Bark to the Future: A Chet & Bernie Mystery (A Chet & Bernie Mystery, 13)

It’s lucky 13 for Chet and Bernie! This wonderful series is narrated by Chet, a mighty big German Shepherd with one white ear. His admiration of Bernie Little jumps off the page. Together, they are the Little Detective Agency. Chet is a police K-9 flunk out, and Bernie is a former cop and graduate of West Point. They live in the Arizona desert, where trouble always finds them.

Chet’s observations about relationships, food, and smells are the background for their very unusual investigations. Bernie’s former high school baseball teammate, Rocket Saluka, approaches the duo for a handout while they are out riding in their most recent Porsche, the prior ones having become wrecks. Rocket is way down on his luck and feisty. His prize possession is an elaborately decorated switchblade that is the key element of this tale.

There are running gags and references to past investigations and Bernie’s love life that Chet mentions with unintentional declarations about his observations. He is truly a furry philosopher. Chet’s musings manage to offset the often-scary predicaments he and Bernie fall into while searching through Rocket’s troubled past. Spencer Quinn scores another win for Chet and Bernie.