CAT ON A HOT TIN WOOF by Spencer Quinn

A long-running series with puns in the titles isn’t unusual in terms of crime novels. But the protagonist being a large dog, that’s probably unique. CAT ON A HOT TIN WOOF features Chet the German Shepherd Dog and his keeper, PI Bernie Little, as together they form the Little Detective Agency in California.

New readers, like me, can jump right in, as Chet’s memory means he starts fresh most days. He does have some hairy moments stored in his brain as warnings, and he never forgets a friend. He’s always keen to protect Chet and to eat anything in sight. (Not recommended, there might be something harmful in the sausage.) On this occasion, the investigator is chatting in a car showroom when he is approached to take a new case. They have to track down a missing cat. Miss Kitty is the pet of Bitty Pond, a teen girl influencer, and her mom. Bitty and Miss Kitty market goods online, the little cat seeming to approve of each item of cosmetics. This is worth good money and free samples. Whether a misguided fan or a rival or a disgruntled ex- family member has taken the cat, or she escaped in a land filled with coyotes and cars, poor Bitty just wants her pet back.

I don’t know how many cases of missing pets the agency has resolved, though Chet does recall a missing elephant he found and guarded. I presume a circus was involved. The social media app scene is new to Bernie, but he tries to keep up, knowing that the abductor has to be someone close and they may have had a personal reason. He talks some things through with his buddy. Chet, well, he tracks cat scent, human scent, wet blood, weapons, anything else a trained police dog (almost) can find. He also jumps on request, or guards, alerts to danger, and a lot of the time he sits and looks alert even when he isn’t. There’s a large pig in this tale. Chet doesn’t trust pigs. (Horses don’t trust pig scent, by the way, even if they can’t see a pig. I think it goes back to wild boars, which are dangerous.)

You’ll laugh, you’ll at times want Chet to stop whining on about kibble or neck scratches so you can hear the conversation, and you will almost certainly want a Chet for your home. Or your PI agency. With great past titles like A Fistful Of Collars and Bark To The Future, I don’t know how I haven’t found this series previously. CAT ON A HOT TIN WOOF provides exhausting summer heat and plenty of clues to fill this sixteenth Chet and Bernie Mystery by Spencer Quinn. I’ll be bark – er, back - for more.

Join Chet the dog, "the most lovable narrator in all of fiction" (Boston Globe), and his human partner Bernie as they scramble to solve a case exposing the dark side of internet fame.

Chet the dog is less than enthusiastic about the Little Detective Agency’s next case. Chet and his human partner, PI Bernie Little, have been hired to find a missing person—only the missing person is a cat. Miss Kitty, an internet sensation, has disappeared, and Chet and Bernie have been hired to find her before her many followers realize something is wrong.

Miss Kitty belongs to Bitty, a sweet teenage girl who lives with her mom. Bitty and her mother are struggling financially, but the arrival of Miss Kitty and the chance discovery of her social media appeal has changed everything. Bitty now has sponsors, a high-powered agent, and all the tools needed to thrive online, and real money is flowing in. At least, it was. With Miss Kitty gone, the family's income is on the line.

The case presents a slew of challenges for Chet and Bernie. For one thing, a potential witness is a pig named Senor Piggy who may be in possession of an important piece of evidence. For another, it seems like a possible perp has been killed twice—and there's evidence implicating Bernie in the crime.