Paw and Order by Spencer Quinn

[anarresa]

Paw and Order
By Spencer Quinn
3 stars

This is the seventh Chet and Bernie mystery and while I normally read series in order it is fairly unnecessary for this one. Chet, the narrator, tends to get confused about history, cases, and life in general so events in actual novels blend with events typical for the fictional universe. This is because Chet is a dog. This is the strong and weak point of the series. Quinn does a delightful job giving voice to the expressions and actions of dogs, but those thoughts get repetitive and the plot of the mystery is tough to describe with only what Chet hears, thinks and smells. Chet is such a great character I’ve decided to pick up one of the novels every few years, giving myself enough time between to read more suspenseful mysteries.

Chet and Bernie head to Washington, DC to visit Susie, working as a reporter for the Washington Post. Immediately one of Susie’s sources is murdered, Bernie is suspected, Chet goes gallivanting and the police and federal agencies interfere in the investigation. I was particularly drawn in by the book jacket line, “Most menacing of all is Barnum, a guinea pig with the fate of the nation in his tiny paws,” but Barnum barely plays a role. I guess the line was too good to resist.

[Margaret]

Don't you hate when book blurbs are misleading? This series does sound like fun light reading. Karin has reviewed several I'll have to try one soon.

[Karin]

This is the first one I ever read, so I found it one of the funniest because the humour was all new to me.