Did you read Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe series? Stout created a great sidekick in Archie Goodwin, the legs and muscle for the brainy but eccentric Nero Wolfe. Because Archie narrated the stories we would know what he knew, but Wolfe was the one who could make sense of all the clues. Well, there’s a new sidekick in town that takes Archie’s limitations and makes a leap forward: Chet, a nearly trained police dog (if only that rabbit hadn’t showed up, ) the narrator of Spencer Quinn’s Dog On It.
Chet is partner with Bernie Little, a divorced father who works as a private eye. Chet rides “shotgun” as they explore Arizona looking for a missing teenage girl. Chet is easily distracted — a ball, a cat, a roadrunner, the wind, a donut, people scratching his head — and so misses some of the dialogue which adds to the mystery.
I am almost done listening to it, and I laugh out loud at Chet’s enthusiastic response to so many things. The action is non-stop, partly because Chet — I’m not sure what kind of dog he is — loves his life with Bernie. If you like dogs, if you like mysteries with humor and heart, catch this book!
