Other People's Pets

A Novel

By: R.L. Maizes

Narrated by: Devon Sorvari

"Maizes's debut novel is brought to life by Devon Sorvari's engaging narration. Her delivery is well matched to the story's short declarative sentences as she makes listeners care about La La in spite of her bad choices." (AudioFile Magazine)

R.L. Maizes's Other People’s Pets examines the gap between the families we’re born into and those we create, and the danger that holding on to a troubled past may rob us of the future.

La La Fine relates to animals better than she does to other people. Abandoned by a mother who never wanted a family, raised by a locksmith-turned-thief father, La La looks to pets when it feels like the rest of the world conspires against her.

La La’s world stops being whole when her mother, who never wanted a child, abandons her twice. First, when La La falls through thin ice on a skating trip, and again when the accusations of “unfit mother” feel too close to true. Left alone with her father - a locksmith by trade and a thief in reality - La La is denied a regular life. She becomes her father’s accomplice, calming the watchdog while he strips families of their most precious belongings.

When her father’s luck runs out and he is arrested for burglary, everything La La has painstakingly built unravels. In her fourth year of veterinary school, she is forced to drop out, leaving school to pay for her father’s legal fees the only way she knows how - robbing homes once again.

As an animal empath, she rationalizes her theft by focusing on houses with pets whose maladies only she can sense and caring for them before leaving with the family’s valuables. The news reports a puzzled police force - searching for a thief who left behind medicine for the dog, water for the parrot, or food for the hamster.

Desperate to compensate for new and old losses, La La continues to rob homes, but it’s a strategy that ultimately will fail her.

A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books

"...Maizes possesses such magic. This examination of family, across all lines and definitions, will open you up in such necessary, beautiful ways." (Kevin Wilson, author of Nothing to See Here and The Family Fang)

©2020 R.L. Maizes (P)2020 Macmillan Audio

Interesting Charsctets

I enjoyed this story about and animal empath and her burglar father. This wasn’t all neatly tied up at the end, which added to the enjoyment. The narration was good and the book worked well as an audiobook.

Good story and nicely done narration

This is the first Audible title I've listened to. The narration was very pleasant and well done, and I enjoyed the story. I was able to listen within two days which was nice, as this was for a book club selection. The story was compelling and engaging, and I would recommend this book.

Well written, but.....

I think the author writes well and I will probably try another book by her. I didn't like the characters and I was disappointed in the ending.

Rollercoaster of emotions

Part way through the book, I was ready to stop reading as I was in disagreement with decisions made by the protagonist. As the protagonist learned and changed, so did my opinions and I was able to finish the book with a feeling that it was worth reading..

Lock your doors and hide your shit

So, I’ve never quite read a book like this. The plot line was actually pretty OK all things considered. General gist of the story is it’s about a girl who had a father that introduced her to a life of crime at a young age that she has gotten out of now that she’s an adult. All the while she’s got some kind of magical connection to animals that lets her kind of feel their emotions. All in all I just thought it was a little weird that there was this vet tech that was breaking into peoples houses to help heal their animals. But honestly I kind of dig weird. The plot line itself was in my opinion different enough that it kept me engaged even if it wasn’t particularly all that crazy or fast-paced. Major downfall of this book I would say is that I just don’t really care for the main character. She’s got really weird reasoning for why she does the things she does and I’m not super fond of her boyfriend/ex-boyfriend either. Bad communication skills all around. Wouldn’t necessarily recommend but I also wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading it.

This is a Good Read . Very enjoyable

I really liked this book. The main characters have depth. You can see how people can change.

Neat concept ... Except...

I bought for CNPR book club because I loved the concept. Unfortunately, the amateurish writing style left me wandering around looking for a plot. The reader was fine but the material they had to work with was so insanely boring that even my dog didn't like it. I have never returned a book on Audible, until now. I am thankful that I didn't bother to look for a paper copy. Cool concept murdered by uninspiring prose.