Reviews

It's a Wonderful Woof by Spencer Quinn

liberrydude's review

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3.0

Another weird case. Bernie declines a case but recommends another young PI who needs the work to the client. A day or two later the young PI’s mom wants to hire Bernie to find her son. It turns out the client was a PI from Madrid, Spain seeking a rare painting by Caravaggio. The painting is tied to a deconsecrated Spanish church from the 17th century. The Spaniard ends up dead, there’s a curse, and lots of digging for buried treasure by pseudo-archaeologists. Hypothermia, a sniper, and an avalanche pose further dangers. Chet, the canine narrator, as always, continues his rambling observations and funny digressions on human behavior.

whatshereads727's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I love every story. Read them all. 
Merry Christmas Bernie and Chet! 

annieb123's review

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4.0

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

It's a Wonderful Woof is the 12th outing for Chet and Bernie by Spencer Quinn. Released 19th Oct 2021 by Macmillan on their Tor Forge imprint, it's 272 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is another fun and engaging read starring Chet (the dog) and Bernie (the human) doing what they do best, solving crimes, righting wrongs, and keeping each other (relatively) safe and functional. Although it's the 12th book in the series, all the books work very well as standalone novels. There are a few minor spoilers in the background story if read out of order, but nothing major.

Probably the most unusual aspect of the story is that it's told in the first person point of view of Chet, Bernie's Dr. Watson. Chet's a Very Smart Dog (and a Very Good Boy), but he is a dog and so there are many asides about smelling things and sort of a stream-of-consciousness commentary running throughout. I found it very distracting at first, but after a few chapters it wasn't as noticeable.

For current fans of the series, this is another solid mystery with a cleverly constructed plot complete with a satisfying denouement and conclusion. The language is fairly clean throughout and on the same average as the other books with regards to violence.

Recommended for fans of mysteries with strong animal protagonists, and American PI mysteries. I'm impressed how this series continues to be solidly entertaining without being overly formulaic. Chet and Bernie are the good guys.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

cmccormack17's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

sten1238's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

rdpulfer's review

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4.0

I can see why Stephen King loves this series. As someone who manages the mystery section at a local library, I see plenty of mysteries series - and some of them start to blur together after a while. And while there are plenty of pet-themed mysteries, ones from the explicit point of view of the dog are few and far between - especially when they are this well-written. I love Chet and Bernie, with some Chet's observations pretty hilarious. For the most part, Chet seems to know the in's and out's of being a private investigator's "partner" . . . though he's frequently confused by concepts such as "game" and "walk". Overall, it's a fun series - and one I hope to pick up more in the future!

concertjunkie's review

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funny mysterious

3.0

debmed's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

laurla's review

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4.0

 i enjoy these silly books told from Chets point of view. he reminds me of my previous dog with his endless enthusiasm.

"are you suggesting i'm putting on weight?" // "i didn't say a word." // "its how you didn't say it." 

socialpsysteph's review

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This looked so cute and I was hopeful it would just be a nice cozy read to get me out of my slump and into some holiday spirit. Unfortunately, this one is not for me. The writing style was jumpy and chaotic so I couldn't just settle down into the story like I wanted to. I DNFed it after 2 chapters. Oh well!