Dial C for Chihuahua

Pepe is a great character--vain, self-centered but fiercely loyal if not actually territorial, with a terrific nose of course, and loyal to a fault. And yes, he is a chihuahua. The private investigator who is his "owner" is, well, good at interior decorating. Recently dumped by her husband, out of work, down in the dumps, she finds Pepe and through him, an unlikely corpse, work, and even romance. I like the notes on interior design, food, and dress. The several antagonists, the helper friend, and Pepe are excellent characters. The Seattle scenes are well drawn and neat for Seattleites. Highly recommended.

Geri Sullivan wants a more companionable pet than Albert, the somewhat dangerous cat her ex-husband left with her when they divorced, so she adopts a chihuahua from the local shelter, which was received quite a few from Los Angeles.

You may imagine her surprise when the little dog starts talking to her. His name is Pepe, and he has an endless supply of stories about his colorful past. They're barely home from the shelter, though, when Geri gets a phone call from Jimmy Gerrard, who interviewed her for a job in his detective agency a week or two ago. He wants to hire her, and oh by the way, would she drop everything and go to the home of Rebecca Tyler, to get information from her about her husband whom she says is missing? Off she goes, show more taking Pepe with her because he's upset at the idea of being left behind. When they arrive only to find the dead body of Mr. Tyler, followed shortly by the arrival of the police to find Geri standing over the body, it's clear something fishy is going on.

Geri is sometimes startlingly naive and trusting, and Pepe is as full of himself as a talking chihuahua should be. Impulse control is not a strong suit for either one of them, though Geri does better at it than Pepe. Between the two of them, they muddle through their murder mystery, the case of a dog who does his business in the neighbor's yard, and Easter dinner with Geri's bossy, controlling older sister Cheryl and her family--including Geri's ex-husband, Jeff, and Jeff's fiancée, Amber. (Jeff is Cheryl's husband Don's best friend.) The grieving widow, Rebecca, has ambitious plans for a Dancing With Dogs reality show; Pepe is infatuated with Rebecca's Pomeranian, Siren Song, and Geri meets a handsome, charming dog trainer when Pepe barks insults at the dog he's working with.

It's a silly, fun little book, with a promising set of characters for future installments.

I bought this book. show less

A friend suggested that I pick up this book, so I did. It was fun, mostly because I have seen some of Pepe's attitudes in Wolf, my long-haired chihuahua. Many are the times I have wished that Wolf could tell me what he was thinking and what he wanted.

Like many of the talking cat books, this one is cute, fluffy reading. It is perfect for a vacation book. I enjoyed the premise and the mystery wasn't bad at all. I wish the heroine had a bit more spine, but I suspect she'll grow one eventually. Pepe will make sure of it.

If you like cozy mysteries, you'll probably like this if you like dogs.

Geri has rescued a soft white furred, big brown eyed chihuahua who has a few special talents. The first is his ability to talk! At least Geri can understand what he is saying. He also has an incredible life story...according to Pepe himself.

Geri also has to find a job that will help increase her income. Staging interiors for homes for sale is just not bringing in the funds. She applies and is immediately hired as a PI. Doesn't matter that she has no background or training, Jimmy G thinks she will be just fine.

With Pepe at her side, she arrives at her first case and finds a dead body. It doesn't make matters any better when she contaminates the scene by being found by the arriving police holding the murder weapon in her hand and there show more are paw prints from Pepe.

Her second case is a down-right dirty dog deal. Again, Pepe is there to assist.

Smart talking, tall tale telling Pepe and Geri keep it light but with fast action. There is no slow down in the action and the dialogue.

A fun and fast read, it is the first in the series. I think I will keep my eye out for a few more books. show less

I am ambivalent about this mystery. The story is set in Seattle with a down-on-her luck woman named Geri Sullivan and her newly adopted dog. Immediately, the white Chihuahua tells Geri his name and all his exploits. For such a small dog, Pepe has been everywhere and seen everything. This new series reminds me of “the cat who” series by Lilian Jackson Braun with her detective, Jim Quilleran. I find the writing duo of Waverly Fitzgerald and Curt Colbert not as interesting as Braun’s series. Maybe the problem is that I adore cats, and tolerate dogs. I just felt that Pepe controlled the book, and the writing is cute, but very juvenile.

Early confession - one of the authors is a personal friend. That being said, I got a copy of the book for a fun easy read and it was just what I needed. This isn't one of those deep, detailed mystery stories. It is a light and breezy read, with fun characters including a talking dog.

I picked this up to read as a break from heavier novels that I am working on and it is a good respite for that. This is a book to curl up with, a cup of tea next to you on a rainy day (and hey, I live in Seattle and we know books and rain here) a fire going, your cat or dog or both by your side and drop out of reality for a fun few hours.

It doesn't seem to adhere to conventional mystery novels - in fact it's more about the dog Pepe, his person Geri and a show more host of other characters and their predicaments. There is a few pages of the next Pepe novel and the characters from the first are reprised in the second.

A rainy day or vacation novel. show less

A light, new cozy series starring a tiny Chihuahua with a HUGE personality. Pepe talks but only Geri can understand him. She's newly divorced; he was rescued from the Los Angeles pound. And, at least according to Pepe, he's had lots of adventures. All of which will help Geri solve the murder she has stumbled on. It's a cute idea - similar to many other mysteries with animals, but a good representative of the genre. I must admit that Pepe comes on a little strong at the beginning (he's rather conceited and arrogant), but he grows on you as the book progresses. I'll be keeping an eye out for the next in the series.