“Out-Sniffed”, the marvelous successor to Susan J. Kroupa's "Bed-Bugged", is warmhearted and funny but never superficial. Doodle, the bedbug-detecting labradoodle, comprehends every situation immediately, while the human beings in the story do their best, fumble, and then get up and try again.
Out-Sniffed more than exceeds the expectations you have after enjoying Bed-Bugged. In Bed-Bugged Susan J. Kroupa touches on serious topics of children's coming to terms with less than perfect home lives, on problems of illegal immigrants, and on problems of single fathers trying to earn a living and do justice to their children's needs. These problems continue in "Out-Sniffed", but Kroupa, without ever being heavy-handed, now adds problems of bullying, teen-aged drug use, a well-meaning but often helpless police force, and inept pet owners to the mix.
Fortunately, the ten-year-old daughter, with the help of Doodle, manages to solve these problems and Doodle's employer's problems with stupid criminals while learning to accept her flawed but loving parents for the complex human beings that they are.
Doodle occasionally indulges himself in some gentle sarcasm, but
always lets slip at the end how much he cherishes his human
companions.
Favored with a wry intelligence and clear-headed view of human beings, Doodle manages to clear up mysteries, repair relationship problems, and solve most of the other problems of his human employers, despite the fact that said humans are woefully incapable of understanding his unambiguous commands. I haven't met a fictional character in a long time that I enjoyed melding my mind with as much as Doodle. Susan J. Kroupa claims Doodle is inspired by Shadow, her independent labradoodle, but I think I recognized a few human sources of inspiration, at least every time Doodle commented "Just sayin' ..."
So, I recommend this book highly to anyone who is aged 9-12, who knows someone aged 9-12, who likes dogs, or who might enjoy spending some time in the mind of a brilliant labradoodle who remains tolerant of human foibles.
Bed-Bugged and Out-Sniffed are both highly entertaining reads. Do yourself a favor and take the time for them.