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Book Summary and Reviews of Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer Quinn

Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer Quinn

Thereby Hangs a Tail

A Chet and Bernie Mystery

by Spencer Quinn

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  • Jan 2010, 309 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

"We run a detective agency, me and Bernie, called the Little Detective Agency on account of Little being Bernie's last name. My name's Chet, pure and simple. Headquarters is our house on Mesquite Road, a nice place with a big tree out front, perfect for napping under, and the whole canyon easily accessible out back, if it just so happens someone left the gate open. And then, up in the canyon -- well, say no more."

Praised by Stephen King as "a canine Sam Spade full of joie de vivre," Chet and his human companion Bernie have both had some setbacks in life - Bernie in combat, Chet in K-9 school, but together they make up a team like no other. In Thereby Hangs a Tail, Bernie and Chet are called on to investigate threats made against an unlikely target - a pretty, pampered show dog named Princess. What seems like a joke turns into a serious case when Princess and her owner are abducted. To make matters worse, Bernie's on-again, off-again girlfriend, reporter Susie Sanchez, disappears too. When Chet is separated from Bernie, he's on his own to put the pieces together, find his way home, and save the day.

With genuine suspense and intrigue, combined with humor and insight into the special bond between man and dog, Thereby Hangs a Tail will have everyone talking.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Quinn manages to keep things both humorous and suspenseful while delivering a proper, satisfying whodunit. " - Publishers Weekly

"This fast-moving and fun series entry will certainly please Chet and Bernie fans as well as gain new readers with its all-ages appeal." - Booklist

This information about Thereby Hangs a Tail was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Sande2000

Life and Crime from a Dog's Point of View - Priceless
The first thing you notice about a Chet and Bernie mystery is that Chet, the storyteller is a dog. A real dog, not a person masquerading as a dog. Chet loves cruellers, fancy dog biscuits, frisbees and a whole lot of things he should not. He makes a few mistakes as do we all, but in the end he loves Bernie, his PI partner and does everything to help him solve crimes and stay alive.

This is the second book in the series and it does not disappoint. Bernie is a divorced private investigator with big money problems, a needy used Porsche, an on-again-off-again girl friend and tenuous relationship with various law enforcement types. Both Chet and Bernie are smart, good-hearted and pretty decent at staying alive, if not avoiding trouble. Chet's patter and Bernie's bad luck make a great read.

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Author Information

Spencer Quinn Author Biography

Photo: Diana Gray

Spencer Quinn is the pen name for Peter Abrahams, the Edgar-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Chet and Bernie mystery series, as well as the #1 New York Times bestselling Bowser and Birdie series for middle-grade readers. He lives on Cape Cod with his wife Diana and dog Pearl.

Author Interview
Link to Spencer Quinn's Website

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More Recommendations

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