Review: Like Reading The Hobbit After Lord of the Rings
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 21, 2012
This is the back story you wanted. You do not need or even want to read it first among Spencer Quinn's captivating Chet and Bernie mysteries. Like J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" it is the back story you always wanted to know that, when you finally get it, makes sense of everything else you have read in the series.It is curious how the sometimes awkward digressions in the story make perfect sense when you try to put yourself into Chet the detective dog's frame of mind. How do you do that exactly? As any dog owner knows, your canine wants desperately to please you, but there are a few things (cat; squirrel) that are just too tempting. The (dog's) mind wanders. So does the telling of this story. Once you get into the flow it becomes entertaining and humorous and even natural. Being overwhelmed by an irrestible temptation (the cat) was not sufficient excuse to keep Chet in the K-9 program, it did put Bernie and Chet together as a team for the first time and on the path to solving the case in this story.Another reviewer notes the timeline problem related to whether Chet and Bernie met before or after Bernie's divorce. I agree that is a problem for those trying to piece together the big picture. The book is short, which is ok as it tells a complete episode or mystery solved, but it does leave you feeling a bit disappointed that there was not more. I deduct one star from the ratings for these two items.This is another good tale in the Chet and Bernie series. It actually belongs on your must-read list if you are into this series. Four stars.