The Chet and Bernie Mystery Series starts with Dog On It. Chet is an almost-former police dog who is now owned by private investigator, Bernie Little. I wouldn’t call Chet this book’s “sleuth” – despite being the narrator, Chet is limited far more than most animals you will see portrayed in Cozy fiction, which can be surprisingly refreshing. Many books featuring an animal as a main character tend to make them more “human” than in this book – instead, Chet is periodically distracted by things like cats, noises, and his own tail, and even has trouble telling people apart if he can’t smell them clearly. It is because of these limitations and shortcomings that I came to love Chet – he’s a dog, not a person that happens to look like an animal.
In a lot of ways, Dog On It feels more like a pulp detective novel than a Cozy Mystery. The detective Bernie is a rather hard-bitten, hard-drinking private investigator with military experience. He investigates things like drugs and disappearances, not the politely bloodless murders often featured in Cozies. Another character even compares Bernie to a Raymond Chandler character at one point, so Bernie is obviously intended to fit the “private investigator” more popular in pulp fiction. All that said, I still consider the Chet and Bernie series somewhat Cozy because of the narration provided by lively Chet. Because so much of the story is told through his clever (but limited) point of view, Quinn’s stories always feel light, even if the subject material sometimes isn’t.
By the way, Spencer Quinn is also known as Peter Abrahams, a mystery author for both adults and children. He writes both the Echo Falls Mystery Series and The Outlaws of Sherwood Street mysteries for grades 5-8. Abrahams (Quinn) has been nominated and won the Agatha Award for Best Children/Young Adult mysteries as well as the been nominated and won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Young Adult mysteries.
For those of you who haven’t already found how wonderful the Chet and Bernie Mystery Series is, Quinn has written three stories that can give you a feel for the series:
A Cat Was Involved (prequel story)
P.S. If you’re interested in other entries about some highly recommended Cozy Mystery series, you can see them on the Most Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my site.
dana says
Love the Nation within the Nation!!!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Dana, I see you share my enthusiasm for Chet!
Waverly says
I’m a big Spencer Quinn fan, which might seem obvious because I also write mysteries with a personified pet theme. Lately I’ve been enjoying Susan Kroupa’s books on a bed-bug sniffing dog, Doodle. What I like about these books is that the personality of the breed really comes through. Chet is a somewhat slow, always loyal hound and Doodle is an over-eager, hard-working lab-poodle mix. People who know Chihuahuas say what they like best about our Barking Detective series is that Pepe really seems like a Chihuahua: he relies on cuteness to achieve his goal of world domination.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Waverly, thanks for telling us about Susan J. Kroupa’s Doodlebugged Mystery Series. I just added it to the entry I have going about Free and Cheap Kindle mysteries.
And, Pepe is correct in knowing he’s a cutie!
Greenway says
Waverly=Waverly Fitzgerald, a.k.a. Nancy Fitzgerald (O.T. : classic classy super actress Maureen O’Hara was actually a Fitzgerald). Waverly + Curtis Colbert = Waverly Curtis, under which name you’ll find the Barking Detective novels. More of a fan of terriers and DAWG dogs, I didn’t realize I couldn’t get enough Chihuahuas till Waverly’s Pepe, and Esri Albritten’s Chihuahua mysteries. Cute, quirky dogs for cute, quirky series. Imagine a Pepe-Midnight Louie mashup! Mrs Murphy, Tucker, Pewter, Chet, and Koko & Yum Yum would put paws over eyes! Gather them for world domination, with Miranda James’s and Rosemary Rousseau Murphy’s bunch: We need them now, more than ever!
PamB says
I, too, enjoy ‘Chet-the-Jet’ books. The Sound and The Furry is in my TBR pile. I catch myself smiling/laughing through out the books. They are witty and so cleverly written including the titles.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
PamB, if you ever get a chance to hear the audio books, the narrator (Jim Frangione) is absolutely superb! I invariably find myself smiling and chuckling while driving and listening to Chet, the Jet give us his point of view on Bernie’s cases, while sniffing out any (and all!) food.
PamB says
Danna, thank you for the suggestion. My library does have a couple of the Chet books on audio so am going to check them out this week….have read them both but I know I will enjoy hearing the stories. I will probably think of many errands I need to do.
Linda MH says
Hi Danna,
I agree. This is a very enjoyable series. I’ve read the first 3 and the 4th and 5th books are somewhere in my TBR pile. I’ve got to make time for them–hopefully soon. I’d love a dog like Chet–he’s such a cutie!! LOL
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Linda MH, wouldn’t all of us enjoy taking Chet home! (I look at these mysteries by Spencer Quinn as a sort of gift.)
Mary B says
I love these books too. I love reading the dog’s point of view.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Mary B, when we had our dog (Sprite – who incidentally looked just like Iggy on the cover of The Iggy Chronicles) we used to personify her all of the time. If I didn’t know better, I would think Chet actually did narrate these mysteries. That’s how “real” Chet’s voice seems to be!
Fran McP says
I too am a fan of “The National Within”. Love Chet!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Fran McP, I hope Spencer Quinn keeps Chet (and Bernie!) solving cases for many years to come.
Marianne says
About a year ago, we lost our dog and also our best human friend, Chet. So it was great to stumble on these. Just finished the latest, Paw and Order. I love the way “Quinn” knows dogs from inside out.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marianne, you’re right about Spencer Quinn knowing dogs. He’s got to be a dog lover from the word “go”!
Cyn says
Great series! I also like ( though not a cozy) J. Michael Orenduff’s “The Pot Thief” series. A bloodless series in New Mexico about a dealer of Native American pottery this is a relaxing read. The local, food and margaritas are wonderful!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Cyn, thanks for telling us about J. Michael Orenduff. He was recommended to me as belonging on the Cozy Mystery site. I haven’t read any of his mysteries yet, but they do look intriguing.
Pat says
I don’t know if you are aware, but the Inspector Frost series is being continued by an author named James Henry. He’s already written 3 new books.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Pat, thank you for the information. No, I wasn’t aware of James Henry taking over R.D. Wingfield‘s Inspector Frost series.
Andy says
I enjoy this series very much. Only problem with narration is some of the pronunciation of words known here in Arizona. Like saguaro please don’t make a g sound in this word. the ‘g’ is pronounced in the Spanish way more like a lite ‘h’
made my skin crawl every time I heard it and the story was about saguaro smugglers!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Andy, well, it sounds like you enjoyed the books on tape even with a few glitches…
Ruth says
I’ve read through the Chet and Bernie series and absolutely love them. Do you know if Spencer Quinn is planning any more? Can’t see any indication from his or the publisher’s websites and there isn’t a new book to pre-order on Amazon
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Ruth, I’m not sure – I sure hope they continue though, as I certainly do love this series!
Sharon says
Danna, thanks for this blog entry. I wasn’t familiar with Spencer Quinn. I got “Dog On It” from the library, and I am really enjoying it. I would highly recommend this to any dog lover or animal lover. I downloaded “A Cat Was Involved” on my Kindle, but haven’t started that one yet.
On my library’s New Titles list under Mysteries, I see Spencer Quinn has a new novel coming out “The Right Side.” It’s about a female soldier just home from Afghanistan and is obsessed with finding a missing girl. A dog is involved! Just so you know, it does not sound like a cozy to me. But it sounds intriguing. I put it on reserve.
Ruthie says
Are there anymore Chet and Bernie mysteries coming soon? I just finished Scents
and Sensibility.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Ruthie, unfortunately, not that I have heard of.
Donna McKenzie says
I too love the Chet and Bernie series always have. Thanks for including it here.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Donna, you’re welcome!
Rickee D says
I love this series, also, and I’m glad to see so many others who do. I was happy to see there’s one I haven’t read yet !!! I laugh so hard when I read that I’m afraid I”ll wake up my husband who’s asleep. Everything about the writing and plotting is enjoyable. Chet’s insights are so entertaining. I love that he says he can count to two.
Laila says
Hey my daughter is around 14 years old, and she loves mystery novels and dog novels so much! She has read Woof, Arf, and Bow Wow, and she LOVED THEM! Lately she has been interested in reading some other Spencer Quinn material. I just wanted to ask, (for her safety lol) are the Chet and Bernie novels appropriate for her age? I want to keep my books loving baby safe! 💕
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Laila, it has been a while since I have read the early entries (2014, so 8ish years judging by the date line!)… so my memory isn’t perfect for the earliest entries. I do recall that there is a bit of language and the crimes can be a bit harsher than in a lot of Cozies. Personally I would probably have let my 14 year old child read them, but when in doubt, I’d suggest you read the first one yourself if possible.
Laila says
Thanks so much for the feedback! I started reading one last night and I think she will handle it perfectly fine! 😊
Cat says
Started reading Chet and Bernie series years ago with my IPad mini balanced on my vehicles steering wheel on my lunch break and ultimately purchased most of the books for future reading. On to IPad number two mini and listening to most of the series that were available from my local library via audio books. Years later same IPad still switching between reading or audio books on this series but from the comfort of my “retirement” chair. Thank you for the years of enjoyment from these Chet and Bernie novels. I think a new mini is in order and maybe a new Chet the Jet book plain and simple😊