Paw and Order - Spencer Quinn - 4 Stars

[Olivermagnus]

Paw and Order is the seventh book in the hugely entertaining Chet and Bernie mystery series. It picks up immediately after Chet and Bernie's last case in Louisiana. Bernie decides to take a detour through Washington, DC to see if he can repair some of the damage done to his relationship with Suzie Sanchez. She has recently moved there to work for the Washington Post. Things get off to a poor start when Bernie is arrested for murder shortly after their arrival. When he is released, he begins his own investigation, which keeps overlapping with detectives from the police department and federal officers who are also trying to find the killer.

This series is told completely from the point of view of Chet, a "hundred-plus pounder" mutt who is partnered with Bernie in his detective business. I read these books just to hear how Chet thinks. While we can’t know exactly how a dog experiences life, Chet sounds like such a believable version of dog thought that I believe it.

I think Chet must be the most genuinely happy character in literary history. He's obsessed with food and Bernie. I just love how he adores Bernie. It's so fun to share Chet's world. He's distracted by squirrels and birds (he thinks they're absolute jerks for living such easy, free lives in the sky), and he's constantly remembering and then promptly forgetting things. He's sometimes gets distracted by a Slim Jim, and accidentally put them in danger.

There's a charm about this series that can't be denied despite the resolutions, which are usually rushed. This wasn’t my favorite of the series, but I still enjoyed spending time with Chet. While the story was pretty much 3 Stars, Chet is always 5 stars.

As always, I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Jim Frangione. It was perfect and I highly recommend the audio version for maximum exposure to Chet.

[Karin]

This was the first Chet and Bernie book I ever read when my son bought it for me for Christmas when he was in high school. It didn't look like something I'd enjoy, but it was so thoughtful of him to try to find a gift he thought I'd like I gave it a try. 3.5 stars; I was quite surprised!

Then he read it and enjoyed it; we've read almost all of them (not together, but I read them first since I read faster.) He gives them all 5 stars because he loves the humour.

[Robin P]

I also adore Chet on audio, and I agree, he's such a positive personality. (He usually figures out the mystery first, by recognizing sounds or smells that humans miss.) The "bromance" between Chet and Bernie is wonderful.