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9th out of 396 books
—
947 voters
Dog on It (Chet and Bernie #1)
by
Spencer Quinn (Goodreads Author)
As sidekicks, Maxwell Smart and Agent 99 have nothing on Chet and Bernie. This charming detective duo make their debut in Dog On It, the first volume in Spencer Quinn's new mystery series. The fast-paced and funny tale is narrated by the inimitable Chet, Bernie's best friend and canine partner, whose personality and preferences are never in doubt: "I liked to sleep at the...more
Hardcover, 305 pages
Published
February 10th 2009
by Atria
(first published January 1st 2009)
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4 1/2 stars
This is a comic mystery told adorably from the point of view of Chet the dog. Being a dog and all, Chet has a different way of looking at things and tells the story with lots of pauses for “ahhh’s” (hooray, head scratch), and “thump thumps” (uncontrollable tail wag). He gets distracted easily by tantalizing smells. It’s super cutesy, I admit, but I love it still. Sometimes a person needs a little cutesy to balance out the ugly, mean-nasties.
Chet’s owner Bernie is a gruff, divorced pr...more
This is a comic mystery told adorably from the point of view of Chet the dog. Being a dog and all, Chet has a different way of looking at things and tells the story with lots of pauses for “ahhh’s” (hooray, head scratch), and “thump thumps” (uncontrollable tail wag). He gets distracted easily by tantalizing smells. It’s super cutesy, I admit, but I love it still. Sometimes a person needs a little cutesy to balance out the ugly, mean-nasties.
Chet’s owner Bernie is a gruff, divorced pr...more
5 likes · like · see review
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February might be a short and bleak month, but this year we have the debut of a new, unstoppable, hilarious, hard hitting crime fighting duo--Bernie and Chet--to look forward to. Bernie is a human private investigator with more heart than money. Chet is an almost completely trained police dog (there was an incident with a squirrel during the final field test--he'll tell you about it if he gets time later). And that's the real kicker to this team--Chet narrates the action in a very "dog nation" k...more
Nov 16, 2008
Jackie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
mystery fans, dog lovers, anyone who loved Art of Racing in the Rain or Incredible Journey
Recommended to Jackie by:
Wendy from Simon and Schuster
Shelves:
work-review-related-reading,
series
February might be a short and bleak month, but this year we have the debut of a new, unstoppable, hilarious, hard hitting crime fighting duo--Bernie and Chet--to look forward to. Bernie is a human private investigator with more heart than money. Chet is an almost completely trained police dog (there was an incident with a squirrel during the final field test--he'll tell you about it if he gets time later). And that's the real kicker to this team--Chet narrates the action in a very "dog nation" k...more
5 likes · like · see review
What a great read! The mystery is told from the POV of the dog, Chet. If Chet doesn't see/hear/smell it neither do we. And Chet gets distracted easily. Saves us from a lot of unnecessary tedious details. The story is written with great flair, humor and style. I'm really enjoying this book, and will be sure to read the next one when it comes out!
10 likes · like · see review
Bernie and Chet (the dog) are working on a missing persons case. Told from Chet's point of view, which is...truthfull, humorous and just matter-of-fact. I love getting into the dog's brain. This is a very smart dog, who is 1/2 of the the Little Private Investigations firm. A wonderful, quick read for anyone who loves dogs, detectives and a little suspense. I had a hard time putting it down.
Mar 28, 2009
Lisa Vegan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those who enjoy mysteries and/or dogs, highly to those who appreciate both
I’m now looking forward to the forthcoming books in the series; this is the first book in a new mystery series.
This is a fun, creative, and unique book that’s told from the point of view of a dog. I don’t think the author captured 100% perfectly the way a dog is but overall he seemed to do an excellent job.
I love Chet, Bernie, and Suzie. There’s a lot about Bernie I’d think I wouldn’t like, but there’s so much that’s laudable and loveable about him too. I hope that Charlie plays a bigger role in...more
This is a fun, creative, and unique book that’s told from the point of view of a dog. I don’t think the author captured 100% perfectly the way a dog is but overall he seemed to do an excellent job.
I love Chet, Bernie, and Suzie. There’s a lot about Bernie I’d think I wouldn’t like, but there’s so much that’s laudable and loveable about him too. I hope that Charlie plays a bigger role in...more
2 likes · like · see review
I completely adored this book. It's a mystery, but the driving force behind the novel is the narrator, Chet the dog. He gives a voice to all your dogs thoughts, and Quinn is consistent in Chet's characteristics throughout. Chet will be recalling plot, and get distracted by a rabbit, or bark his head off at the neighbor's dog, without realizing he is the source of commotion until owner Bernie tells him to knock it off.
I think this book is wonderful first of all for anyone who has ever owned a dog...more
I think this book is wonderful first of all for anyone who has ever owned a dog...more
A detective story told from a dog's point-of-view. I picked it up planning to pass it along to a friend, but now I feel I can't really recommend it. The dog's narrative was a little overly cute and repetitive, yet still cute and probably would have been worth a read to dog-lovers. But... the quality of the writing is mediocre at best, and the narrative is about the most simplistic, genre-recycled ideas a writer could come up with. In fact, "recycled" is too generous a term because there's not re...more
2 likes · like · see review
A great dog narrator! Here's my favorite quote:
" I gazed at her in the light that spilled form the convenience store. A sad story, I knew that - and I sure as hell wouldn't want to end up in any pound myself - but still, I loved...well, just about everything, the whole deal." This dog is joyous.
What I disliked: the convention of hard-boiled detectives that celebrating means killing a couple of bottles of scotch with your buddy. Our lives are tilted in directions hinted at by our shared imaginat...more
" I gazed at her in the light that spilled form the convenience store. A sad story, I knew that - and I sure as hell wouldn't want to end up in any pound myself - but still, I loved...well, just about everything, the whole deal." This dog is joyous.
What I disliked: the convention of hard-boiled detectives that celebrating means killing a couple of bottles of scotch with your buddy. Our lives are tilted in directions hinted at by our shared imaginat...more
I really liked this book! The whole book is a mystery told from the point of view of the dog, Chet, who helps his owner, Bernie, solve crimes. If Chet doesn't see it or hear it, you don't either. Chet is a very smart dog and easily spots things that his owner misses, but has a hard time communicating it to his human. Being a dog, he's easily distracted by food, smells and noises, which sometimes comes in handy when they are on a case. There are five books in this series so far and I can't wait t...more
I saw this book listed in so many places, I just had to find out what all the fuss was about. While this was a good book, it wasn't as great as I expected from all of the hype. Still, as the first book in what is expected to be a series of adventures, this was a good start. I'll definitely be reading the next one, when released.
Publisher's Summary
Meet Chet, the wise and lovable canine narrator of Dog on It, who works alongside Bernie, a down-on-his-luck private investigator. Chet might have flun...more
Publisher's Summary
Meet Chet, the wise and lovable canine narrator of Dog on It, who works alongside Bernie, a down-on-his-luck private investigator. Chet might have flun...more
Dog On It tells the story of Bernie Little, P.I. and his quest to find a missing girl. The story is told from the perspective of his dog, Chet, whose experiences, observations, and actions often hold the key to Bernie's ability to find the girl and figure out why she went missing.
Quinn's success in giving voice to the inner workings of a dog is inconsistent. Sometimes, Chet's observations and descriptions, especially of his own behavior, ring true, and at other times he seems to have much too mu...more
Quinn's success in giving voice to the inner workings of a dog is inconsistent. Sometimes, Chet's observations and descriptions, especially of his own behavior, ring true, and at other times he seems to have much too mu...more
Feb 24, 2009
Samantha
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Dog/ Mystery lovers
Recommended to Samantha by:
Barnes and Noble and they were right!
So, I continue to be on a critter mystery reading jag. This was a feature book on the Barnes and Noble website, being marketed as 'Unputdownable.' They were absolutely right! The book was absolutely unputdownable; however, my eyelids were not. It did take me two sittings to read it, but I loved almost every second of it. (There is one incident that my delicate sensibilities thought was unnecessary and every critter lover will know what I mean when they read it.) The story of Bernie, a down on hi...more
Down on his luck PI Bernie Little is fortunate indeed to have his washed-out police K-9 partner, Chet, assisting him on cases both large and small. In this first outing in the "Chet and Bernie" mystery series, narrated by Chet, the Little Detective Agency is hired to locate a missing teenage daughter of a divorced couple who cannot agree on whether Madison is actually missing or simply on a bit of an adventure and has failed to check in with her disciplinarily-lax custodial parent. Bernie and Ch...more
A solid 4 stars for me. I really enjoyed this book and just loved the dog narrator, Chet who is "partners" with his adored owner Bernie, a PI. Chet is high drive, very dominant, extra confident, extremely intelligent and filled with great enthusiasm for his job and life. I loved the way Quinn balanced Chet's understanding of English (I live with a very bright Border Collie who gets a lot of what is being said around him, but this goes WAY beyond any dog I have known) and his very doggy nature. T...more
Loved this book. The author's writing style was witty and fun to read. Writing the book from the dog's perspective, I thought, was interesting and done well. I laughed quite a few times during this book. Comments about back hair (Chet's girls don't complain), wanting Bernie to "take a pot shot at something, anything!", and to forget any plans about Cap'n'Crunch kept the book humorous and light. The mystery I had solved fairly quickly but the adventures along the way were well worth the read.
I'm...more
I'm...more
I bought this book on the recommendation of a friend, and I thought I'd love it -- I'm a mystery fan, love dogs, and like books with a quirky/off-beat sense of humor. But unfortunately, I found this book hard to finish -- if it'd been any longer, I'd have given up. The dog-humor bit got REALLY old, by about chapter 4 -- yes, Chet, we know you love food, pee all over everything, and think your owner is special. Ha-ha and all that kind of thing. And Bernie, despite the fact that all of the other c...more
Ja ein wirklich niedliches und abenteuerlustiges Buch. Witzig und aus der Perspektive eines Hundes. ja klar das es hier oft vorkommt, wenig anspruchsvoll zu sein. Aber nicht der leichte und recht kindliche Schreibstil überzeugt, sondern die Story selbst. Nun schreib mal aus der Perspektive eines Hundes. Das ist wirklich nicht einfach und man mus am einfachsten denken. Was denkt ein Tier bloß die ganze Zeit und wieso verhält es sich so wie es sich verhält. Nicht einfach, kann ich euch sagen. Ich...more
I am not a fan of twee and smaltzy books. The overly cute as Americans say. This book has a title which might or might not be funny, depending on the story inside. ‘A Chet and Bernie Mystery’ on the cover suggests a series, but I could not find details of the other books, apparently they are yet to come The cartoon style dog in a homburg hat dominates the cover illustration. Bernie is shown as a gun and a bit of Hawaiian shirt. ‘Oh no,’ I thought, this is not my sort of book, but review it I mus...more
What a cute idea! A friend recommended this mystery series about Bernie (divorced, struggling, father, always behind on money issues) and Chet ( his crazy almost police trained) dog. The whole book is narrated by Chet and is well done with lts of little asides as Chet loses track of something because of a smell or something doggy distracts him. His internal life is fun and adds to the story as he discovers clues that Bernie doesn't know but Chet can't always find a ways to tell Bernie and someti...more
Good morning Readers! It’s a rainy and raw October morning in New England; fall is definitely here. I hope this finds you well wherever your locale.
This week’s review is called Dog On It, by Spencer Quinn. In a word, this book was cute. If you’re pining for a light, easy read—and if you’re a dog lover—then this book is for you.
The subheading of this book is called A Chet and Bernie Mystery, and the book is in the first person. The twist is that the “person” talking is Chet, who’s actually a dog....more
This week’s review is called Dog On It, by Spencer Quinn. In a word, this book was cute. If you’re pining for a light, easy read—and if you’re a dog lover—then this book is for you.
The subheading of this book is called A Chet and Bernie Mystery, and the book is in the first person. The twist is that the “person” talking is Chet, who’s actually a dog....more
A nice twist on the detective story
The premise of Dog On It is a simple one. It's a buddy book. Partners fighting crime like Holmes and Watson, Spenser and Hawk and now Bernie and Chet. Except for one important point - Chet is Bernie's dog.
The story is told from the point of view of Chet, a trained police dog that never quite graduated from the academy to a "leaping" incident that "involved blood."
Chet understands enough about human society so that the story doesn't bog down but he has that ea...more
The premise of Dog On It is a simple one. It's a buddy book. Partners fighting crime like Holmes and Watson, Spenser and Hawk and now Bernie and Chet. Except for one important point - Chet is Bernie's dog.
The story is told from the point of view of Chet, a trained police dog that never quite graduated from the academy to a "leaping" incident that "involved blood."
Chet understands enough about human society so that the story doesn't bog down but he has that ea...more
Chet and Bernie are the only operatives of the Little Detective Agency. Bernie is the brains while Chet handles security. Their case in this volume is a missing teenager who has run away / been kidnapped. red herrings abound and wild goose chases pepper the landscape as our gumshoes try to tie all the clues together - clues that involve a blue BMW, a housing development, Russian gangsters, an irrigation project draining the aquifers, and a mysterious she-barker. I saw a review of this book on th...more
This book was the most fun reading since A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel back in 2007. It has more twists and turns than most stories, and the turns are always a surprise.
The story takes place in the "valley" in the California desert, but travels to Las Vegas and New Mexico as well. It centers around the Bernie Little Detective Agency and a high school girl who's gone missing, her divorced parents, a big blonde Russian fella that Chet dislikes, a woman reporter that Chet likes, Bernie's loca...more
The story takes place in the "valley" in the California desert, but travels to Las Vegas and New Mexico as well. It centers around the Bernie Little Detective Agency and a high school girl who's gone missing, her divorced parents, a big blonde Russian fella that Chet dislikes, a woman reporter that Chet likes, Bernie's loca...more
I don't read much mystery. But dog books I do read. And the titles and covers were cute, so I picked these up. Of course you have to love Chet and you kinda love Bernie just because Chet does. Otherwise he's just okay. I like Suzie so far, even though I groaned a little at the lady reporter and the detective. Oh, and Russian bad guys. So the characters seemed like they were from the 'standard mystery novel' formula with the dog narrator inserted. Would have liked to see Bernie's son Charlie a li...more
I don't really care for "dog books." Haven't read Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog, for example. So I was a little skeptical of this new mystery featuring a detective (Bernie) and his trusty dog sidekick (Chet), written from the viewpoint of the dog. But it is really really funny. It's a little bit like the dog in the movie Up: They're on the case, Chet is running, and then SQUIRREL. There are several funny passages where Chet is engaged in dog behavior - smelling, barki...more
Rating: 3.875* of five
Chet and Bernie. Say it with me, now. Chet and Bernie. Get used to saying it, because once you read this book, you'll be saying it a lot to others who haven't read it yet.
Chet's a dog. Bernie's a schlub. They're a team, crime solving magic of a team. In a mystery world dominated by cat cozies, they're very unusual and very much a pair of guys. This makes them a breath of fresh air at the least, and a cold Alberta Clipper to blow the cobwebs full of cat-dander out of the boo...more
Chet and Bernie. Say it with me, now. Chet and Bernie. Get used to saying it, because once you read this book, you'll be saying it a lot to others who haven't read it yet.
Chet's a dog. Bernie's a schlub. They're a team, crime solving magic of a team. In a mystery world dominated by cat cozies, they're very unusual and very much a pair of guys. This makes them a breath of fresh air at the least, and a cold Alberta Clipper to blow the cobwebs full of cat-dander out of the boo...more
At its simplest, this book is a very generic mystery. What draws most people into reading it? Most likely the cutesy premise of a man and a dog, with some detective-based excitement thrown in. And really, that is about all you can expect from this book.
Interesting? Not especially. Well-written? Mediocre. Length? Average. Personally, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. It isn't terrible, and it's a short read, and from the dog's perspective, it's about head-on with about what you would exp...more
Interesting? Not especially. Well-written? Mediocre. Length? Average. Personally, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. It isn't terrible, and it's a short read, and from the dog's perspective, it's about head-on with about what you would exp...more
This book was pretty awesome; in fact, when I started reading the first page, I had no clue it was going to be narrated by a dog. As a dog lover, that method of narration really appealed to me, and now, when I look at my dog, I wonder, "what are you thinking?"
I love the easygoing, carefree, and humorous writing style. I find myself laughing at things Chet says, because they remind me of things my own dog does - for example, when he mentions that his lip gets caught on his teeth. That happens to...more
I love the easygoing, carefree, and humorous writing style. I find myself laughing at things Chet says, because they remind me of things my own dog does - for example, when he mentions that his lip gets caught on his teeth. That happens to...more
Sep 30, 2011
Jody
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who like mysteries & books with animals
As I told the folks on DorothyL:
This isn't the kind of book I'd ordinarily read. After all, the narrator is a
dog! This is one of the books I got in my book bag at Bouchercon. I decided to
start reading & see if I'd continue reading.
I've got to say, Quinn does a masterful job with the personality of Chet, the
dog. I could almost feel like Chet as I was reading. Chet belongs to Bernie,
though Chet always refers to Bernie as his friend and partner. Bernie is a P.I.
who is a bit down on his lu...more
This isn't the kind of book I'd ordinarily read. After all, the narrator is a
dog! This is one of the books I got in my book bag at Bouchercon. I decided to
start reading & see if I'd continue reading.
I've got to say, Quinn does a masterful job with the personality of Chet, the
dog. I could almost feel like Chet as I was reading. Chet belongs to Bernie,
though Chet always refers to Bernie as his friend and partner. Bernie is a P.I.
who is a bit down on his lu...more
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Spencer Quinn lives on Cape Cod with his dog Audrey, and is hard at work on the next Chet and Bernie adventure.
Spencer Quinn is a pseudonym of author Peter Abrahams.
Series:
* A Chet and Bernie Mystery
More about Spencer Quinn...
Spencer Quinn is a pseudonym of author Peter Abrahams.
Series:
* A Chet and Bernie Mystery
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5 trivia questions
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“Chet! What are you eating?”
Nothing. It was true. The eating part was over.”
—
9 people liked it
Nothing. It was true. The eating part was over.”
“I’d been the best leaper in K-9 class, which had led to all the trouble in a way I couldn’t remember exactly, although blood was involved.”
—
6 people liked it
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