Of Mutts and Men by Spencer Quinn

You all know I can’t resist a Chet and Bernie book, and this latest installment of the misadventures of the awkward investigators has not disappointed.  A bit of background for you – Bernie is a disgraced Arizona cop who, along with his ex-wife. Leda, formed the Little Detective Agency.  Although Leda’s not in the picture much, we learn an awful lot about her from Chet – most of what we learn is bad. Chet, a mixed-up mutt, became the bulk of what Bernie got in the divorce, along with shared custody of a son.

Chet tells the stories.  Sounds lightweight, but if you’re a dog lover, Chet’s quirks will have you laughing at how many habits of “the Nation Within” (as Chet calls his peeps) are shared by many of our furry roommates.  Not a dog lover?  Well, Bernie will provide you with plenty of chuckles and head shakes.  Bernie, too,  shares habits with familiar characters.  He’s snoopy like Miss Marple, intuitive like Sherlock Holmes, and like Father Brown in the G.K Chesterton stories, whenever, wherever there is a murder, Bernie pops up.

My best guess if that Spencer Quinn was a dog in a former life.  Early in the first book titled Dog On It, we meet Chet’s neighbor, Iggy.  Iggy seems to be under house arrest a lot.  We see him at the window with a half sock dangling from his mouth and hear him calling to Chet, who inevitably appears chewing on a Slim Jim.  They converse.  Here is one of their conversations…best if you read it aloud and remember, this is Chet giving the play by play

…I heard Iggy bark.  Iggy had a high-pitched bark, an irritated sounding yip-yip-yip.  I barked back.  There was a brief silence, and then he barked again. I barked back. He barked.  I barked. He barked. I barked. He barked. We got a good rhythm going.   Faster and Faster. I barked. He barked. I –

Yes, there is always a crime needing Bernie’s sharp eyes, and Chet’s sharp teeth.  In
Of Mutts and Men, the two arrive to a scheduled meeting with scientist Wendell Nero only to find the man had come to violent and mysterious death.  They immediately take on the case, despite the heavy suggestion from local authorities that they stay out if it.  Before long, Chet finds himself drugged, in the back of a perp’s car, ready to be sold to a dog fighter in Mexico.  Plenty of tension and plenty of laughs. 

Stay safe, reader friends. 
As always, thank for stopping by.