Thereby Hangs a Tail: A Chet and Bernie Mystery (The Chet and Bernie Mystery Series)

I love mysteries. I love dogs. I love books that make me laugh. Thereby Hangs a Tail has all three. Chet, the K-9 narrator of the story, continually makes me smile. This book is the second in the Chet and Bernie mystery series. (Dog On It is the first book.) In this story, Chet and Bernie are hired to protect Princess - a pampered show dog - but before they can even start the job, Chet has an unfortunate incident with a dog treat (sometimes his self-control is not the best) and they get fired before they can even begin! But when Princess and her owner are kidnapped, Chet and Bernie are back on the job. The plot includes a ghost town, murder, hippies and a currupt sheriff of a tiny town. When Chet and Bernie get seperated, Chet has to set off across the desert trying to find his way home. He stumbles upon Princess along the way. The scenes between Chet and Princess are really cute and precious. In this second installment of the series, you get a bigger glimpse into Bernies mysterious past - his time in the military - but since the story is narrated by the dog, you don't get as much detail about personal things. It's always sweet though, how Chet believes Bernie is the "smartest person in the room". The author does a great job of portraying the loyalty of a dog to his "owner". And Bernie's deep feelings for Chet, too. The mystery is not the most complicated. (Spencer Quinn is no Agatha Christie.) But it's satisfying enough and I always prefer stories where the good guys win. Chet spends most of the book just wanting to "grab the perp by the pant leg." If you want a book with a nice mystery that will make you smile, giggle or laugh out loud, you won't be disappointed by Thereby Hangs a Tail. (Just a note, the book does include bad language, including using the F-word and the Lord's name in vain.)

This second book of the series by Spencer Smith has all the snap and pizazz of the first, "Dog On It." The twist of the tale being told through the eyes of Chet, the faithful and adoring canine best friend of private investigator Bernie, does not get old. Hilarious ruminations from a dog's eye view pepper the book with laughs even as Chet and Bernie get into one scrape after another. The one small glitch is the predictable side story of Chet getting "lost," only to be reunited with Bernie through a confluence of circumstance and coincidence. But overall, the book is quite fun, with the story neatly wrapped up as Bernie solves the mystery through street smarts and dogged determination with help from his canine companion--pun intended! In Bernie, Smith has created a smart, tough crime solver whose character is nicely balanced by his apparent puzzlement when it comes to dealing with the women in is life. The combination makes him quite loveable. Like the Seely Booth character of "Bones," Bernie is ex-military; a guy who has pulled himself up by his bootstraps, can handle himself in a fight, and who's heart is stalwart and true. The combination of man and dog and a good story make this series irresistible.

Best private eye duo ever. I love the narrative by Chet. So uplifting and funny. Both he and Bernie are smart and never give up. Their teamwork is unmatched.

There is a science fiction book where an extraterrestrial is a main character. I didn’t much like the book but in the afterword the author told me something I never forgot: it’s awfully hard to write anything from the point of view of a nonhuman. Well in this book the author does just that! With a deft element of humor too, easily appreciated by those who have shared a house with a dog. It almost seems like the author knows what the animal is thinking. The book is presented first person by the dog, Chet. And he’s painted with a deft touch — he washed out of police K-9 training and his human partner also has a chequered past. As a pair of misfits they are unstoppable at solving crimes. Especially if you have or at one time had a dog, Chet rings profoundly true. He’s not Lassie, he’s more like a real dog who knows he’s supposed to round up the perps but sometimes gets distracted by a squirrel. The story takes place in “the Valley”, not so familiar an environment for east coast readers but it deals with universal human (and doggy) themes. If anything the second book is better than the first. Great entertainment!

I was so hoping that Spencer Quinn wouldn't let this series slip, and I wasn't disappointed. The first person canine narrative of THEREBY HANGS A TAIL is every bit as good as DOG ON IT, and the mystery is even stronger. It starts with Chet helping Bernie catch a jewel thief and then moves quickly to Bernie getting hired to protect a prize show dog name Princess. I'm pretty sure the breed is never specified but she sounds like maybe a Maltese. There's a subplot about Bernie's investments in tin futures that Chet couldn't follow too well (I did a little better than Chet on that, but I wasn't quite sure how it came out). And Bernie's reporter girlfriend Suzie makes another appearance and then goes missing. Chet and Bernie spend most of the book trying to find her, and find out who dog-napped Princess. Chet reports on each new character we meet, making his judgments mostly on how they smell and whether or not they give him food. There are a couple of hippies in the dessert who betray his trust, but Chet triumphs over their skulduggery. The ending is satisfying, although Quinn has added a plot twist that leaves Chet's health hanging in the balance. I'm not quite sure why, because as one reviewer said, who needs that to keep reading about Chet's adventures with Bernie? I love these books, and the Kindle version was perfect, as far as I could tell-- no typos or formatting errors. I ordered a print copy for my dad (another fan) and I can tell him without reservation that he'll love it!

For all you non-counters, this is book two in a series. So far there are four books and I have read all of them. This makes it hard to say somethings about an individual book, my impression is colored by all the other books. For example I read the series in time sequence, as I come now to review the books I see no need whatsoever for following in sequence, in fact I think any of the books could have been read first, and some of the books would benefit from it. What is the problem? Repetition is prevalent and it interferes with the story line. Chet is constantly saying, "So and so did such and such and is now wearing an orange suit in some prison." The so and so's are all different, the crimes are also so that means there are all these countless stories available to be told and Chet says so, "I may tell this tale later." Now these solutions must have returned a fee, so there is money available but according to Chet Bernie is always short of cash ad they need cases to make money, a contradiction. Quinn never solves it, he lets Chet continue to introduce these other cases with a teaser for a possible book on the case. Then "Thereby Hangs a Tail" brings in Suzie, she becomes an element in the telling, giving Chet more chances to be repetitive, this may be what we expect in a dog but it ruins the book. In this story Chet does little, Bernie does all the thinking, and Quinn does this nicely, making the book interesting but also leaving glaring vacancies in the story. Still I thought it was a good ending, although contrived characters. I want to tip you off, this book has the worst sketched characters, the other three are all much better and Chet spoils some good writing by his repetitions. Still I think they are worth reading.

Another charming tale of the adventures of Chet-the police academy K9 flunk-out—and his human partner Bernie Little the PI. The book offers a complex mystery involving a kidnapped show dog and 2 missing women with many plausible red-herrings to keep readers guessing. As in the first Chet & Bernie book, this one is filled with Chet the dog’s many illuminating insights into the canine mind and particularly Chet’s very unfavorable view of everything relating to cats. As when Chet believes that a yawning cat sitting in a window—across the street!—has yawned in Chet’s face “just to infuriate me.” In fact, Chet admits,”Every single thing cats do infuriates me, if you want the truth.” And Chet doesn’t like horses either, whose really skinny legs make Chet think about sidling up to those skinny legs and maybe doing something he shouldn’t. A book offering book many chuckles and genuine thrills is a rare pleasure. Grab this one and enjoy. Highly recommended.

It would be hard to beat the first Chet and Bernie mystery (Dog on It) but this one is equal to it. For new readers, understand that the story is told by Chet, the dog. (See reviews of the first book to appreciate how successfully this technique was used.) Chet, when referring to Bernie and himself, always says "me and Bernie." It seems exactly what a canine like Chet would do. Undying devotion to Bernie but no shying from his own sense of self. Chet is his usual doggy self; we see Chet the Jet in his glory running and jumping. His food preferences are plain: at the top is bacon, cooked juicy, but nothing wrong with raw. There's NO food that's not tryable. We see his first experience with a bear claw; understanding "bear" and "claw" Chet's not about to gobble it down. It's easy to focus on Chet in the story but the reader can also appreciate the dialogue between Bernie and other characters. We don't need Chet to tell us how clever it often is. There's a nice sequence when Chet has to take care of Princess, a little fluff ball of a show dog. Chet was amazed how her legs would be a blur while her body didn't move very far. Readers who love these stories should try the web site [...] for a daily dose of this wonderful canine. (A note to Mr. Quinn: We don't need the continuing question about Chet's health to keep us reading.) Oh yes, about the plot. It's good. Maybe better than in the first book. The fact that it's an after thought in this review says a lot. Come for a mystery and stay for a story of the wonderful relationship between Chet and Bernie.

Second instalment of the delicious canine mystery. Chet is full of the joys of life. If you want an uplifting book, written from the dog's point of view, and a good read, this is for you.

I can almost relate to the dog's thinking. Spencer Quinn's books are always enjoyable.

BOok was in excellent shape. Read it awhile ago and order so I could get others interested in the series

Para los amantes de los animales, este libro es una delicia. Lo que lo hace singular es que el perro es el narrador de las aventuras de un detective y su socio canino. Muy original y divertido. Voy a leer todos los de la serie.

Fun!