Bernie Little takes a break from his work as a PI to visit a traveling circus with his son, Charlie, and his faithful dog, Chet. To Bernie's surprise and Charlie's disappointment, the elephant in the show, Peanut, has disappeared, along with her trainer, Uri DeLeath. Chet quickly picks up the elephant's unique scent, but the trail ends abruptly.
The police are called, but Popo the clown, who was in a relationship with DeLeath, doesn't think they are giving the case their full attention. So he hires Bernie and his "partner" Chet to do some looking around. The two soon discover that this particular circus is certainly not all fun and games; something more sinister is going on in the shadows away from the big top. Their investigation will lead them across the border into Mexico, and when they are separated, it's up to Chet to save Peanut while trying to find Bernie.
This third outing in a charming series is narrated as usual by Chet, who brings a distinctly doggie point of view to the proceedings. His observations of human behavior and his relationship with other animals are funny and often insightful, whether he realizes it or not; through him we also get a detailed portrait of his beloved Bernie, who is an interesting character in his own right. The narrative is amusing without becoming precious or cloying, and, in fact, the two detectives end up confronting some serious danger. I recommend this series to any mystery lover, no matter what your favorite animal is. I'm a devoted cat person, by the way, but I love spending time with Chet and Bernie.
In the third book in the brilliant New York Times
bestselling series featuring a lovable and wise dog
narrator, Chet and Bernie go under the big top to solve the
most unlikely missing persons (and animals!) case
ever.
βWe were outnumbered, some big number against two. When it
comes to
numbers, two is as far as I go, but itβs enough, in my
opinion....
βSit,β Bernie said.
I sat. Bernie would think of somethingβhe always did.
That was one
of the things that made the Little Detective Agency such a
success,
except for the finances partβ¦β
Chet has smelled a lot of unusual things in his years as
trusted companion
and partner to P.I. Bernie Little, but nothing has prepared
him for the
exotic scents he encounters when an old fashioned traveling
circus comes
to town. Bernie scores tickets to this less-than-greatest-
show-on-earth
because his son Charlie is crazy about elephants. The only
problem is
that Peanut, the headlining pachyderm of this particular
one-ring circus,
has gone missingβalong with her trainer, Uri DeLeath.
Stranger still, no
one saw them leave. How does an elephant vanish without a
trace?
At first thereβs nothing Bernie and Chet can doβitβs a
police matter
and they have no standing in the case. But then theyβre
hired by
Popo the Clown, who has his own reasons for wanting to find
out what
has become of the mysteriously missing duo. After Chet
takes a few
sniffs in Peanutβs trailer and picks up her one of a kind
scent, he
and Bernie are in hot pursuit, heading far away from the
bright
lights of the traveling show and into the dark desert night.
Some very dangerous people would prefer that Chet and
Bernie
disappear for good and will go to any lengths to make that
happen.
Across the border in Mexico and separated from Bernie, Chet
must use
all his natural strength and doggy smarts to try and save
himselfβnot to mention Bernie and a decidedly uncooperative
Peanut,
too.
To Fetch a Thief shows why readers everywhere
have
fallen
head-over-paws in love with the Chet and Bernie mystery
series. Top
notch suspense, humor, and insight into the ways our canine
companions think and behave combine to make this the most
entertaining and irresistible book in the series yet.
No excerpt available.
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