Spencer Quinn |  Fiction

I was with my college friends Janet and Mark in August. Together, we visited Isle Royale and Voyageur‘s National Parks.   But perhaps the best times were playing pinochle in the evenings ... ah, reminiscent of Ann Arbor evenings.

But I digress from my intentions.   While we were traveling together, Janet and Mark recommended that I try on some Spencer Quinn novels, his Chet and Bernie mysteries.  And so I did.  Dog On It was a nice respite between heavier books.  This is a book you can read in a few evenings.                                                                                                                       

Bernie is a Private I.  Chet, his sidekick, is a “K-9 Trained Dog”.  The story is told from Chet's point of view.  So if you don't like dogs, or never lived with a dog, leave this book on the shelf and instead search for funny cat videos on YouTube.  But if you know and love dogs, you may very well appreciate Chet's perspective on humanity, and what we do, and how we smell, and what is confusing about working with us.  In this novel, Chet and Bernie search for Madison, a missing 15-year-old.

Dog On It is definitely light reading.  I actually laughed out loud a few times.  If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know I don't think the written word is capable of being funny, except sometimes it is.  I am still cracking up at this, from page 42:  A silence.  And then — yes: She barked.  A bark that sent a message, a she-message of the most exciting kind.  I barked back. She barked.  I barked.  She barked.  And then: Yip! Yip! Yip.  Iggy was back. He barked.  She barked.  I barked.  He barked.  She —

Anyway, as I say, if you’ve never lived with a dog that won’t be funny.  It may not be funny to you if you DO.  Nevertheless,  Dog On It is the first of 8 Chet & Bernie books and I will read more!