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A review by heatherjones
Of Mutts and Men by Spencer Quinn
4.0
Thank you to Forge Books for giving me a digital galley of this book in exchange for feedback.
The Chet and Bernie books are one of my favorite mystery series, and I'm happy to report that 'Of Mutts and Men' is as good as the ones that come before it - to be honest, I think it's the best recent one, better than the previous book in the series.
The thing that makes this whole series work for me is the narrative voice. Having a dog as the narrator is a gimmick that could get twee and irritating in the hands of a less skilled writer, but Quinn makes it work so well. Chet is very much a real dog, with an interest in sausages, an inability to understand the intricacies of human businesses, and an unquestioned devotion to Bernie. He's funny at the right times, sweet at the right times, and really is the whole point of these books.
In this one, a hydrologist has his throat cut in the desert. But who would want to murder a hydrologist, and why? Bernie's concern for the water supply has been well established in previous books, so I love that this one really makes that a central part of the plot.
The whole series is well worth reading, and if you already like them, you won't be disappointed in the latest book. If you haven't already read them, you could read this one - I think you'd still be able to follow it just fine without having read the previous books - but you might be happier starting with the first volume, which is 'Dog On It.'
The Chet and Bernie books are one of my favorite mystery series, and I'm happy to report that 'Of Mutts and Men' is as good as the ones that come before it - to be honest, I think it's the best recent one, better than the previous book in the series.
The thing that makes this whole series work for me is the narrative voice. Having a dog as the narrator is a gimmick that could get twee and irritating in the hands of a less skilled writer, but Quinn makes it work so well. Chet is very much a real dog, with an interest in sausages, an inability to understand the intricacies of human businesses, and an unquestioned devotion to Bernie. He's funny at the right times, sweet at the right times, and really is the whole point of these books.
In this one, a hydrologist has his throat cut in the desert. But who would want to murder a hydrologist, and why? Bernie's concern for the water supply has been well established in previous books, so I love that this one really makes that a central part of the plot.
The whole series is well worth reading, and if you already like them, you won't be disappointed in the latest book. If you haven't already read them, you could read this one - I think you'd still be able to follow it just fine without having read the previous books - but you might be happier starting with the first volume, which is 'Dog On It.'