Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You'll become a dog lover if you aren't right now, November 27, 2010
Chet is the modern day wonder-dog. His adventures, his loyalty to Bernie Little, his priorities - snacks, a good shake, and being on the job with Bernie - make this another wonderful story.
It's a stand alone to Dog On It, Spencer Quinn's first novel with Chet and Bernie, so while you can start with Thereby Hangs a Tail, don't miss out on the first one.
I admire Mr. Quinn's ability to get into the head of Chet, who makes me appreciate being in the moment.
Great story too, by the way!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great second effort, September 13, 2010
This review refers to the audio version.
#2 Chet and Bernie mystery, Chet being a dog and Bernie his person, a down-on-his-luck PI in Arizona. The Little Detective Agency (Bernie's last name is Little) is thrown a bone by a local cop friend, doing bodyguard work for a woman and her valuable dog who is set to appear in a major dog show. The woman has received a threat against Princess, but after meeting Bernie, unshaven and hungover, and Chet, very much a mutt, the Countess Adelina declines to hire them.
Within a few hours, both Princess and Adelina have been abducted, followed shortly by Bernie's sometime-girlfriend, reporter Suzy Sanchez. The whole world of dog shows and competition is foreign ground to Bernie, and he just can't imagine someone risking kidnapping charges to put the doggie competition out of the way, so he and Chet seek employment from Adelina's husband, an Italian Count who seems more worried about his dog than his wife. Because of Suzy's involvement, they would be on the case anyway, but money is always tight so someone bankrolling expenses would be a good thing.
As they look into those who would stand to gain if Princess and Adelina were out of the way, Bernie finds the puzzle pieces just aren't fitting together right. Are one or more of the Count's employees involved? A rival dog owner? Or even some corrupt cops?
Told from Chet's point of view, this is a delightful narration of the story, and still 'works' although with this one I did notice a fair bit of repetition of phrases as Chet describes his state of mind, how he 'almost was remembering' or 'didn't know what that meant, but...' So I do think the author needs to be careful with the next one in the series not to make it too much of the same thing. But I definitely did enjoy this one!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delightful new series, August 18, 2010
I read "Thereby Hangs a Tale" first, snatched up "Dog Gone It", and cannot wait for the third of this delightful new series. I was skeptical at first about reading a book with a dog as narrator, but quickly dispatched that biased view because Chet-- the other half of Bernie Little's Detective Agency--the one in charge of security-- had me chuckling throughout, or else gasping, "Oh, no," when he got himself into a dangerous situation. Where Bernie, "the smartest human in the room" uses his brain, Chet uses his instincts. Chet has a charming, limited and distracted point of view based on his basic needs and observations. For instance, while his beloved Bernie interrogates the perp, Chet has his eye on the nasty parrot in the corner of the room, or on the perp's bare ankle that just needs to be bitten, or on the dropped potato chip just out of reach under the couch. Sometimes Chet goes off on a tangent about a partially remembered episode, like when he got kicked out of K-9 training school (something about a cat). His story ends abruptly but not without enough material to let the reader fill in the humorous conclusion. I should mention that Bernie is a likeable character, there are other finely developed characters, there is a well crafted plot, suspense, and a mystery to be solved. I hope Spencer Quinn will put out two books a year in this series because Chet's doggy life span may be limited to ten years or less. But then there is that little "she-dog" howling out in the desert that Chet snuck out to visit one night. Maybe?...
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
