Customer Reviews

Sleeping Dog (Missing Mysteries)

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Lochte pairs an unlikely duo of detectives -- a teenage girl and a middle-aged private eye. There is a fine mystery afoot, but half the fun comes from seeing the teenage girl through her own eyes (gifted sleuth, woman of the world) and through the eyes of her partner (she's an out-of-her-depth pest), meanwhile seeing the private eye through the same mismatched binoculars. It's a Rashomon thing. While the mystery pulled me in and eventually made me scared, the ongoing comedy of misperception made me grin and even laugh out loud.

Sleeping Dog introduces the unlikely duo of Serendipity Dahlquest, world-weary 14-year-old, and Leo "the Bloodhound" Bloodworth, a just plain weary forty-something PI. Serendipity wants to hire Leo to find her missing dog, the only reminder she has left of her long-gone father. Leo can't be bothered with a kid, and passes her on to his sleazy partner, who shortly thereafter winds up dead. Of course Leo feels obligated to step in and try to resolve the situation. From there on it's an escalating tale of misguided kidnappers, dogfights, drugs, and unique relatives all set again a Los Angeles background.

This story bears up well considering it was originally published almost twenty years ago. The author's method of alternating voices between Serendity and Leo each chapter gives the reader two unique views of every situation in which the pair find themselves.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries that are lively without being too gory or too cute. I look forward to reading their second mis-adventure, Laughing Dog.

I just read "Sleeping Dog", and got a kick out of it. It was originally published in 1985, and won the Nero Wolfe Award for the same year. If you aren't familiar with this award, it is awarded annually by the Wolfe Pack, a society started in 1978 to appreciate and celebrate the mysteries written by Rex Stout, starring that overweight orchid lover, Nero Wolfe. The only requirement for consideration of this award is that the book stand for "literary excellence in the mystery genre" (from the Wolfe Pack's offical site).

"Sleeping Dog" was also nominated for the Edgar [Mystery Writers of America], the Shamus [Private Eye Writers of America] and the Anthony [Bouchercon World Mystery Convention]. Not only that, the Independent Mystery Bookseller's Association, in 1999, listed it as one of it's "100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century".

Whew! This explains why this book is still in print after 26 years. It is just a lot of fun.

It is also a little over the top - this is not a sober-sided police procedural. Serendipity (Sehr) Dahlquist has got to be the most troublesome, independent, quick-thinking and precocious fourteen year-old ever. Leo "The Bloodhound" Bloodworth is a relatively happy/grumpy and soft-hearted version of Sam Spade. They meet when Sehr tries to hire Roy Kaspar, the P.I. sharing office space with Leo, to find her missing doggie. Unfortunately, Kaspar immediately turns up dead. Sehr and Leo try to investigate that, too, and end up getting in all sorts of trouble.

The tale is told with Serendipity and Leo telling their side of the story in alternating chapters. I thought this was handled well.

Very enjoyable read.

November 4, 2011
I'm adding a bit to this review. If you'd like to read another mystery, with a young protagonist who reminds me a lot of Serendipity, try a Flavia le Duce mystery. I just read the fourth in the series, "I Am Half Sick of Shadows" and really enjoyed it.
I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: A Flavia de Luce Novel

This book is nearly 25 years old, but is still a fresh mystery/comedy pairing a precocious teen looking for her lost dog with a Sam Spade wannabe of a Hollywood P.I. The pair become involved with dog fight promoters, crooked bankers, T.V. personalities, and a succession of dead bodies.

This was an entertaining mystery debut by Dick Lochte. He is an insider when it comes to writing about the city of Los Angeles (Lochte worked for the LA Times) and the egotistical personalities in Hollywood (he wrote screenplays for actors Jodi Foster, Martin Sheen, and Roger Moore). Lochte also writes about the seedy side of The City of The Angels as well as a few of its human devils.

The previous reviewers have written just about as much as possible about SLEEPING DOG without spoiling this book, so I have nothing more to add, though I did learn a lot more than I knew about the cruel world of dog fighting. Actually, I didn't know anything about dog fighting, except for what I read in the newspapers about a certain NFL quarterback who was deeply involved in it. About that subject, I read enough in this book.

One of the reviewers here compared the precocious 14-year-old protagonist in this book, Serendipity "Sehr" Dahlquist, to the ultra-curious 11-year-old Flavia de Luce in I AM HALF-SICK of SHADOWS by Alan Bradley. I prefer Flavia, though I will give Sehr another look when I pick up Lochte's second book LAUGHING DOG. 3.5 stars