Customer Reviews

Thereby Hangs a Tail

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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!

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?...

Great reader, conveys the dog's point of view with sardonic wit and good humor. I tried reading the series, and preferred it read to me. A very enjoyable listen, even if the plot is less than stellar - the dog has the kind of intelligence that is missing in most pet narrated mysteries which either humanize their point of view or dumb it down.

This was the cutest book. I loved the first one and this one does not disappoint. Chet and Bernie are on a case of a show dog and a rich master that disappears from a kidnapping but, there is no ransom.

Bernie feels something is stinky about this case, and Chet feels something is wrong too.

Bernie and Chet go to a ghost town on the edge of the desert and get seperated through a big misunderstanding by local law inforcment.

Chet finds Princess and the owner but it is not good.

The mystery continues when Suzie a reporter comes up missing also....

Chet the Jet and Bernie have to save the day!!

I loved the first book in this series .Both the story as well as the audio reader were great.I found the story in the second sequel to have too many weird characters and dragged on too long. The story rated a 3 but I like the audio reader so I gave it a 4 star.I hope the next story in this series is like the first.

The Chet and Bernie books are great fun. Even my friends who hate to read enjoy reading Chet and Bernie books.

Well to start with I'm a dog lover...qualify that, I'm a lover of big dogs. I think you have to be to really enjoy the series. The story is a good one, but it is really all about Chet, the Jet. I occassionally wonder what my dogs are thinking and feeling and now I know.

This audio is second in the Chet and Bernie series and we (my husband and I) loved it as much as the first book. The book is smartly written. The story is believable and well thought out....no loose ends.....everything fits at the end. The main characters are terrific...We love them all, especially Chet (who is a combination of our 3 male golden retrievers). Chet tells the story from his perspective. He is funny, smart, loyal, loving and tough; but, mind you, he is all dog! Bernie (the detective and Chet's partner) and Susie (Bernie's girlfriend)are most likable....They are good people and you care about them.

If you love mysteries and if you love dogs, you will thoroughly enjoy this book.