Mastiff" concludes the adventures of Beka Cooper, a young detective in a magic-ridden society based on a slave economy. Cooper herself has some extrasensory skills (she can talk to the dead who inhabit the bodies of pigeons for a short time after their death, and also communicates with dust devils), and she's a very accomplished fighter despite her youth and size.

Usually Pierce has a nice feel for pacing and plot, and doesn't telegraph her punches quite as obviously as she does here, but something went wrong with "Mastiff". Those who have read "Terrier" and "Bloodhound", the first two in the series, will most likely want to finish it out, but those who have yet to jump in would probably be better off reading her earlier works.

This review had to be shortened to fit within the store's maximum word count. For the full review and more, please visit markedbybooks.blogspot.com

While I'm obviously not too fond of the fact that this is the last I'll being seeing of Beka, I am pretty happy with how things ended up. Of course I was devastated by the betrayal she faced by someone that should have been too close to hurt her, and I also wish that I could've seen a little more of Rosto, Kora, Aniki, and Goodwin before everything ended, but I'm very proud of Beka and glad that she finally got her happily ever after.

Even though I didn't get to see as many of Beka's old friends as I had hoped, I really enjoyed all of the new faces. First off, Gareth. I know that I didn't get to meet him until the very end, but I have to say, that kid's a boss. Seriously. The little guy's only four years old, but he handled being kidnapped better than many people ten times his age would have. He's so kind to everyone too, especially considering his lineage. He is one of the sweetest, bravest, most determined little boys I've ever had the pleasure of reading about, and I only wish that I could have had more time to spend with him.

Then there's Farmer. There's no way I could have talked about this book without mentioning him. Like Beka, he'll play up the stupid Lower City Dog act to make people underestimate him before completely blowing their minds. Unlike Beka, however, Farmer does it with style. I'm not picking on Beka here, but she just tends to slip into a bit of an accent and act really shy around nobles, whereas Farmer goes full throttle with the whole country bumkin act. I swear, if he said, "Ma allus said...." one more time, I don't think I could have contained the laughter.

Overall, the first half was a little slow at times, but still enjoyable. I probably would have only given this book four stars if it continued on like that, but what came later more than made up for it. That was when things really started to pick up, and it felt like I had been thrown in the middle of a whirlwind of excitement and suspense. It really never calmed down from there until the very end, and even that may be stretching it. The ending was certainly something huge, but I can't say anything else without spoiling the book for you. I really felt like everything had finally come full circle, especially after going back to George Cooper in the epilogue. It seemed very fitting for him to close things up, especially since he and his mother started Beka's story off in the beginning of Terrier. Oh, back when she was just a Puppy.... it's making me sad just thinking about it. Goodbye Beka! I'll never forget you!

Taylor

I don't usually write a ton of reviews, but after reading this book I just had to write something to express how utterly disappointed I was with this novel. Admittedly, I've been slightly out of touch with Pierce's novels and was browsing the store when I realized (finally) that Mastiff was out. So I hightailed it off to my public library and grabbed Terrier. I fell in love with it again, even after not reading it since its release five years ago. I promptly went and devoured Bloodhound, which I enjoyed immensely, and then FINALLY checked out Mastiff. I was SO EXCITED to read this book, especially after reading the inside flap, but after finishing it I just felt...let down. Even after a few days I'm still thinking about it and how absolutely disappointed I am in the direction this book took.

Don't get me wrong, it's a technically perfect book. It's a solid novel with excellent descriptions and world-building, and it kept me turning the pages long after I should have gone to bed. That's the reason I couldn't give it less than three stars. But a lot of things about this book just didn't fit with the first two books in the series.

First, the plot. It was interesting, but it also felt jumpy and disjointed, and I kept feeling as if I was missing out on something. This is the one book in the series where I feel as if the journal-style narration didn't work out. Not to mention that right at the beginning, we are thrown into a funeral scene for a character we haven't even met. I was honestly wondering if I had missed a short story or a book that had taken place after Bloodhound. I also felt that the "whodunit" aspect fell a little flat. In Terrier, I was frantically reading trying to figure out who the "bad guy" was. Here, it seemed painfully obvious who was in on the plot, and the attempts to veil it were flimsy at best.

My major gripes were the inclusion/lack of certain characters, and just character development in general. I understand the use of Holborn as a plot device to show Beka's growth, but I think this could have been done in a better way than throwing in a random, unknown character after a three-year plot gap. We only get passing mentions of Holborn's past behavior, not enough to really judge him as a character. I was also disappointed that Rosto, Kora, Aniki and Ersken weren't really included in this book. However, I did like the inclusion of Farmer's character. He was a unique addition to Beka's team, and I did like his personality and how he started out a little mysterious.

I also thought that many of the characters act in ways that go against the very identity that has been established for them in previous books. The fact that Beka tolerated a borderline abusive relationship baffled me, and her sudden love affair with Farmer had me scratching my head a little. It seemed very out of character for someone who has a history of not letting people close. Ultimately, I liked them together, but I had expected it to develop gradually and be fully realized after the Hunt, not ¾ of the way through it.

My biggest character complaint, however, comes with the Big Reveal. As the novel progresses the reader learns that there is likely a traitor within Beka's Hunting party. When the traitor is finally revealed, I was shocked. What shocked me even more were the reasons behind the betrayal, which went against everything I had ever learned about this character. It was just so far-fetched and unbelievable that I couldn't accept it. It was such a drastic change to that character's identity that I feel like Pierce threw that in there for the shock value without really thinking it through...which pains me to say, because Pierce is such a great author and has written so many high-quality works. I almost feel like it ruined the first two books for me, knowing who is going to eventually betray Beka.

Maybe my expectations were too high, but to me, Mastiff simply did not fit with the rest of the series. A reread in a few months might change my mind, but my initial reaction is disappointment. I'm sad to see such a great series end with this book.

Out of all the books in this series this is my worst favorite that being said it is still great. Tamora Pierce is great with characterization which is why she is one of my all time favorite authors. I fall in love with her characters. This book is no different. She is also very good at making the story flow well and her plots are always fun filled adventures. She is good with imagery and bringing you into the story.

I honestly love Farmer Cape. This character just makes me smile on almost every page. He is truly silly to his very core but he's not stupid. This man could probably beat Sir Miles (another Tamora Pierce character who loves chess) at a game of chess. I love how he gets Beka, who is so beyond shy she can't even talk to people she's known forever sometimes, to open up. She laughs and jokes with him. Beka is usually so serious and a workaholic she needs someone like Farmer to keep her from dying of an ulcer XP.

The plot in this book was predictable and in places sooooooo slow I almost couldn't keep reading but once you get past them the story is great and intriguing. The only thing that truly truly bothered me was what happened to Tunstall. As I stated before Tamora Pierce is great at characterization and Tunstall is one of the main ones of this story, but she completely did a 180 on his personality from the other books. I can't see him doing what he did ever and I was floored and not in a good way.

The ending of this book was a little rushed while the beginning was beyond slow....still absolutely love it though.....guess I'm a masochist XP.

Mastiff was definitely worth waiting a couple years for. It is by far the largest book I have read by Tamora Pierce, and I loved every moment of it: from when I first opened it around noon to when I read the last pages close to midnight. I couldn't put it down. I was so caught up in the magical world that Tamora Pierce created.

Beka is still the brilliant, honest young woman whose character I have loved from the first book. She is the one I would want watching my back on a Hunt. While Beka is out of her element with the nobility, she adapts to new situations and does what is necessary to complete the Hunt. I enjoyed learning what the rest of Tortall was like back in her time along with her.

Along with Beka, Mastiff brings back a lovable set old friends from a brief glimpse at her rogue friends to friends at Port Caynn and more action time with Pounce, Achoo, Tunstall, and Sabine. As for their new companion, I completely fell in love with Farmer. He is such a sweet darling. I love how he feigns silliness--is silly--and hides the immense power that he wields. I love how he is caring, loves his job as a Dog mage, and will both protect and let a girl protect him. Halfway through the book, I was hoping that something would develop between Beka.

I was very satisfied with the outcome of the novel. Even, as it turns out, with the twist. While I'm still struggling to come to terms with the motives behind it, I have to accept that there is only one person who could do such a thing. There have also been mixed reviews about the twist and about the large amount of violence in this book, but with such high stakes in this novel, I feel that it is only to be expected. I admire how Tamora Pierce isn't afraid to do what is needed to write a good novel. Mastiff is a definitely one of her best if not the best so far.

Beka faces greater danger than before. She meets new friends, fights powerful enemies, travels all over Tortall, and faces the greatest betrayal, all with the future of Tortall on the line. It's no wonder that Mastiff is the conclusion to the Beka Cooper trilogy. As Beka asks, what can be greater than what she manages to accomplish over the course of this journey (and it is not only about saving the royal family)!

I am a total Tamora Pierce fangirl. I didn't "discover" her books until about four years ago when I got my job as a middle school librarian. I was browsing through the shelves of my new library and came across a very old edition of Alanna: The First Adventure. The cover grabbed me because it was so worn and dated. I decided to read it to see if I should order a newer copy or just withdraw the book. Over the next month I flew through all of Pierce's books. I was addicted! I ordered new copies of all of them for our LMC as well as purchasing copies for myself. I adore all of her books but the Beka Cooper series has a special place in my heart since they were being released as I was reading them. Mastiff has been one of the book I have been most anxiously awaiting. It seemed to take FOREVER to come out and I was so not patient. Now, having finished the series, I have to say... it was worth it.

I listened to the audiobook of this title (Produced by Listening Library.) I was a bit off audiobooks since the one I was listening to wasn't very good. Mastiff was a completely different experience! The narrator was perfect for the series. I loved the voices that she did for the different characters. There are many different people speaking throughout but she kept them separate and unique. It was interesting to hear the differences between the nobles and the common folk. It really added to the experience.

Okay, on to the actual story! I loved everything about it. The characters, the storyline, the twists... I was hooked. I just wanted to sit in my car all day and listen. If I had my copy of the actual book at my house nothing would have gotten done until the book was finished. I love Beka as a character. She is so true to herself and has such a sense of integrity. I also loved reading about the hunt and all the ways that she, Tunstall, Lady Sabine, the mage Farmer, Pounce, and of course Achoo track their quarry.

I adored everything about the book but one event just hurt my heart. Without giving anything away I just have to say that as a reader I don't know that I've ever felt so betrayed! I understand it and it fits but I was so.... ugh! That's all I can say about that!

Seriously. If you've never read anything by here I highly recommend picking up Alanna: The First Adventure. Don't be fooled by the cover ;)

Tamora Pierce has written another stunning and sweeping adventure in the saga of young policewoman Beka Cooper of Tortall. Once again, fans and newcomers alike will be carried away into a mystery that requires our heroine to muster her special talents as she helps solve a crime and bring a hideous practice to an end. Along the way, she gathers in a new friend, a new relationship, and a new future.

MASTIFF is no dainty read. It's heavy in terms of both pages and action, but as usual, Pierce manages to write with the passion few others can. This will keep readers pinned to the pages to find out what the ending will portray about the beginning of another brilliant series by Pierce. Few writers can claim that a current bestselling series is the explanation of how a different set of Tortallians got their starts. MASTIFF is a relative to Pierce's beloved Alanna series written over 20 years ago. And it works so well. Readers have clamored for years to know the source of Alanna's brilliant past, and Pierce is delivering in part with the Beka Cooper series.

Roused in the middle of a dark, rainy night by her commander, Beka and her menagerie (Pounce the cat and Achoo the bloodhound) board a peregrine ship, "...the Crown's most precious vessels, saved for its most important messages and its greatest emergencies," bound for a mysterious hunt. Besides the commander, Lord Gershom, she is accompanied on the choppy journey by her work partner and trainer from the early days, Tunstall. They discover the trip's destination as they disembark and are greeted by the King's guards and a mage who escorts the Dogs (police) to the King's summer palace. Here they are informed about the hunt. They are to solve a kidnapping, but not just anyone is missing. A person very dear to the entire kingdom is unaccounted for, and Beka and her comrades are assigned to find and return him.

The team embraces their mission as a simple seek and find, but is soon embroiled in a treasonous plot and the unseemly business of human bondage. They are deep in the belly of the ugliest parts of Tortall's society as they rush to find their missing person, only to discover he has been sold to slavers. The kingdom's monarchs are distraught, especially when it's uncovered that someone from within the inner circle is at the helm of the evil plans. It's up to the Dogs and Beka to find the proof and the missing person, and expose to the light of day the sickening practice of slavery in Tortall.

Readers who set aside time for the expansive yet satisfying escapade of MASTIFF will not be disappointed.

Reviewed by Joy Held

I started out really liking this book. Once again I was stunned with the beauty of Pierce's writing. There's no question she's a master storyteller. Her text flows beautifully and her world building is exquisite. [I loved the details like the pigeons that carry souls to the dark lord and the whirlwinds that enjoy dust from far away places. Just wonderful.]

And yet I ended up not as involved in this book as I was in the first two volumes of the series. In fact, as the end approached, I was more and more distracted by how many pages there were, and how many seemed to not be moving the plot along.

Two other details that bugged me a bit were the preaching and the 'contrived' elements. Now every book is contrived, the real talent is that concealing those parts so that the reader doesn't feel like they are hit over the head with the messages or obvious spots where things happen a little unnaturally. I felt afflicted by both.

So, while I'm glad I read this book, I didn't like it as well as the first two. I thought the characters were a little flatter, the plotting a little heavier, and the preaching a little too obvious.

Pam T~
#kidlit blogger

The long awaited for third book of Beka Cooper by Tamora Pierce was released late in October of 2011. Many people had this as one of the must reads for this year and upon finishing it... it did not disappoint.

The beginning of the book starts out on a low note with the death of Beka's fiance. The emotions from this loss play a vital roll through the rest of the story as well. But, to take her mind off of such, she and her partner Tunstall, along with her hound Achoo, are given a secretive assignment which takes them out of the city. They quickly find out there are very few people they can trust due to the sensitivity of the investigation. A time or two it causes stress among companions who are old and trusted and new ones.

The language is absolutely wonderful and the scenes with which Tamora Pierce paints are vivid. Her fight scenes are very clear to follow and enjoyable to picture in your head as you read. Some are slightly graphic, but this is a book for teens and up at the very earliest. While the book has a teen reading level, adults will find it also a page turner and unable to put down.

While a slightly longer book, every page is jam packed with either description of events or description of the characters growth. There is never a dull moment and the quirky dialogue will have the reader laughing out loud at times, while at others, wishing to strangle someone.

Tamora Pierce is a wonderful writer and brings to life the world of Tortall within these pages. She has done so in the past with her other books and hopefully this will not be the last.

I have absolutely loved watching Beka Cooper grow into a formidable Dog of the Provost's Guard. And Book Three in the series, Mastiff, truly shows us how far she's come from her days as a "Puppy."

Beka's become a proud woman. She's still quiet in many cases, but will speak up for herself as she finds it necessary with nary a stutter as in the old days.

In Mastiff, the stakes have never been higher for Beka and her fellow Hunters. Though some cases in the past put the kingdom at risk, never has it been in such serious jeopardy as it is now. Prince Gareth has been kidnapped. There's a plot against the crown and serious mages are at work as well.

A great deal of intrigue is one of the key ingredients in Mastiff. The politics in Tortall have become such that the nobles that should obey the king's command can't be trusted. The land itself can't be trusted. Beka starts to wonder who she can trust beyond herself, her hound Achoo, and her cat Pounce.

Mastiff was a wonderful read and probably my favorite book in The Legend of Beka Cooper series. Fans of the series are sure to enjoy this high stakes installment.

Beka Cooper is an easy heroine for young women to identify with - especially those who might be shy, awkward or saddled with low self-esteem. Over the course of the series, we see Beka grow from just such a withdrawn young woman herself, into a fiercely loyal, determined and tenacious cop who yearns to protect the helpless from those who would abuse them - most often those with power and privilege. This character model is one that Pierce has used frequently and to great effect in her previous work, and it works well here, too.

The heart and charm of Pierce's writing is as evident in Book 3 as it was in Book 1, and I enjoyed the journey just as much. But I felt a slight unravelling this time around. Perhaps it is because Beka's journey is coming to a close, but I felt that too many of the story lines felt like they were being forced to a sudden resolution.

And I was decidedly not pleased with the twist ending, that seemed to run against well established character principles from previous books for the slim benefit of having a suspenseful climax in this one. The thin explanations offered did not justify the choices made, IMHO, so I wasn't held in suspense - I was disappointed. But still, it wasn't a huge disappointment, so a decent conclusion to a fun series.

***Spoiler Alert***

I stumbled into reading Tamora Pierce's works late in life, and have devoured most of them over the past two or three years. The first two Beka Cooper books were books that I truly enjoyed, and I was excited about this book coming out. Unfortunately, this book has spoiled the other two for me.

First of all, I did have some things I enjoyed (hence the 2 stars rather than 1). I liked the author's descriptions and attention to detail. The trip involved a number of different settings, in locations that weren't found in past books, and I felt like Ms. Pierce did a good job of fleshing them out. Some of the common themes running through her books also made their way into this series, such as her love of and respect for animals (including of course Pounce and Achoo, but also other animals here and there), her desire for humane and fair treatment for all people (and animals; see last point), and her ability to tell a good tale. I've read other authors who have common threads running through their books, and it's easy to get burnt out: "Oh look, another social justice book by so-and-so." I felt like Ms. Pierce managed to avoid this, which for an author so many books into a series is a sign of genuine talent. Also, while I was less convinced by the romance between Beka and Farmer (and like some other readers, was rooting for Rosto instead), I felt like it was at least potentially possible, and that he was the sort of person she might indeed fall in love with.

***Here there be Spoilers! You have been warned.***

The part that totally, thoroughly, completely ruined the book for me was Tunstall's betrayal. It was not the fact that a main character that I liked went rogue and betrayed his friends; I've seen enough of both literature and real life to know that this sort of thing happens. I don't like it, but books would be unrealistic if they didn't share this important fact of life. What bothered me was ruining a good character in such an implausible way.

What do I mean? First of all, Tunstall has been a Dog for a number of years (I don't remember exactly, but I would say over a decade). In all of that time, he has consistently shown himself trustworthy and on the side of right. Rough around the edges, and not as dedicated to a moral ideal as Beka, but in this job he's had many chances to go crooked and has chosen not to, leaving him with years of habit in making good choices. He's also in a stable longterm relationship with Sabine that does have some tensions based on their class differences, but which has gone on for a number of years. No recent tragedies or huge changes, at least not that we're shown. Yet we're expected to believe that in a WEEK (possibly two, if I'm getting my timeline wrong), he goes from being a loyal, decent friend, loving partner, and honorable Dog, to a traitor who betrays all of his friends and his country, and casually, offhandedly, murders a young child. Furthermore, he does this because he's promised money and a title which he knows they will never provide (Ms. Pierce actually has him give a rundown on all the reasons the people offering him this are untrustworthy and will never follow through, and why he would be an idiot to believe them).

Secondly, we are told throughout the series that Beka is attentive to detail and has an amazing gift at reading people. Sabine and Farmer are shown to have this ability as well, which is a necessary and therefore often-honed skill in their work. Countless times throughout the series Ms. Pierce shows us Beka saving the day by her ability to pierce through the outside facades of those around her and to see the truth, even when it is unpleasant or involves those she cares about. Furthermore, she and Sabine together have been with Tunstall almost 24/7 over the past several YEARS. Yet we are expected to believe that neither of them (nor Farmer, who has the same people-reading skills but is not emotionally involved, if you think that Sabine and Beka would be blinded by their affection for Tunstall [which for reasons given above I doubt]) notices that anything is wrong during the trip when once again they are together 24/7. People who spend decades being loyal, honorable, and loving do not make this sort of switch in a week or two, but above all they do not make this sort of switch without their close loved ones noticing that something is wrong.

I'm sorry to harp on one tiny part of the story so much. As I mentioned earlier, I loved much of the first part of the book, but this last part so destroyed the book (and the series) for me that it's hard to move beyond it.

In general, I would have found this a satisfying ending to the Beka Cooper books. It contains many of the same strengths as the prior books, which are portraying a world with very different mores than ours but similar values and the way those values are expressed. Slavery and torture are two subjects touched on, in ways that provoke examination of real world issues. Beka herself maintains a strong consistent moral inner core. The adventure of running all over Tortall, expanded upon the previous two books. Terrier starts with a focus on Beka's neighbourhood within Corus. Bloodhound explands to show how the wider economic issues touch two cities, and in this final book, we see a very wide sweeping view of the nation as a whole. I enjoyed the ultimate finale. I even enjoyed Beka's slowly unfolding romance for the most part.

But there were some major and minor missteps in this book. What follows may be slightly spoiler-y, although I will try to discuss it in general terms.

Minor: The slowly unfolding romance had a rather sudden and abrupt ramp-up right at the end of the book. Furthermore, I wanted to see more of how Beka got into the first situation of being engaged to Holburn at the start of the book. I actually went back and re-read Bloodhound because I was convinced I had missed something, but no, we start in situ with Beka engaged to some dude we've never heard of...and burying him. (First chapter, first para, not a spoiler.) I wanted to find out more of how she met him and why she got involved with him, more showing instead of telling. I've been in a similar situation, so I didn't find it unbelievable that a young and too quick engagement results in a serious mismatch, but I wanted the unfolding of how that came about to be matched to Beka's more mature romance. I did like that not ALL of Beka's friends so seriously misread her situation--Sabine's remarks to Tunstall show that she too knew something of the matter.

Major: (SPOILERY, so read with extreme caution) Without mentioning which character it is, one character was seriously mischaracterised based on the previous books. Their motivations are switched about for the purpose of a big reveal, which I felt fell rather flat. I couldn't buy the motivation, I couldn't buy the tactics, I couldn't buy the justification. It all just sorta fizzled. To the point where I felt it nearly spoiled the book, turning a four star book into something that teetered on the brink of two stars. Futhermore, it happens VERY late in the book, so there is no time to deal with emotional repercussion and that also sorta spoils the ending of the series for me. It was such a big thing, I felt it should have been building throughout the series, let alone the book, but you only get one half-hearted clue towards the whole thing. MEH.

I still enjoyed the book, despite the very late fly in the ointment.

Mastiff is a satisfying conclusion to the Provost's Dog trilogy, if not what readers probably anticipated. As others have commented, most of the book takes place away from Corus, and most of the old secondary characters make only token appearances. The book focusses on Beka, her partner Tunstall, his Lady Knight girlfriend Sabine, and an eccentric new mage, Farmer, as they track the kidnappers of the heir and only child of the monarch, stumbling into high level conspiracies on the way.

The series continues its lower-class view of Tortallan society. Beka is uncomfortable with nobles, at home in the Lower City, and is devoted to protecting the powerless and unimportant. We also see the seeds of two big changes between the Tortall of this series and the other books - the rise of a religious sect which wants women to be pure, protected, chaste and ladylike, and the decline of legal slavery.

Two plot elements may be particularly upsetting. First is what we see of the aftermath of Beka's engagement, when her fiance is killed shortly before she was going to call things off. The second is the final betrayal at the end of of the book, from an unexpected source.

These two themes are unusually mature for YA fiction, but are act as thematic bookends to the story. In the first, we see that someone who is mature and intelligent and competent and strong can still end up in a bad relationship. Beka has (wisely) avoided serious entanglements with criminals, but found that getting involved with a fellow Dog wasn't a guarantee of happiness, and that there is a big difference between a passionate fling and a permanent relationship. In the second, we see, harshly, that sometimes love isn't enough. Self doubt, insecurity, the pressures of society or family, jealousy - these can kill a relationship as dead as falling out of love, even with two admirable people. And sometimes people get pushed too far, and snap under those competing pressures.

One thing I do really appreciate in Pierce's work is her willingness to buck romantic plotline traditions. In the Protector of the Small we had Kel's series of intense crushes that fizzled out to her bafflement, and the bold move of ending the series with Kel uninvolved with anyone, and not particularly looking, either. Here, Beka never gets involved with Rosto, the handsome, charming Rogue, in spite of friendship and mutual attraction. She has some short term flings which don't go anywhere, an engagement to what turned out to be the wrong person, followed a head-over-heels romance which, although it definitely plays like a rebound relationship, is with someone who will probably end up being the right person. Definitely not the traditional first-love-conquers-all standard.

This book is not the book that fans would probably have asked Pierce to write - that book would have had more Kora and Erksen and Goodwin et al, a happy ending for Tunstall and Sabine, and probably Rosto and Beka getting together. But what we've got is a very good book, and a fitting end to the series.

Mastiff if the 3rd book in Tamora Pierce's prequel trilogy. The events in this trilogy predate Alanna, Daine, Kel and Aliane in the world of Tortall. These are heavier reads in my mind than the other Tortall books, for the most part (except perhaps the Trickster books). They deal with Beka Cooper who is a Dog (cop) in Corus. They are definitely more mystery-oriented than the others, as Beka has to solve different crimes to make her way up the ranks. This one deals strongly with slavery in all forms.

I was a little unsure how I would feel about this book, since it is a darker series, but I thought that Tamora Pierce did her usual superb job handling tough situations. It helps to like mystery stories.

If you like Tamora Pierce and things to do with Tortall, I think that this is a good, if darker, series. Give them a try, but start with Terrier and then read Bloodhound before you go to Mastiff. Like all her other books, she will make you think about things in a different way.

You know a book is exceptional when you can't help yourself by crying with the heroin at the end. This book had passion, intrigue, fighting, adventure, and much more. Tamora Pierce did an excellent job of writing a fresh new story and throwing Beka, Pounce and Achoo into the middle of it. Through it all, Beka remains true to who she is, but learns some hard lessons that not everyone is perfect. This is an important lesson for all to learn, young and old alike. It also deals with an important topic of that everyone is equal in this world, and everyone has a right to live life the way the choose and not be owned as slaves by others. Some may think that slavery is a topic that our society has surpassed, and all though that may be true to some extent in the US it is not true for many other people and part of our world even today. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves a good adventure. As for family friendliness it gets a 5 out of 5. Anyone of any age will enjoy this book immensely.

I have read a LOT of Tamora Pierce's books, and the Beka Cooper trilogy is my favorite so far, and the only one that has inspired me enough to write a review about. The stories are thoroughly engaging, suspenseful, and full of heart. Mastiff was no different from the previous two. It had me on edge and full of emotions. Though hard to read at times, because of the violence, there was something about this series that made me like it more than Lioness, Immortals, etc. This series is different- the storylines are more carefully woven. I admit that a novel about a police officer (basically) and very little magic did not really appeal to me. But I gave it try anyway, being a Pierce fan. And I'm glad I did. I read one right after the other and loved them all.

One thing I love about Pierce's writing is that she is romantic without being cheesy or predictable or cloyingly sweet.

Upon my shame as a cold-hearted brick wall, I have to admit I was shaken like Kodiak picture by the end of Mastiff. I didn't see it coming, and when it did, Pierce had already sold it to me so thoroughly that I couldn't even be mad.
There was a time jump between Bloodhound and Mastiff that introduced some major changes that took me off guard at first. But, faithfully and without argument, Pierce laid out the groundwork once again and I was hooked. I've seen complaints at the major shift between Terrier and Mastiff, that there's a loss of moral struggles and suddenly Beka knows everything; this is very inaccurate. In fact, I feel like nothing could be farther from the truth. She's grown and matured, but the challenges have grown up with her and before the book is over we see the weight of a moral compass overcome at least one of our favorite heroes.
Out with a bang, a rocking guitar solo, and a blinding display of pyrotechnics. This is one of my favorite books, period.

All right, so here goes...

The plot wasn't half bad. There was an epic Hunt to solve, with equally epic characters. In fact, I'd say the "police procedural" approach that the Beka Cooper books utilize is actually very enjoyable. Unfortunately, that style of writing ended up hampering Tamora Pierce in the long run.

Here's where our beloved Tamora Pierce went wrong: she attempted to draw out some psychological flaws in multiple characters throughout Mastiff. Normally, the added emotional tension would be a delightful flavor to add to the plot. But since these particular, situational flaws had not been present for Terrier or Bloodhound, the psychological drama flopped. Hard.

Beka, as we all know, is a reserved person who stuffs her emotions. You'd expect that a catastrophic event would add extreme vulnerability. However, she barely flinches when faced with the death of her fiance. Tamora Pierce attempted to apply that reaction to Beka's nature, but when the issue is repeatedly sprinkled throughout the book with little variation in Beka's behavior, the reader suffers from boredom. There was no grief cycle whatsoever - granted, it's made immediately apparent that Beka's fiance was borderline abusive, but still. She had, at one point loved him enough to marry him...and the memory of that former love should have carried through somehow.

As you have heard, there is a major plot twist in store - and it's actually quite a shocker! The most shocking part, however, is that Tamora Pierce unraveled a character's personality to provide the surprise twist. Yes, you will be surprised. But I think you'll agree that the surprise feels wrong. False. A sham. It was at this point that I suffered great disappointment in Tamora Pierce's abilities. She is a better writer than that; I don't think changing a character's nature so abruptly aided the story one bit.

And for my final qualm: the swearing. Up until now, Tamora Pierce had been sticking to curses that were fitting for her world (and kind of disturbingly imaginative ^_^). In this book, she pushes into the Four Letter Word realm. I found it disgustingly inappropriate. Inappropriate for the setting and for reading. While the quaint, colloquial curses of Tortall can be easily passed over with a wry laugh, I find nothing funny or enojyable about her usage of today's common cusses. It felt as though she had thrown out creativity and was writing the rotten stuff simply to make her plot more shocking. Bad for the sake of bad.

Yuck.

So, all in all, it's a flop. I expected better. And I hope she'll revert back to her original style when she next tackles the Numair books.

In the conclusion to the Beka Cooper trilogy, we come to this massive doorstop book. I was so intimidated picking it up from the library and realizing its size. Additionally it opens with Beka at the funeral of her fiance, Holborn, who I didn't remember! Luckily after some searching, I realized that he had not been introduced before, which creates a jarring effect. Why start honoring the death of a character we don't know?

But then it does move into the story, which puts Beka, her partner Tunstall, her scent hound Achoo, and constellation-in-cat-form Pounce on the hunt for the kidnapped prince, a tangled web of disgruntled mage and nobility deception. Along the way we also meet a new character, a mage Farmer Cape, who is brought onto the Hunt to counter the many magical challenges they face. In short, he is delightful. He is full of curiosity and is very inventive. He's funny and sweet and I obviously fell for him...as does Beka. We also see some of the other characters from the previous books such as Tunstall's lover Lady Sabine and Beka's patron Lord Gershom but the focus is on the core group hunting the prince.

And despite its bulk, this book does move fairly fast. Part of that is due to Pierce's confident writing style and the engaging characters. Then there is the nature of the story, which is tracking clues and attempting to piece disparate elements together. That kind of story usually compels me to read as fast as I can to discover what happened.

One of my favorite parts was the end, which returns to time of Alanna and shows George Cooper, descendant of Beka, as he begins his reign as the King of Rogues and just after he's met "Alan." Great shout-out for fans of the Song of the Lioness Quartet and hopefully intriguing enough to get any one who hasn't read those books to pick them up.

However this book is far from perfect as you might surmise from my rating. First as already mentioned is the opening, which made it hard for me to get in to. Holborn meant nothing to me and while Beka had disengaged from her fiance, meaning that she wasn't in mourning, it made the whole start awkward. Additionally Pierce seems to have wanted to focus on the devastating effects of slavery but it is a little heavy-handed rather than naturally included. One last point is the reveal of a traitor to Beka; other readers have been very upset with the twist. I could see why that person was chosen but I really wish it hadn't happened.

Cover: Beka's head seems at a really awkward angle; I can't imagine that it is comfortable. I do like seeing Pounce and Achoo though.

"Mastiff" is the third volume of Tamora Pierce's Beka Cooper series. Once again, we have Beka dealing with a serious issue affecting Tortall, this time, slavery. As the story begins, Beka has just buried her fiance, a fellow Dog named Holborne. Almost immediately, she is whisked away to deal with a serious issue - someone has abducted the heir to the throne - and off they go, trying to figure out what happened.

The Holborne thing was moderately interesting and surfaced the tensions and competitions that can occur when both members of a couple are in the same line of work - however, I never actually figured out why he and Beka got together in the first place. The relationship just seemed cold, competitive and lifeless, without any fire. The actual "detecting" read more like a fantasy version of a police procedural.

Finally, at the end, there is a "plot twist" when a traitor is revealed. This person was one of my favorite characters throughout the trilogy and this change basically wrecked all of the books for me. It was never hinted at previously, not even close.

I didn't like Beka's final love interest either. I was really disappointed at the lack of Rosco and her friends from earlier books. In the future, I'm going to wait and read the store reviews before I even bother to put these books on hold at the library. It would be great to see some of the older Pierce magic come back - I hope it does.

Finishing Mastiff means that I have read all of Pierce's books. That always saddens me. Now I have to wait for the next work to be published. I almost didn't read this book based on reviews I read. It disappointed other readers. However, I was not disappointed. It is a good story of a hunt, new and old friendships, loyalties, and betrayal. I actually like it better than Bloodhound. I was introduced to Tamora Pierce in 1997 by a 7th grade girl. I was attracted to her heroic female characters and I still am. Now I think I will reread the first few chapters of Alanna's quartet.

I really, really enjoyed this last installment in the Beka Cooper series.

I guess the reader should be warned that this last book is pretty independent from the rest of the series. I liked that because I havn't read the other two books since Bloodhound came out, and I had forgotten any details about supporting characters, but if you have just come off reading the others, you might want to say goodbye to Beka's group of Corus friends before you read this.

This book was richly, deliciously emotionally complex, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time waiting to see what would happen. The death of Beka's fiancé at the beginning of the novel adds a nice layer of experience and emotional maturity to Beka.

Spoilers in the next section

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I saw the chemistry between Beka and Farmer pretty far ahead. These characters work well together, and Farmer is very well developed, with a complexity that matches Beka's. While their declarations of love may have seemed sudden, I think that is only an effect of circumstance. Pierce shows their growing attraction very subtly at first because they are on a hunt. They are professionals who know this is not the time and place for romance, they are not entirely sure the other is trustworthy, and Beka's fiancé just died. But, they end up in a situation where death is almost certain, and it forces them to very quickly show how deep their feelings are for each other, or maybe end up dead without having said anything. I know a lot of people, myself included, wanted Beka to end up with Rosto, but I really like Farmer. It also helps that I don't remember much about Rosto. Besides, Tamora Pierce has already done the good fighter girl marries the Rogue, so it kinda seems like she would just be repeating herself if Beka and Rosto got together.

I can't say I was happy about Tunstall's betrayal, but once I got over the shock, I could understand why it happened, and accept it. I think part of the reason I don't feel as betrayed as other people is because, of Beka's companions in this book, Tunstall was the one I felt the least sympathy for. While in general a seemingly good person, he was really a jerk to Farmer several times, and really blind when it came to seeing Sabine loved him without regard to rank (which was brought up over and over again before we knew he was a traitor). These things made me frustrated with Tunstall, and thus not quite as surprised and disappointed when he turned traitor. His reasons for turning traitor made sense given how he felt about Sabine, especially since he thought he could get away with it without his friends and lover knowing. Maybe initially he even thought he could do it without personally killing anyone, if he could just slow the team down enough to give the Mages and Prince Baird and company time to finish their takeover, but he gambled and he was wrong and ended up on a slippery slope, doing increasingly worse things.

*spoiler alert*

I've looked forward to this book for so long, and I must say that I was left feeling very troubled at the conclusion.

I agree with other reviewers that Rosto, Kora, Aniki and the gang were sorely missed, as was the original charm that was brought forth in Terrier. The first two books pointed toward tension between Rosto and Beka, an intermingling of their feelings towards one another, and yet after so much suspense and buildup, the entire situation was simply ignored and never spoken of again. Readers aren't even given the satisfaction of an explanation, some form of closure.

Though I hate to say it, being a lifelong Pierce fan, the book seemed a bit contrived. The characters were not deep, Beka's entries seemed unemotional and businesslike. Though Beka accomplishes her greatest deeds in this book, I, as a reader, did not feel that I was sharing in the experience with her but rather like I was reading about the story in a newspaper. Though Pierce constructed a good story, I was not taken along for the ride. This is surprising and disappointing from a reader who has brought readers along for the adventure in so many other series, and even in the other books in the Legend of Beka Cooper series. The book makes obvious ploys for sentimentality in the epilogues, but overall the book does not feel the same. We find Beka at the beginning of the book two years after the close of Bloodhound, and it is like we are getting acquainted with a completely different person. A person who has changed since we last saw her, and is now not only someone we don't know, but someone who is very difficult to get to know.

Overall, I would say I feel discontentedly ambivalent about a book that I've been eagerly awaiting for so long. I wouldn't have thought it'd be possible for Pierce to end this story in a way that would leave me discontent, but she managed to do so.

Beka's adventure continues, 4 years after the end of Bloodhound. The prince has been kidnapped, and the Lord Provost gathers his best team to send to his rescue. As Beka and company follow clues along the path, they encounter all sorts of dangers. As they travel further into the land of Tortall, it slowly becomes evident that somehow, there's a traitor allowing the enemy to keep track of where they are, constantly putting them at risk. Beka has many surprises along the way, some good some bad.

While this final installment has a glaring flaw and the overall set up of the series dims its awesomeness, Mastiff was still a pretty good novel. There were parts that I truly loved and lots of action to enjoy, with loads of magic for those that have been missing it from this series. While the whole thing may not be how I or other readers would have wanted it, I was pleased with the outcome for Beka herself and am glad that Pierce created another amazing heroine.

*8.5/10*

I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Ms. Pierce's Tortall stories and this one was no exception. I can't believe that some people gave this a one star review because they didn't like certain parts. I found that most of the book was written in a similar fashion to Bloodhound and Terrier. There were a couple of things that did prevent me from giving it the 5th star. As many readers also commented, I had a really big problem with the "traitor" situation. I'll not add any spoilers but just say that first, having a traitor in the midst did not add a great deal of value to the story. And I was REALLY unhappy with who it was. Sorry ... but you don't spend 2 full books prior to this one getting us to love a character and then do THAT! I'm doing my best to forget that part of the story and concentrate on the rest. I also think that Holborne and Beka's relationship would have been more compelling if we'd actually known something about him so I agree with others, he should have appeared in the prior book or had some role in this one. But I still loved Achoo and Pounce - who is my absolute favorite. And I really came to enjoy Farmer.

I really enjoyed reading this last installment of Beka Cooper's life - she seemed more real and personable. She is growing up through the series and her focus and what she needs in life changes as everones does. The ending is a little "sketch" which leaves room for another book to add to wrap up the ramifications of the changes to Tortall and all but this book really held my interest and I could not put it down. I am always extremely impressed by Tamora Pierce's writing - how she weaves in new and interesting language or "equipment" or mode of travel that engages the mind and makes you wonder.

Beka Cooper's final case is also her biggest, with the Tortall guardswoman chasing after a kidnapped prince all over the country. But although it's been fun to watch Beka grow in both competence and confidence as this series progressed, Mastiff is somewhat lacking as her story's finale. We've never been told a lot about the politics of this period in Tortall's history, which makes the stakes of the kidnapping feel less urgent than they should. There's also a last-minute betrayal that doesn't feel adequately set up either, plus several lingering plot threads from the two earlier books that don't really get resolved. As fun as it always is to follow Cooper on a hunt, it's hard to say she's going out on top of her game.

As a long term Pierce fan I was incredibly excited for this book. I bought it for my Nook after the store gave me a ridiculous date somewhere in November, and began to read in school. I just finished it and what an emotional ride it was. Of all Pierce's characters, the Coopers have been some of my favorites. I love George, and Beka is in no way a let down. She's brave and funny and smart, and she's a person that I wish I had as a friend.

Like with the previous book, Mastiff is away from Corus, and explores a lot of new places and people. It has a lot of excitement and buildup to it, and it twists enough that I couldn't stop reading it until I finished it. The beginning is a bit confusing, just because we've not heard of any of that before, but once you get your footing it makes sense. She's grown up and changed a lot and this book really reflects that.

I spent the last 40 or so pages in tears just because it was drawing to an end. It was another final book moment for me, and it had to do with a lot of issues I really didn't see coming. I didn't like it very much due to my particular favorite characters, but it wasn't expected and it was well written. By far and beyond one of the best books I've read. Right up there with Squire and Will of the Empress in my book!

I found this finale to be quite lackluster. There was so much potentional with Rosto the Rogue and his court. He seemed to be so obviously set up to be an ancestor of our dear George, what with him founding the Dancing Dove, and the chemistry between him and Beka. As opposed to the never before mentioned Holburne. The story could have been five times more interesting with Beka, say, trying to hide that she's pregnant by a now-dead Rogue, or him being instrumental against the rebellion, working on the inside with the mages would have been perfect for our Rogues.

The twist at the end was very disappointing. We'd had two solid books of getting to know Goodwin and Tunstall, how they're so trustworthy, etc, and it would have been a much more interesting twist to have it be Sabine, who we know less well and who's betrayal would have rung less hollow. I was half-expecting it to come out Tunstall had been bewitched by the pretty mage in pink whose name I can't be bothered to remember. The false lead of it being Farmer was painfully transparent, as was the sincerity of their feelings for each other. Again, it flies in the face of Beka's characterization- she is slow to warm to new people. Also, can we not have a traditional monarch once in a while? Do they all have to be spunky, "oh please don't bother getting up" types? The peculiar, friendly monarch pastiche is growing old.

I did like her role as a priestess of the Black God becoming more fleshed out. Achoo could have almost died two less times and it would have been more compelling, however.

Basically the best thing about this book is Pounce. But then, he's nearly always the best thing about any book in which he features.

Beka Cooper has been a Dog for four years now, and partner to Tunstall for nearly three of them. When Mastiff begins, she is burying her betrothed, and wracked with grief and guilt, because no one knows that she was about to break it off with him before he died. She doesn't have much time to think about her tragedy, though, when the Lord Provost calls her out of bed at night and summons her and Tunstall to the Summer Palace, where a terrible crime has been committed. There are traitors living among the royal family that have aided in the kidnapping of the prince, and the Lord Provost trusts Beka, Tunstall, and Lady Sabine to track him. The stakes are higher than ever, and this is the most dangerous trail Beka and Achoo have ever followed.

Mastiff is high-speed, complicated finale to this excellent trilogy. Similar to the prequel, Bloodhound, this one unfortunately excludes a lot of favorite characters from the first book, and Goodwin. Thankfully, Tunstall, Sabine, Pounce, Achoo, and new character Farmer keep Mastiff plenty entertaining with their humorous exchanges and quick thinking. Farmer is a character readers probably won't take very seriously at first, but as he and Beka get to know each other better and better, a romance begins to unfold in the midst of attacks, dead-ends, and questions about trust. The hunt for the stolen prince is very long and sometimes quite toiling, but Pierce throws in plenty of action along the way to break it up, and she begins to set the scene for social change that is about to occur in Tortall, taking it from the more liberal world to one where women are stifled by skirts and expectations. She also ties in some history lessons that relate to stories and incidences in later Tortall books that fans will delight in.

As the search for the prince winds down and the group gets ever closer to exposing the criminals and traitors, it becomes evident to Beka that something isn't quite right. The shocking ending to Mastiff is heartbreaking and may be hard to swallow for some, but Pierce does leave Beka in a happy place by the end of the story. It's a bittersweet, surprising finale, but a good one nonetheless, and the epilogue, told from Geroge Cooper's point of view, ties everything together nicely and will leave you feeling nostalgic for Pierce's debut book. Mastiff, while unexpected, is the perfect twisty end to this unique and engaging trilogy.

This was definitely a worthy ending to the Beka Cooper series! I admit at first I felt like I was just slowly going through it because the Beka Cooper series does seem a bit wordy at times. As I progressed through the book the mystery and action picked up and I was thoroughly intrigued. Beka Cooper is an interesting character, extremely strong and serious but at the same time shy with some inner humor. I enjoyed seeing Beka unravel the mystery of the heir's kidnapping. This novel has so much adventure and misfortune that you just can't help but continue reading to see what happens next. I actually felt like I was right there with them as I immersed myself in this novel. This novel can stand by itself but I'd still recommend reading the first two books to familiarize yourself with the characters. For anyone who loves a good fantasy and adventure book then this book is for you.

Mastiff is the last book in the Beka Cooper "A Tortall Legend" series. Beka is now a full grown-up, with years on the police force and some more jaded attitudes towards her fellow men than even before. She has also learned that love isn't enough to live on when there isn't any "like" included in the relationship. So the story starts with her burying an unmourned fiancee, and looking to move past the guilt. She is summoned by Lord Grishom to go on a frantic, cross-country hunt for a kidnapped prince. The chase involves various ocean voyages, towns, castles, forests, marshes... If she could have, I'm sure that Pierce would have thrown in a glacier just to be sure she got everything.

At 580 pages, this book could break a window if I tried. Fortunately, Pierce provides enough variety in her mystery/action to keep the pages turning. She also does not provide us with any easy answers this time. Like in most of her books, we meet a charming and talented stranger - the mage Farmer Cape - who could easily turn out to be the bad guy. But like the heroine Beka, Pierce's third book in this YA series has grown up a great deal. Instead of sunshine and trumpets, Pierce makes the readers work for their own happy ending in a swirl of layered triumph, guilt, disbelief, and grief. Beka's dead relationship is only the start of many places where Pierce could have offered platitudes. Instead, she lays out the insecurities and pains of the many characters we want to love. The only trope that Pierce can't seem to evade is a nigh stereotypical villain's monologue during a dramatic fight scene. Admittedly, I started sniffling when Achoo (the dog) took a knife to the side in a bandit attack, and I'm also sure that I was supposed to.

The book wraps up the series very neatly, and slots back into the Tortall universe without a blink. In the epilogue, we bounce forward in time to George becoming the King of the Rogues, and the lecture he gets from his Ma about shaming the family. There is a small explanation about a cat that I enjoyed, though would not have missed if it had been skipped. The epilogue served to make me want to start all over again with the Song of the Lioness quartet.

I wasn't that crazy about the first two books, though the author is still good and the books are still enjoyable. This was a wee bit predictable in some ways- though there were enough surprises at the end that I wasn't disappointed. I found the realism in this book to be better executed than the first two in the series, and it made for an excellent read. It was one of those book that I slowed down at the end because I didn't want to finish it. (though I will never believe that the traitor was who it was written to be in the book)

FINALLY!!! I waited a little over 2 years for this book, and I was NOT disappointed. This book completes Beka's story, explains something I had been wondering for some time, and ties back into the Tortall that I've come to know and love. There is a plot twist towards the end that still makes me cry just to think of it. On another note, Beka has an internal war with herself that made her seem so much more real than ever before. This book takes place in a "new" area of Tortall and teaches some more of the kingdom's history. I had such a hard time putting this book down even for a moment.

This series has been really fun for me especially because it is something I can enjoy and share with my mom (she usually only reads murder mysteries). I will keep re-reading these books for years, and one day share them with my daughter.

"Terrier" is one of my favorite Pierce books, quite an upset considering the lens of middle-school nostalgia through which I see the Alanna quartet. With "Bloodhound" I was less thrilled, but since I got to spend more time with the amazing, admirable Beka, I wrote it off as a sophomore slump.

With "Mastiff," I realized Pierce is no longer writing the kind of story I like to read.

Kirkus nailed it when they compared Pierce's approach to a police procedural, and it's this approach which either raises or damns Beka's story depending on the audience. If you enjoy Issue stories, wherein Bad Things are given an unflinching and immediate portrayal, and there are at least one or two Shocking Twists before the wrap, "Bloodhound" and "Mastiff" are for you. If you want a story that tackles internal issues as well the external -- such as identity and ideology, and the conflict between idealism and realism -- then you're better off reading "Terrier" and leaving it at that. I'm sure some people will vehemently insist "Mastiff" contains these issues as well. I disagree, or at least, I disagree that it tackles them with the same immediacy and deeply personal stakes introduced in "Terrier." That book was a young woman's struggle to find her place in a corrupt-yet-beloved community, where her attempts to find a solid moral ground to stand on were further complicated by complex friendships. The last two in the trilogy are a bit of Beka the Super-Dog: capable of toppling insidious political/economic/cultural corruption in a single book, along with Appropriate Sidekicks.

It's obvious my own preference colors my review. But I have to say my disappointment with "Mastiff" isn't limited to the constraints of its ambition. There were narrative jumps, especially when it came to character motivations, which I simply did not buy. I can't get specific without spoilers. But I'm not saying I refuse to believe the characters would act a certain way because they're Good (i.e. I love them) or Bad (i.e. I hate them). I'm saying Pierce failed to make it feel real to me, and it's a sad ending to a writer-reader relationship that once had me deeply emotionally invested in a cross-dressing, goddess-touched knight trainee and her magical cat companion. Or, more recently, in an underdog slum girl who communicated with whirling clouds of dust and ghost-ridden pigeons. If I could say "I buy it" to things like that, but not to motivations based in emotional logic and realistic relationships, something crucial has gone missing.

I can't give "Mastiff" less than three stars, because it's still a competently-written, solid book. And it addresses a worthwhile issue and unorthodox material for a fantasy romp. (Whether the awareness of said issue translates at all to our world, considering its specific fantasy context, is a bit more questionable.) But the end of this trilogy feels massively divorced from its beginning in terms of focus and relationships. If The Legend of Beka Cooper had started the way it finished, I would have been content to say "not for me" and let bygones be. But I think such a swerve is telling, and can't help but view "Mastiff" through my wish of what might have been.

Mastiff (2011) is the third Fantasy novel in the Beka Cooper series, following Bloodhound. The initial work in this sequence is Terrier.

In the previous volume, Beka had finished her Puppy training five months before and was now on her fourth partner. She was informed by Guardsman Sillsbee that she gave him the fidgets and he was requesting a new partner. She was embarrassed about the loss of another partner.

Tansy came to breakfast late and upset. She had stopped to get rolls for the meal and the baker found that her coin was false, brass with a thin coating of silver. At the next shift, the desk sergeant teamed Beka with Goodwin and Tunstall.

Beka mentioned the incident with the baker to Goodwin and Tunstall. Then they found more cases of counterfeit coins. They discovered that some are being passed by gamblers from downriver. They reported the situation to the desk sergeant.

Then Beka had an argument with Guardsman Hempstead about his treatment of Achoo. The animal was covered with sores and welts from his abuse. After Beka's defense of the scent hound, Hempstead gave her the leash and told her to take on the job.

In this novel, Rebekah Cooper has been a full-fledged member of the Provost's Guard for over four years. She is now the partner of Senior Guardsman Tunstall and has been the handler of Achoo for three years. Beka is betrothed to Guardsman Holborn.

Gershom is the Lord Provost of Tortall. Beka had grown up in his household.

Pounce is a constellation -- the Cat -- and is the next best thing to a god. He has been Beka's cat for five years. He can mindtalk to Beka or anyone else he chooses.

Achoo Curlypaws is a scent hound in the Corus Provost's Guard. She is very well trained and exceptionally sharp at following a scent trail. Achoo's name comes from the habit of sneezing upon taking a scent. She had been passed from one handler to another until she was asigned to Beka.

Matthias Tunstall is a Senior Corporal in the Provost's Guard. He is now Beka's partner.

Farmer Cape is a Provost's Guard mage in Blue Harbor. He has an unusual ability to draw stray magic from the environment.

Master Ironwood is the personal mage of the king.

Mistress Orielle is the personal mage of the queen.

Rosta is the Rogue, chief of the thieves in Corus. He has been Beka's friend since before she became a guardswoman.

In this story, Beka is attending a funeral for Holborn. She had been arguing with him for months, but now she is feeling guilty for not weeping over him. After the funeral, she listens to a nearby dust devil and hears a replay of an argument with Holborn.

She walks home with Rosta. He has gathered food from her friends and neighbors and they talk as they eat. When Rosta leaves, Beka goes to bed.

Unfortunately, Pounce wakes her in the early hours. Then someone knocks on her door. Lord Gershom tells her to pack for a Hunt and meet him at the Peregrine Dock as soon as she can. Beka is always prepared for a Hunt, so she finishes dressing and takes Achoo out back to meet the horse.

Beka, Achoo and Pounce find Tunstall and Lord Gershom at the dock. The boarding is a bit strange, for Peregrines travel so fast that they clip the top of the waves. The passengers -- including the animals -- are strapped and padded into the beds and put to sleep for the voyage.

Hours later, they are docking in Blue Harbor. They feel shaken up and have a few bruises, but are otherwise well. They meet Farmer and two King's Own on the dock and mount up to go to the Summer Palace.

When they arrive at the Palace, Beka sees bodies and blood everywhere and signs of fire. They wait in a small room while Lord Gershom goes to talk to the king. As they are waiting, the queen comes to meet them.

The queen tells them the basic facts of the situation. Beka introduces Achoo and the guardsman. Then she answers a question from the queen and the queen realizes that these three guardsmen are going to search for the missing heir.

The guardsmen are already stunned by the bodies and destruction, but the news that Prince Garath was taken shocked them. Although the king arrives with Gershom, the three excuse themselves to start the hunt. Orielle guides them through the damaged palace and shows them the huge hole in the wing where the royal couple and heir had lived.

Beka finds her way to the laundry and locates some of the prince's soiled clothes. She bundles up most of it and give the bag to the mage to hold for later. She retains a pair of dirty loincloths for Achoo.

The three met later and Beka gives Achoo a good sniff of the prince's scent. Achoo starts tracking the ways of the prince around the palace. But most of her efforts lead to the multistory gap in the building.

The guardsmen check paths down the cliffs to a beach. Beka finds a dead cat, rats, a whip and other flotsam in the water. Farmer checks the animals and states that they had drowned.

The light is failing, so Farmer bespells the crystals in a rock spire to glow. Tunstall takes a small glowing rock and tosses it to Beka. Then they search the far ends of the beach.

They find other odds and ends, including a bronze pendant with a worn through strap. Beka climbs a path up the cliff and looks down to see two ships drawn in fire floating over the middle of the cove. Farmer has found the invader's ships under the sea.

The court mages come in answer to Farmer's call. They start raising the physical ships from the cove. Beka and Tunstall go up the cliff path and methodically search the grounds.

Achoo finds the prince's scent passing through the grass. Tunstall marks the shore path and they follow the inland trail. They find a place where someone had waited with horses.

They find a hole in the wall wide enough for five horses. Continuing to follow the scent, they finally reach the Ware river. Achoo finds a stinking pile of goo near the river. One or more people had been liquidified by a mage.

This tale takes Beka, Tunstall, and Farmer -- with Achoo and Pounce -- far from the crime scene. Achoo follows the scent as long as she can, but Beka has to find ways around obstacles. Farmer proves to be more talented than expected.

This may be the last book in the series and there is internal mention of discontinuing the journals. Moreover, the sequence was announced as a trilogy. Yet many of the author's series are quartets and her muse may bring another tale of Beka.

Highly recommended for Pierce fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of medieval policing, various magics, and a touch of romance. Read and enjoy!

-Arthur W. Jordin

i have read all of tamora pierces books. i do not belive this is her work i think she used a ghost writer for this disaster of book i do not consider this book to be part of the series .
i would have been willing to wait if it ment i got a good ending. this book is a slap in the face to her fans

I could write a vast review detailing my every disappointment with Mastiff but will just voice my disbelief at the events instead.

As someone else mentioned, the plot felt 'clunky' and the new characters two-dimensional. I think this was rushed; I have thoroughly enjoyed Pierce's other works, and felt so let down by how taken back I was by the unfeasible 'twist' and the lack of conclusion to the group of Corus characters who have had so much (apparently unnecessary) development in Terrier and Bloodhound.

Perhaps Ms Pierce was told to get the book done by a strict deadline. That would explain why this felt as if it were written by someone else with a number of requisite plot mechanisms thrust on them and not enough imagination to make it all work.

Fab detailing of the Hunt though, the first half of the book I liked. Shame about the 'gritty' inserts towards the end - absolutely no need to insert swearwords though, that was just vulgar and clumsy from an author who has written so many books read by so many children, who are obviously going to want to read this.

A real shame.

Another fabulous offering from one of my favorite YA fantasy authors. MASTIFF is the third book in the Beka Cooper trilogy, set in Pierce's amazing Tortall world. I definitely suggest reading the first two books in the series before reading this one--off course, I suggest reading everything Pierce writes, so that's okay.

This series is grittier and more bittersweet than some of the previous ones, and I would recommend it for older teens. As always, the world-building is brilliant, the characters believable (flaws and all) and the story captivating. I was sorry to see it end. But I can't wait to see what Pierce comes up with next!

This series may have begun as a YA novel, with some of the related themes and issues, but with Mastiff, I see the series stepping up to a slightly more adult level, and for this series, I believe it works beautifully. This series is not the Alanna: The First Adventure (The Song of the Lioness) In the Hand of the Goddess (Song of the Lioness) The Woman Who Rides Like a Man (Song of the Lioness) Lioness Rampant (Song of the Lioness) quartet, but related. It's a return to that delightful world that works very well for me. I admit, the last scene before returning to George Cooper made me a little teary eyed - and I like that in the ending to a series.

It's not a perfect book - there's a plot twist that seemed to blindside me, but thinking about it, I wonder if there was a foreshadowing in one of the earlier books - that just makes re-reading them a requirement now.

I loved this book, enjoyed from the first page. highly recommend this author, has been a long while since a book captured my attention so fully! wonderful characters, and wonderful character development.

This is supposted to be the last book in the series. I understand that series have to end. But to have Beka betrayed by one of her closest friends? OUCH! I kept rereading, thinking that it was an illusion of the friend. No such luck. But, on the whole, the book was very enthralling. I couldn't put it down-really. I don't see the "mastiff" connection. A mastiff is a large dog that is stubborn-doesn't really work for Beka, although she is stubborn. The kidnapped child was actually a character I would like to see in his own series. He had grace and intelligence at four years old. What would he be like later in life, like when he's 5? Just a thought.

I hated that Tamora made Beka fall in love, and at the beginning of the book I thought the fact she was engaged was a bit much, but it is a nice twist at the end, and the book is worth reading. I love having so much mor information on Pounce in the book, and I think Pounce needs his own series where each book is titled one of his many names ( although Beka called him Pounce, Alanna named him Faithful, so he is bound to have many names!). Pounce rules. It is just a sham that George (in "Alanna") will never know 'Alan' is being watched by his ancestor's cat!

This book turned out to be a huge disappointment in terms of pacing and storytelling. I enjoyed both Terrier and Bloodhound previously and looked forward to this book as well. Mastiff, however, was the first Tamora Pierce book I had trouble finishing. Even that I could have forgiven if it weren't for the forced, awkward ending where it seemed like the villain had a personality transplant (it's the only way to describe the absolute change in character).

Here's hoping Numair's story will be better.

I bought the book the day it came out and was very excited to start reading. I enjoyed the book immensely and am very glad I didn't read the other reviews on here to spoil it for me. I loved the twists and turns the Hunt provided. Maybe I am a simple person and didn't pick up on all of the clues in the book, but it was still surprising to me in the end. It was a lot of mixed emotions (happy and sad, never thinking "this sucks") in the end but I did enjoy it. Overall I loved it and am sad that the series has ended. I'll wait a year and then re-read them as I have with all of Pierce's series.

I adore the Tamora Pierce books, and together with my daughters have bought and read every single one. The second book in this trilogy was a bit meh, but that often happens with a trilogy, and we decided to splurge on this final book and buy the hard cover. It's the first book by her none of us liked. Without spoilers, I can say that the ending is disappointing, and characters behave in ways that are wholly inconsistent with how they are portrayed in the two other books. The book's narration, which attempts to imply the squalid background of Beka's upbringing while revealing her diamond-rough soul, didn't work at all for us in this work.

Every author is entitled to write a book her fans don't like. For us, this was that book.

Wow....I just finished reading it, and I have to say I'm still recovering. Mastiff is an incredible journey, whatever else one might say about it. Some of the other reviewers have said that the character development is not realistic, but I didn't find that to be the case at all. I found all of the developments to be believable, albeit sometimes shocking. One of the major themes of Mastiff is personal change, and how that personal change causes or contributes to greater events. While most of us young readers might not believe that someone older can change in a way that might seem fundamental, I've witnessed it on enough occasions now to find it believable. And I've also fallen in love, so this book make so much more sense than it would have otherwise.

Overall, a totally worthwhile book, with so much of both the complexity and love-ability that I've grown to expect from Tamora Pierce.

I saw some of the reviews that said this book wasn't as good as the rest of the series, but I love Tamora Pierce and everything she writes so I got the book anyways.

It was so much better than I expected! The plot may drag a little bit in some places but with a book that large, it has to be better than great for that not to happen. I loved this book so much, even with its every twist and unexpected turn. I found no problems with any of the plot, other than the slow parts, and by the end of the book, it was my new favorite of this series! I was surprised and impressed by how she tied it all together, even with several moments of sadness and one of complete and utter shock that I did NOT see coming, it was still wonderful and I cannot wait to read it again!

As someone who grew up reading Alana's stories, and continuing to follow Tortall as I grew, I appreciated reading a series about an older character from the start. This particular book was an excellent way to close out the series, and see more of the realm.

After reading the first two books in this trilogy, I was excited to read Mastiff. However, I was quite disappointed with it, especially the ending. With Tunstall turning and becoming a traitor, Beka falling in love within a few weeks, Pounce being banished for a century or so, it was a real downer.

I agree with the others when they say that Beka became quite rude and, at times, obnoxious. I found the story line a bit hard to follow also. The book seemed to be fast paced but it took me forever to finish it; they crammed a lot of unnecessary information in the book that really could have been left out.

It was not of the same quality of the first two books in my opinion. I was sorely disappointed.

Some other reviewers have expressed some disappointment with the structure of Mastiff not being as expected, and I can see where they're coming from. But as a longtime Tamora Pierce reader, I was completely satisfied with seeing how not only Beka Cooper's story wrapped up, but several questions about the history of the Cooper family, Pounce and Tortall were resolved. It was well worth the wait!

Not only was Mastiff yet another successful story told by Ms. Pierce, but it went far beyond our usual expectations for her writing. I loved it (as though there were any doubt) as did everyone else I shared it with.

I thought this was the best of the Beka series. It differed in tone, but I felt that made sense as it has been several years (in universe) since the last book. I found it gripping and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Holburn the Dog was killed when he foolishly attacked a nest of slave guards. His mother blames his death on her son's betrothal to a fellow Dog Beka Cooper; while her peers, her partner, her superior and the rest of his family knows Holburn acted in a suicidal way with his assault. Instead of mourning her loss, Beka feels free and guilty for feeling free.

King Roger the "randy one" and his second wife Queen Jessamine need a special top Secret Hunt with a team having the best scent hound. Thus Beka and her partner Matt Tunstall accompanied by her animal friends (Pounce the supernatural cat and Achoo the scent hound), his lover Sabine the lady knight and Farmer Cape the Kennel mage begin a search and rescue Hunt for the kidnapped heir to the throne of Tortall

The third Beka Cooper young adult fantasy police procedural (see Bloodhound and Terrier) is a terrific thriller due to the lead protagonist. Her peers recognize her strengths as she believes in doing what is right though that is often difficult to gauge. The story line opens with the stunning realistic funeral of her fiancé and never slows down as the heroine and her retinue Hunt clues for the abducted heir in what is a superb kidnapping investigative tale.

Harriet Klausner

If you read and liked the first two books of this series DO NOT READ THIS BOOK!!! I ordered this book expecting another thrilling story with well written characters and plot. I received neither. I had high hopes for it in the beginning and the story started out strong. It seemed to be moving a bit fast than i though it should have but i wasn't about to fault it solely on that. About half way through it made a complete U-turn and just got worse and worse with every paragraph.
The traitor bit came from out of nowhere. Anyone with experience with this series just got a hard slap in the face. That was in no way in line with the character that had been presented in previous books. And the explanation given did not hold any water with me, it was completely and utterly out of character. Falling back on such a cliched and over used "twist" made my already lowering opinion of the book drop to rock bottom.
Beka's new romance seemed forced into the story as if the author had added certain parts after writing the rest of the story. I am extremely disappointed in this book. I have read all of her other books and this one does not even come anywhere close to the level of writing i know she is capable of. If she ever writes any other books i do not know if i will read them. I will most likely sell this book back and i don't know if i can ever re-read the first two books or even any of her other books. This book has ruined my favorite series for me. I know every author has bad books and good books but this book isn't bad, it is rock bottom horrible, should have never been released.
Mastiff: The Legend of Beka Cooper #3

I was eagerly awaiting this book - "Terrier" is one of my favorites that Pierce has written, and she is one of my favorite authors. However, this was probably one of the biggest let downs I have read. The characters were not who she made them out to be in the first two books of the series. Beka in particular doesn't seem like herself. The "twist" ending was heart-wrenching and completely out of character for those involved. I don't know if I can actually go back and read "Terrier" any longer knowing what has been written. Honestly, I feel betrayed with this book.

Tamora Pierce is a wonderful writer for the young and old. The third book in the series brings up Beka Cooper and her gang to a higher level. I pray this isn't the last book about Beka, because myself and all my friends just keep wanting more. Thanks Tamaora you never let us down:)