Lorelei's Secret - Carolyn Parkhurst

This book seems to be alternatively called The Dogs of Babel. Some reviews said it was schmaltzy, but I thought it was wonderful. It starts off innocently with the protagonist, a linguistic professor, coming home to find that his wife is dead, having fallen from the apple tree in his backyard, and their dog Lorelei as the only witness. In his grieving he attempts to teach his dog to communicate what happened in those last moments. There are clues left behind to make him suspect something more to the story. The book jumps back & forth in time to tell us of their first meeting and subsequent relationship. Lexy his wife was a charmingly whimsical and creative maker of masks, but subject to angry outbursts and mysterious angst. The story gets darker with what I thought was an unnecessary foray into some weird dog mutilation cult. Apart from that, it's beautifully written, evocative, sad, mysterious.