(Originally published 2009, Paperback edition 305 pages)
Chet is a hundred-plus-pound mongrel who didn't quite make it through K9 school. Bernie's a recently divorced, cash-strapped private eye who was a war vet as well as a Metro Police officer and still struggling with the separation from his wife and son Charlie. The setting of the story takes place in Arizona right before the subprime mortgage meltdown and an ungodly large amount of Americans were transplanting to "The Grand Canyon State." Chet the dog is the closest thing Bernie has to a stable family. Mr. Quinn has taken the unique approach of writing a serious mystery through the eyes of Chet. Like many dog owners, Bernie sometimes talks to Chet as if the dog would understand what's on his mind. Chet loves Bernie, but mostly his mind is preoccupied with smells, food and play.
What makes this book exceptionally entertaining is not only that it's a pretty decent whodunit and written well, but Chet's interpretation of events as they unfold are rarely accurate. He thinks like you'd imagine a dog would. A great deal of funny observations and miscommunication between Bernie and Chet make the story an entire joy throughout the book. The author's first Chet-and-Bernie mystery is a perfect mixture of humor, suspense and tenderness.
Over the past few years, I've read a handful of novels in which the dog is the narrator of the story. While most of them have been enjoyable, Dog On It is by far my favorite. At the time of the writing of this review, Mr. Quinn has published five Chet-and-Bernie books. There are plenty of loose ends about Chet's and Bernie's past that could be expanded in further stories. I for one am most certainly going to read the other novels in this endearing buddy team.
What makes this book exceptionally entertaining is not only that it's a pretty decent whodunit and written well, but Chet's interpretation of events as they unfold are rarely accurate. He thinks like you'd imagine a dog would. A great deal of funny observations and miscommunication between Bernie and Chet make the story an entire joy throughout the book. The author's first Chet-and-Bernie mystery is a perfect mixture of humor, suspense and tenderness.
Over the past few years, I've read a handful of novels in which the dog is the narrator of the story. While most of them have been enjoyable, Dog On It is by far my favorite. At the time of the writing of this review, Mr. Quinn has published five Chet-and-Bernie books. There are plenty of loose ends about Chet's and Bernie's past that could be expanded in further stories. I for one am most certainly going to read the other novels in this endearing buddy team.
(Meyers - A few years ago, I
started writing, under the pseudonym Franklin the Mouse, short
reviews at Amazon's web site. This is my most recent review #334)
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