Chet and Bernie Mysteries, Book 14
Book Blurb:
Chet the dog, “the most lovable narrator in all of crime fiction” (Boston Globe) and his human partner Bernie Little find themselves high in the mountains this holiday season to help Dame Ariadne Carlisle, a renowned author of bestselling Christmas mysteries, find Rudy, her lead reindeer and good luck charm, who has gone missing.
At Kringle Ranch, Dame Ariadne’s expansive mountain spread, Chet discovers that he is not fond of reindeer. But the case turns out to be about much more than reindeer after Dame Ariadne’s personal assistant takes a long fall into Devil’s Purse, a deep mountain gorge. When our duo discovers that someone very close to Dame Ariadne was murdered in that same spot decades earlier, they start looking into that long ago unsolved crime.
But as they reach into the past, the past is also reaching out for them. Can they unlock the secrets of Dame Ariadne’s life before they too end up at the bottom of the gorge? Is Rudy somehow the key?
Up on the Woof Top is a brand-new holiday adventure in Spencer Quinn’s delightful New York Times and USA Today bestselling series that the Los Angeles Times called “nothing short of masterful.”
My Review:
I’d forgotten the fun of listening to Chet (the dog) interpret his life with Bernie as they go about business in the Little Detective Agency. Chet is a police test failure. Chet very much, like all good dogs, lives in the present, although he does have a good memory for his history with Bernie and loves him like no other.
It’s the dog’s thoughts and memories from previous jobs that are called to mind, often humorously, as only a dog might view the world. While we humans tend to anthropomorphize our pets, the pets tend to view their human in terms of pack mentality. Hopefully, the human is alpha. In this case, Chet often reminds the reader how smart Bernie is. That’s good, because their new job is to find the missing pet reindeer of an aging author. Bernie’s client, Ariadne Carlisle, is experiencing writer’s block—a no-no for an author and it’s the reindeer who serves as her muse.
It’s Christmas time in the Colorado mountains, the author’s main theme. She owns Kringle Ranch and Rudy is one of nine reindeer. She figures surely Chet with his sensitive nose, will be able to find Rudy—money is no object.
When Chet and Bernie find her personal assistant at the bottom of a gorge, however, the case swings into an unsolved murder case—that of Carlisle’s only real love. The plot line has changed. But that isn’t the only surprise. There are twists and some amazing well-developed characters who provide a fast-paced multi-layered storyline. Things are changing.
There are moments of give and take between man and dog that melt the heart and act like a balm for those (like myself) who have recently lost their own fur baby. The serious is interspersed with Chet’s comic pearls of wit and wisdom as he navigates the mysterious and often confusing world of his human and those with whom they meet on their missions. If you haven’t checked out one of these uniquely narrated mystery installments, this would be a good one to start.
I’ve enjoyed the books I’ve read or listened to (not in any order), the last one The Dog Who Knew Too Much last year. Jim Frangione does a great job of narration. I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.
Rosepoint Publishing: Four point five stars 
Book Details:
Genre: Animal Fiction, Animal Cozy Mysteries, Private Investigator Mysteries
Publisher: Recorded Books
ASIN: B0C5P9QKV2
Listening Length: 8 hrs 13 mins
Narrator: Jim Frangione
Publication Date: October 17, 2023
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Up on the Woof Top [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
The Author: Spencer Quinn lives on Cape Cod with his dog, Audrey. He is currently working on the next Chet and Bernie novel.
(Spencer Quinn is a pseudonym of author Peter Abrahams.)
©2023 V Williams
Rosepoint Publishing 