To Fetch A Thief A Chet and Bernie Mystery #3) by Spencer Quinn


The fun continues (and gets better!)

Originally published in 2010.

I enjoyed the first book in the Chet and Bernie series, Dog On It, but assumed this was to be a cute attempt at a series that fizzled after the first book. I ran across the third book and immediately picked it up, pleasantly surprised that the series was still alive. I am pleased to report that not only is the series alive - it is getting better as it goes along!

 Chet and Bernie are private detectives. Well, Bernie is a private detective. Chet is his dog - a police dog (almost!) that failed to make it all of the way through his training. The story is told completely told from the perspective of Chet, the dog who pretty much understands human society, at least enough to tell the story. What he does know is that he and Bernie are inseparable partners and they always have each others' back.

 In To Fetch a Thief, Bernie gets some free tickets to a down and out traveling circus and he takes Chet and his son. When they arrive they discover the circus performance has been canceled because the elephant and her trainer are gone - the owner thinks they have "gone over" to the animal rights crowd but Bernie is not convinced because, by all accounts, the trainer was ultra-humane and he and the elephant loved one another as much as Bernie and Chet do. Bernie does a little digging at the impetus of his son and finds evidence that the elephant and trainer have been kidnapped.
Spencer Quinn and his dog


 Of course Bernie takes the case despite not really having a client (unless you count his son who tells his class about it and promises all of those kids that his dad will find the elephant and bring it home) and viewing everything from Chet's "live-in-the-moment" perspective is a treat and not as limiting as it seemed to have been in the first book. A great example that made me laugh out loud because I have thought the same thing: "...for now let's just say Mexico's a great place if you are interested in smells."

 I'm glad to see the series is alive and doing well. Here's to more from Chet and Bernie!

 Click on the "Chet and Bernie" tag or the "Spencer Quinn" tag below to see what I thought about other books in this series.

 I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: To Fetch A Thief (A Chet and Bernie Mystery #3) by Spencer Quinn.

 Reviewed on June 10, 2011.

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