Book Review: A Fistful of Collars: A Chet and Bernie Mystery by Spencer Quinn

Title: A Fistful of Collars: A Chet and Bernie Mystery
Author: Spencer Quinn
Release date: September 11, 2011; Atria Books
Source: ARC from publisher

She looked up from a magazine as we approached.
"Is that a working or therapy dog?" she said.
"Yes," Bernie told her.
"That's the only kind management allows in here."
"I understand."
"How come he's not wearing his ID vest, you know, that says therapy or working right on it?"
"Chet's undercover," Bernie said. (ch. 19)

About the book: Canine narrator Chet the Dog and his human partner P.I. Bernie Little are the duo that make up the Little Detective Agency. In this book Bernie and his dog are hired to keep handsome but badly behaved movie star, Thad Perry, out of trouble while he films a Western in the Valley. They find this job more complicated than it should be. There is a mystery surrounding Thad's background, and the people with the answers start turning up dead.

This book combines mystery with humor and a perceptive take on the relationship between human and dog that is the hallmark of this bestselling mystery series. (based on publisher's description)

Comments: I loved the previous book, The Dog Who Knew Too Much, and decided I was a Chet and Bernie fan. A Fistful of Collars is outstandingly clever and entertaining in its telling, and the plot almost as good. A good read for mystery and dog lovers, and cat lovers too, even though Chet does some sparring with a cat named Brando.