Paw and Order by Spencer Quinn

Published by Atria Books on August 5, 2014

Bernie and Suzie have had misunderstandings in past novels, but serious problems loom when Bernie and Chet show up unexpectedly at Suzie's apartment in D.C. and meet Eben St. John, who seems to be on very friendly terms with Bernie's girlfriend. Suzie explains that she's interviewing St. John for a story she's writing, but when she visits his office tne next morning and finds that he's been shot to death, the police (and Bernie) wonder why St. John was confessing his feelings about Suzie in his diary. Their conflict is upsetting to Chet, but Chet is even more bewildered by a strange bird he keeps seeing that has no wings or eyes. Of course, Bernie doesn't see it because Bernie, with his limited human senses, never notices anything that Chet regards as important -- like squirrels and hidden food. Did I mention that Chet is a dog?

Bernie's problems are compounded when the gun that killed St. John turns out to be a gun that Bernie had handled, leaving his fingerprints for the police to find. It naturally becomes Bernie's mission to find St. John's killer and therein lies the plot. All Bernie knows is that St. John had a contact who possessed information that could change the course of history and that St. John was preparing to share his secret -- and who knows what else? -- with Suzie. Somehow Bernie winds up chumming around with a presidential candidate (difficult to avoid that in D.C.) as he tries to deduce the reason for the murder and the killer's identity.

The plot is reasonably strong, offering light entertainment and modest surprises, but the point of a Chet and Bernie novel is not so much the plot as it is the chance to enter Chet's world. Chet always narrates these novels and his thought process always makes the novels worth reading. Chet's thinking is quite literal (he's still trying to understand "don't let the tail wag the dog" and is a little concerned it might happen to him). He has a short attention span, he's easily distracted, and he's no fan of horses ("prima donnas, each and every one"), foxes, or most other non-dog animals. He has a poor memory for things like obedience commands, but an excellent memory for scents, treat locations, and people who know how to administer a good scratch. He's enormously frustrated when he spots a clue and Bernie doesn't understand why he's making a fuss, but Chet always manages to contribute something worthwhile to the investigation -- while contributing good humor for the reader's benefit. This is a formula that never gets tired. I would rate Paw and Order as one of the better Chet and Bernie novels on the strength of its fast-moving, amusing plot, but thanks to Chet, all of the novels are good -- at least for readers who love dogs.

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