25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Chet is the best K9 detective!, September 24, 2010
This review is from: To Fetch a Thief: A Chet and Bernie Mystery (Chet and Bernie Mysteries) (Hardcover)
Bernie Little of the Little Detective Agency and his proud K9 partner Chet stumble into the missing elephant case when Bernie takes his son to the Drummond Family Traveling Circus. Bernie's friend Sgt. Rick Torres first enjoys their help, but starts to get annoyed when Bernie gets too involved. Bernie is pressured by his son to find the poor elephant Peanut, then gets hired by the circus clown Popo to find Uri DeLeath who is Peanut's trainer and also missing.
Usually series gets tired by third book, but not this Chet and Bernie Mystery! To Fetch a Thief is as enjoyable as the first book
Dog on It: A Chet and Bernie Mystery (Chet and Bernie Mysteries). And, the plot is even better than before. The best part is, of course, Chet's doggy narrative. I especially loved reading Chet herding Peanut. That would make a great movie scene! I don't know how Quinn does it, but I'm convinced that Chet actually exists.
It's such an addictive series that I'm already starving to read the next book.
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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A thrilling suspense mystery with an incredible author!, September 22, 2010
This review is from: To Fetch a Thief: A Chet and Bernie Mystery (Chet and Bernie Mysteries) (Hardcover)
So how well can a dog author a detective story? In To Fetch a Thief, the story begins with Pooch Chet and Detective Bernie photographing evidence that a woman has been unfaithful. Her suspicious husband wants hard evidence for a divorce settlement. Chet is Bernie Little's canine sidekick who loves to ride shotgun in his well used Saab.
As they sit patiently in front of a motel that has but two guests, suddenly Chet's ears perk up. With a low growl, Chet spots the unfaithful wife leaving one end of the motel and Bernie takes photos.
A few minutes later, a man leaves and he too is caught on film.
Because Bernie is recently divorced, now Chet and he are, in a sense, alone in the world. As luck would have it, Bernie's divorced wife asks him to babysit their son Charlie because she has planned a weekend sensual fling with her new "ideal" man she hopes to soon marry. She gives Bernie two tickets for the Big Top to help him entertain their son while she becomes more amorously involved in a sensual tryst.
As his wife leaves, Chet and Bernie catch a glimpse of the man who is soon-to-be his wife's new husband. Interestingly enough, this is the same man Chet and Bernie had just photographed leaving the motel with yet another woman.
But this small intimacy is just the beginning of a deeper fascinating story. Arriving at the Big Top, they find the circus closed because Peanut the elephant and his trainer are missing. The police have cordoned off the entire circus grounds leaving Chet, Bernie and his son, Charlie, extremely disappointed. Charlie insists that his dad get involved in finding Peanut; after all, the man and his dog are a respected team called the Little Detection Agency.
Chet immediately picks up strange scents around the Big Top. The scent of Elephant Peanut is overwhelming and at first, easy to follow. It ends at the gate leading out of the circus area. Persuaded by his tearful son, Bernie begins his quest for Peanut and her beloved trainer. What is interesting in To Catch a Thief is this fact. Everything in the story is relayed to the reader through Chet's canine brain--the dog's feelings, his insight, his dog traits such as marking his scent whenever necessary, his unquenchable love for his master Bernie.
It is nothing for Chet's unspoken wishful thinking to want his master to take the money when some kind of payment or deal is forthcoming. Chet knows money is needed for dog food at home. Yet, the dog will warn the reader that he doesn't really know the value of money. After all, he can count to one and two, but can't quite get beyond that.
This is not a simple story children's story. It is not a make believe childish romp of some kind. The tale involves real feelings, canine and human, real danger, and extremely dangerous situations. From its first pages, To Fetch a Thief has a catchy plot loaded with suspense, attempted murder, and killing, particularly when Peanut's owner is found dead. As long as Bernie and Chet remain together as a team,
Chet's welfare seems guided by thoughtful Bernie.
But in a life and death situation after the two become separated, the safety of this detective duo becomes critically uncertain. Bernie is badly beaten and taken prisoner, he tells Chet to "Run, run, run," to keep the dog from being mowed down in a hail of bullets. On his own, Chet does a masterful job of finding and retrieving Peanut. Because of her remarkable size, when freed and put in gear, her bulk becomes a formidable demolition machine.
To Fetch a Thief is a masterful combination of Chet's canine mind intermixed with Bernie's adult thinking in a human world. Although the two friends are inseparable at first, when life threatening events force them to go-it-alone, each survives in the most startling manner that indicates one is pure brutal dog instinct and the other pure human ingenuity. This enjoyable book is a lesson in canine common sense for all readers.
For sheer enjoyment, I cannot recommend To Catch a Thief more highly. For a who-done-it detective mystery, I would have to give it an A+ rating; for an author to combine the animal world so realistically with what we think animals know of our mental shenanigans, I would give it an A+ rating. For high school teachers looking for a way to get reluctant readers to want to read, I would give it an A+ rating.
To Fetch a Thief can make your world a more enjoyable space; read it!
Review written by Regis Schilken
Author of:
Tears of Deceit
Other good reads:
Vermilion Drift: A NovelThe Time of Eddie Noel
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely wonderful fun!!!, October 18, 2010
This review is from: To Fetch a Thief: A Chet and Bernie Mystery (Chet and Bernie Mysteries) (Hardcover)
"To Fetch a Thief" is another great addition to the Chet and Bernie mystery series. The mystery at the center of the book is excellent and well developed, with interesting characters and a plot that draws the reader in immediately. As is the case with the other books, Chet and Bernie, their relationship and personalities, are the true "heart and soul" of the book, and they do not disappoint in this installment. The author brings refreshing new insights into Chet's character, which allows the series to continue to delight rather than become formulaic.
For readers who have not read the preceding books, have no fear, you can delve right in. While it is not necessary to have read the earlier books before reading To Fetch a Thief, you can be sure that you will want to read them after.
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