Thereby Hangs a Tail

The perfect way to relax? Let Chet give you a dog's eye view of him and Bernie cracking a case involving murder, abduction, hippies, sheriffs and showdogs in the California desert.

I first met Chet and Bernie, the dog and human team that make up The Little Detective Agency, in 'Dog On it'. I had a great time. I was impressed by Spencer Quinn's humour and by his ability to tell a detective story from the point of view of a very believable dog who has a tendency to forget details like why they're chasing someone but will always remember anywhere with a good smell or the possibility of food.

I listened to the audiobook version of the first book and I'd have liked to have read the rest of the series that way, but no audiobook version is show more available in the UK so I tried 'Thereby Hangs A Tail' as an ebook and I'm glad to say that the humour comes across just as well.

'Thereby Hangs A Tail' has all the things you'd want from a cosy mystery: a relentless, slightly quirky PI, a suspect-rich environment ranging from ageing hippies, shady sheriffs, biker snipers, Las Vegas big shots and Italian Counts; an insight into the competitive dog show world and the spectacular scenery of the California desert, including a falling-apart Ghost Town.

What makes it exceptional, and a lot more fun is that the story is told entirely from Chet's point of view. What could be more life-affirming than being inside the head of a dog who wakes up each day feeling tip-top, loves riding shotgun in Bernie's Porsche as they chase after bad guys, is proud that he and Bernie (always the smartest human in the room) wrap up a lot of cases, even if the details of most of them are a little fuzzy and is always on the lookout for bad guys, frisbees, tennis balls and discarded food.

If you're a dog person, you'll recognise Chet and you'll smile. If you're not a do person, take the time to meet Chet and your life might get better.

I love how Spencer Quinn imagines Chet's thoughts. How he lets Chet get distracted while staying enthusiastic. How Chet loves stories but forgets details after a while, especially when the details are unpleasant. How Chet can lose himself in the pleasure of a long stretch. Most of all, I like Chet's view of the human world. Here's his view on wine:

'Wine smells are pretty interesting—even humans are on to that. I love when they stick their little noses in the glass and go on about blackberries and chocolate and lemongrass—trust me, they haven’t got a clue.'

And here's his take on Baseball:

'We drove toward the sun, through a few neighborhoods a lot like our own, then past a baseball field with a kids’ game going on. I didn’t understand baseball, but it always looked like fun, and the ball itself I loved. Who’d have guessed what the insides were like?'
I recommend this book if you're looking for a few hours spent in the company a great dog and his clever human, solving a decent mystery and having a lot of fun along the way. show less

Review: 9 of fifty

Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: The second book of an irresistible series narrated by a loveable and wise dog. In the newest Chet and Bernie mystery, Chet gets a glimpse of the show dog world turned deadly. "We run a detective agency, me and Bernie, called the Little Detective Agency on account of Little being Bernie's last name. My name's Chet, pure and simple. Headquarters is our house on Mesquite Road, a nice place with a big tree out front, perfect for napping under, and the whole canyon easily accessible out back, if it just so happens someone left the gate open. And then, up in the canyon -- well, say no more."

Praised by Stephen King as "a canine Sam Spade full of joie de vivre," Chet and his human show more companion Bernie have both had some setbacks in life -- Bernie in combat, Chet in K-9 school, but together they make up a team like no other. In Thereby Hangs a Tail, Bernie and Chet are called on to investigate threats made against an unlikely target -- a pretty, pampered show dog named Princess. What seems like a joke turns into a serious case when Princess and her owner are abducted. To make matters worse, Bernie's on-again, off-again girlfriend, reporter Susie Sanchez, disappears too. When Chet is separated from Bernie, he's on his own to put the pieces together, find his way home, and save the day.

With genuine suspense and intrigue, combined with humor and insight into the special bond between man and dog, Thereby Hangs a Tail will have everyone talking.

My Review: Cute! Very cute! Chet is such a clever boy I want to give him Milk Bones until he faints!

And that's kinda the problem under the fun: Cute. It's fun, yes, and it's pleasantly written with a well-imagined dog's point of view. But I think this is a series that needs to be taken in annual doses, and in the proper mood. I am, admittedly, as curmudgeonly as the day is long. But I'm not immune to charm. The series has charm.

It's just, well, it's wearing a bit thin at the elbows. Also, I hate Suzie. But I would, wouldn't I, being a dour old gay guy?

But then there are moments like this, and I can't help grinning:

All at once, I was kind of tired, too. I lay down under the hall table. A roof over your head is always nice. I realized that the house had a roof, of course, so in fact I had two roofs over my head, even better. And what about the ceiling? Under the roof, right, but still a kind of roof, too? I got a bit confused.

That's Chet, a bright dog, narrating. The snap-snap-snap of a dog processing into dog-think the idea of roof-house-safe and making it better by getting under a table rings completely true to me. And the magic for me is in Quinn's rendering that into non-cloying humanspeak.

And then there's the ending. Whee dawggie. White knuckles and bright flashlights exciting, and even though I was pretty darned sure I knew whodunit, but please forgive me if I don't tell you the bit I was most tensed up about and the bit that Chet, for all his smarts, didn't see as scary and troubling as I did.

Read 'em one at a time, in order, and these books will give you thrills and grins and not a few gnawed knuckles. Like the one skinless, bloody nubbin I've got workin' over the unresolved plot line that I can't tell you about. GAH! show less

The perp looked around-what nasty little eyes he had! - and saw there was nowhere to go. We were in some kind of warehouse, big and shadowy, with a few grimy high-up windows and tall stacks of machine parts. I couldn't remember how the warehouse fit in, exactly, or even what the whole case was all about; only knew beyond a doubt, from those nasty eyes and that sour end of the line smell, a bit like those kosher pickles Bernie had with his BLTS - I'd tried one; once was enough for the kosher pickles, although I always had time for a BLT - that this was the perp. I lunged forward and grabbed him by the pant leg. Case closed. What was that? Yes, the taste of blood. My mistake, but a very exciting one all the same.

This is the second book I've read in this series and I loved it just as much as the first. I haven't read any of the "cat sleuth" books out there - being a dog person and all - but I loved how we see the action through the dog's eyes (and nose and mouth!). The best part of the story is just the stream-of-consciousness from the dog's mind. It is adorable and hilarious and it made me smile constantly. There are many times the dog knows more than the human but obviously can't explain anything to them so there are definitely moments are peril for both Bernie and Chet. Luckily, his owner tends to be very tuned into his dog and he finally pieces the info together - at least most of the important ones. I think I found this series because it show more was recommended by Stephen King who, like myself, owns a corgi so I very much trust his dog - and reading - judgment. show less

This was a surprisingly good read! There's nothing intellectually pretentious here - its just a private detective story told in the voice of the detective's dog. But it's well done. The dog tells the story in a fun way, the foibles and the high points of doghood are all there, but not overdone. And there's a real whodunnit as well. It's not Shakespeare, but it's relaxing and enjoyable.
The author has written a stack of books in the series. I'm not sure I need to read them all, but if I'm ever short of a book and want an easy, fun read, I'll be back for more.

Book #2 in the Chet and Bernie series finds the Little Detective Agency hired as bodyguards for a prize-winning pooch, Princess … and just as quickly fired when Chet snatches the tiny fluff-ball’s bacon bit. Before they can find a new client, Princess and her owner, Adelina Borghese, are kidnapped and Chet and Bernie are brought into the case by Adelina’s husband, Count Borghese. When Susie Sanchez (Bernie’s on-again-off-again reporter girlfriend) goes missing while investigating the story, their interest in the case escalates.

There’s plenty of intrigue and suspense to keep the plot moving (a must for the mystery genre), but the star of this series is the narrator – Chet the Jet. He’s intelligent (though easily show more distracted), loyal (to anyone with good treats), strong and determined. He’s also an astute judge of character. He recognizes the bad guys (“perps”) almost immediately (but did I mention his judgment might be clouded by a bacon bit or Slim Jim?). His ruminations on subjects near and far – javalinas, various kinds of balls, the Porsche, Bernie’s sterling qualities – are an absolute delight.

Jim Frangione does a great job narrating the audio book. He has great pacing and he brings Chet to life. I can really see a dog thinking this way! show less

Pooch-loving private eye Bernie Little and his canine sidekick Chet return in this sequel to Dog on It, which proves even better than the original. Bernie and Chet are hired then fired then rehired in a case involving a tiny, puffy champion show dog named Princess. When Princess and her millionaire owner, Adelina Borghese, go missing -- and Bernie's on again-off again girlfriend, Suzie Sanchez, soon disappears too -- the detecting duo have their hands full in tracking everyone down.

Narrated by Chet, Thereby Hangs a Tail will frequently make readers smile, chuckle and even laugh aloud as Chet tries to comprehend the incomprehensible ways of humans. Chet and Bernie get into one scrape after another as they relentless search for dog and show more humans, and you can bet that they won't quit until the job's done right.

Do yourself a favor and buy the next book in the series, To Fetch a Thief; we listened to Thereby Hangs a Tail while traveling to Florida, and the kids begged to begin the next one as soon as Thereby Hangs a Tail concluded. Don't say I didn't warn you! show less