Cat On a Hot Tin Woof, by Spencer Quinn (REVIEW) — Prepare for Fur to Fly in This Dust-up in the Desert

What do you get when you pair a flunked-out-of-K-9-school-(on-his-final-test, no less) dog with a former-military-guy-(with-plenty-of-skills)? 

If you guessed “the most delightful detecting duo in the desert” (or maybe anywhere!), then you’re on the right track. 

(But if not, no worries—until the latest entry in Spencer Quinn’s long-running “Chet & Bernie Mystery” series, Cat on a Hot Tin Woof, I’d never had the pleasure of spending time with these two, either.)

 

 

Things are going pretty well for both members of the Little Detective Agency.

Bernie is engaged to police sergeant Weatherly, and Chet, well... even if he’s still unsure about Weatherly’s dog, is always happy when Bernie’s happy.  

They’ve also seen a recent uptick in business, after solving a highly-publicized case. (Great news for the treat jar!)

Unfortunately, much of that business is still divorce work, which Bernie, in particular, hates. 

So, when a teenage girl and her mom contact them about finding a missing someone, both Bernie and Chet perk up.

There’s just one big catch—the missing someone is a cat... which Chet is very much not a fan of.

But, when Bernie learns that daughter Bitty and the absent Miss Kitty are a social media influencer powerhouse—so popular they’re earning enough to be the struggling family’s breadwinners—he can’t refuse. 

Of course, even with Chet’s keen (albeit reluctant) nose, it’s none too easy to locate a vanished feline... especially not when it begins to look like Miss Kitty is the victim of a catnapping.

As the case spirals in myriad directions—from rednecks to a biker gang, cowgirls to schemers, a homeless hippie to one large, obstreperous pig (named Señor Piggy), and some murders—Bernie and Chet realize they have far more questions than answers on their hands.

With the clock ticking down before news of Miss Kitty’s absence becomes public knowledge—and the massive subscriber base and lucrative sponsorship deals dry up, leaving Bitty and her mom broke—it’s up to one very good boy to put aside his distaste for cats, track down the bad guys, and save the day.

 

 

Cat on a Hot Tin Woof is absolutely one of the best surprises I’ve run across in a good long while.

For starters, it’s narrated by a DOG.

You read that right. The entire story is written from Chet’s POV—which could’ve gone wrong in countless ways, but doesn’t. 

Instead, it’s charming and clever... from Chet’s unwavering idolization of Bernie, to his acknowledged inability to count beyond two, to constantly thinking about food, to having the long-term memory of a gnat. Seeing the world through his canine eyes is adorable.

Quinn also totally nails the strong bond between man and His Very Goodest Boy (a sentiment Chet is completely on board with) sans sappiness. Bernie and Chet feel like partners and best friends... because they are.

And, since this is a mystery series, it’s important to note that the mystery itself is quite a good one. I didn’t see the end coming, but it made perfect sense when it did.

Still not sure how it’s taken me so long to find this series, but I’ll absolutely be spending more time with these two. 

(Oh, and yes, I’m absolutely a cat person... but that doesn’t mean I don’t also like dogs. So, regardless of whether your wake-up call sounds more like “woof” or “meow”, chances are high that you’ll fall in love with this fun detective duo, too.)

~GlamKitty

[Thanks to Minotaur Books and St. Martin's Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are, as always, entirely my own.]