Curse of the Mystery Mutt

Dog Diaries #4

by James Patterson, Steven Butler (With), Richard Watson (Illustrations)

There's a mystery mischief-maker on the loose in Hills Village! Can Junior solve the mystery before disaster strikes?


Junior is loving his life with the Khatchadorian family. But his idyllic life soon turns to terror when a mysterious individual begins to make trouble in the neighborhood. It starts with a mysterious howling in the night. And when Junior's pooch-pals realize their favorite toys are missing, things get serious.


Junior thinks he knows what is happening. He's heard of a mysterious creature called the Howly Wiener that visits town once a year and fills the stree with monsters. With only a few days until the Night of the Howly Wiener, can Junior come up with a plan to protect himself and his pooch pals and stop the mischief for good?

Genres: Mystery, Humor, Fiction, Dogs, Childrens, Animals, Juvenile

192 pages, Hardcover

First published October 3, 2019

About the author

Official US Site
Official UK Site
JIMMY Patterson Books
ReadKiddoRead

James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton, as well as collaborated on #1 bestselling nonfiction, including The Idaho Four, Walk in My Combat Boots, and Filthy Rich. Patterson has told the story of his own life in the #1 bestselling autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson. He is the recipient of an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.

Reviews

[Wendi Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took us a while to read this because I didn’t love it. My son liked it though, so I pushed through and finished it for him. It was cute, nothing overly exciting about it

[Nicola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miss 5 really enjoyed this book narrated from the perspective of a dog with his sometimes inaccurate interpretations of "People-ish". She likes that he really means well even if he sometimes makes mistakes with hilarious results. This is set approaching Halloween; didn't matter for us that this is an American holiday - she still thought it was hilarious imagining a howling sausage terrorising the neighbourhood!

Miss 5 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.

[Sean Harding · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yes it is a book written for kids, and yes they are less discerning, and yes you need to allow for the fact that they like things differently, but this was just utter rubbish and another attempt to get more bucks from unsuspecting readers from Patterson Inc.
A nonsense book with very little going for it.
It would be interesting to know how many Patterson books I had read and find it out really easily, if only they had something I don';t know like a most read author section.....

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOL This was an adorable, laugh-out-loud read for Junior readers! This story is told from the pers-pup-tive (perspective) of the canine main character. His interpretations of English (which he calls Peoplish) and human behavior and items are hilarious!
sniff-a-rific
lick-a-licious
bark-tastic
im-paw-tant
Howly-Wiener & Fangs Giving & Crisp Mouth
I *highly* recommend this book as a read-aloud with your kids! I thought it was "howling" great fun!

[Cris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book four of the Dog Diaries Series. Junior is once again the star! I so enjoy the dogs perspective of the story! These stories make me smile!

In this story Junior is learning about Howly Weiner and Junior is determined to find out who the Howly Weiner is! I love the concept behind the stories about each holiday, about friendship, family and loyalty.

[Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 5 year old loved it! She thought it was hilarious! I laughed as much as she did if not more. We read every night (or listen on audible) and I think this was her favorite in a while. We want to go find more Dog Diaries. We are going to start Scaredy Cat (early copy) next. We hope it’s just as good.

[AMY · Rating 4 out of 5]

166 pgs. Another silly book of dogs and what they are thinking. This time there is a mystery to solve...who stole Mr. Fuzz-Butt. Things get a little complicated as the main character tries to track the culprit during Halloween week. Fun and silly for kids. Lots of humorous illustrations throughout. Highly recommended for Grades 3-5.

[Stephanie Harless · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't like this one as much as the other books, but it was still good. I did like the part the costume Junior was wearing was a pirate. It didn't have as many funny parts like the other books did, well that is what I think. I still like reading these books. Can't wait to the next one. 4 stars for this one.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Junior is awakened from a deep sleep by a spine-rattling howling, and when he meets up with his friends at the doggy park, he discovers that they heard it too. But that's just the beginning of this mystery, because favorite chew toys are missing. Will Junior be able to solve this mystery before Hills Village is taken over by the evil mastermind?

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor thing he got soooooo freakd out and
And yes that costume was sooooo weird
And I now hate flease sooooo mach more
And the store was terrific!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Junior and his pals really are surprised when Halloween rolls around and their humans dress them up in costumes too. But the biggest surprise is who the culprit is who is doing the nighttime mischief. Together they make a good team.

[HappyGay Bakunzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The boys and I love this one. So funny.

[Ginger Mcclintick · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a cute book.

[Alana Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was nearing the end of the book, I thought that Genghis was the one who stole all of the toy because he was the only one who didn't come and I was right, but he was sleepwalking.

[Tori Darland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book in the series so far.

[K Morlando · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty funny book, the kids liked it.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not too small words and is full of adventure. I also like the pictures.

[Shanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute and love the made up words and pictures.

[Keygs · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's really interesting to read. This book, The Curse of the Mystery Mutt, was awesome!

[Amber Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story for kids, did it as a book club with my daughter! Never knew James Patterson wrote children's books too!

[Scarlett Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is short and I would recommend if you like dogs it’s funny to.

[Evie Cash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is it ment to be a halloween book because it was ment to be scary...Oh well I read it in Febrary

[Abdullah Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good and easily digestible book for younger audiences with loads of "punny" puns and an overall unique way to portray this story, portrayed in the eyes of a dog. Definitely will have to give the other novels a try.

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

They don't tell you this is set at Halloween and that's how I ended up reading it aloud to my son in March. Anyway, this series is kinda stupid, but it's always a hit with my first grader. You could do worse is what I'm saying.

We talked about our favorite Dog books over on the All the Books Show. https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...

[Mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was about Junior and his friends solving the case of the Howly Weiner. Junior and his friends thought the Howly Weiner was a giant sausage that destroys and steals other people's property. The Howly Weiner comes out around Halloween but causes the most damage on Halloween night.
Junior is my favorite character because he solves the case of the Howly Weiner. Junior is the bravest because he was the only one who didn't show fear in the junk yard. He is also very loyal and would do anything for his owner.
I was very surprised when he found out the Howly Weiner was Genghis, their friend. They found him in the junkyard sleepwalking surrounded by missing toys. Genghis flea medicine had some weird side effects which were sleepwalking, nighttime howling, and criminal tendencies.
I would not change the end, I like how the Howly Weiner turned out to be their friend. They found the missing toys and returned them to their rightful owners.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter loves this series. The stories are always super cute, with nice illustrations. They're easy for her to take in without being insulting to her intelligence, which I always find to be such a challenge when writing for children.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must on audio. It had me laughing out loud so many time. The Hallyweener! Just a great fun, uplifting book to listen to.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny if a bit juvenile

[Lorelai Howe · Rating 5 out of 5]

It makes me laugh to read it