Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer QuinnMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Jacket Blurb: What first seems like a walk in the park to wise and lovable canine narrator Chet and his human companion Bernie—to investigate threats made against a pretty, pampered show dog—turns into a serious case when Princess and her owner are abducted. To make matters worse, Bernie’s on-again, off-again girlfriend, reporter Susie Sanchez, disappears too. When Chet is separated from Bernie, he’s on his own to put the pieces together, find his way home, and save the day. Spencer Quinn’s “brilliantly original” (Richmond Times-Dispatch) and “masterful” (Los Angeles Times) series combines genuine suspense and intrigue with humor and insight for a tail-wagging good time readers won’t soon forget.
Read as an audio book.
A light, enjoyable, cozy mystery. I had enough fun with book number one, Dog on It, that I looked up Thereby Hangs a Tail. This installment was a bit more serious than the first book, but still retained that "cozy" aspect through Chet's point of view.
Premise of the book is Chet and Bernie are (reluctantly) hired for an easy job of body guarding Princess, a championship show dog, after several death threats are received. Chet bungles the job and they are fired. The next day, Princess and her owner are kidnapped. Bernie decides they need to investigate, and the plot is off and trotting
A couple of detraction's in this book: Bernie and Chet are separated again, and Chet has to figure out things on his own. The author did this in book one, and turned around and repeated it in book two. A bit to "stock". This next is a peeve of mine in nearly every cozy mystery - confronting the murderer without back-up. Other than trying to make the climatic conclusion more climatic, there's no reason not to call the good lieutenant before standing up and saying "YOU did it!". Frustrates the heck out of me every time. And finally, so many loose ends in this installment! Oh my gosh. I really hope some of these are resolved in book #3.
As I noted above, this is just a light, enjoyable book. If you have dogs, you will completely understand Chet. I don't know how many times I caught myself chuckling out loud. And now, thanks to the friend who pointed me in the direction of these books, repeating little Chet phrases and then giggling. If you need something fun and uplifting, be it a vacation read, travel book or a mid-week escape book, then this might be for you.
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