Spencer Quinn is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the ongoing Chet and Bernie mystery series, as well as the bestselling Bowser and Birdie series for middle grade readers. He lives on Cape Cod with his wife Diana --- and dogs Audrey and Pearl.
LeAnne Hogan went to Afghanistan as a rising star in the military and came back a much lesser person, with a missing eye and half her face badly scarred. Shattered by one last blow --- the sudden death of her hospital roommate, Marci --- LeAnne finds herself on a fateful drive across the country, reflecting on her past and seeing no future. Arriving in the rain-soaked small town in Washington state that Marci had called home, she makes a troubling discovery: Marci’s eight-year-old daughter has vanished. As she becomes obsessed with finding the little girl, LeAnne and a new canine companion of hers are drawn into danger as dark and menacing as her last Afghan mission.
Private investigator Bernie Little and his canine companion, Chet, return home to encounter some alarming developments. First off, Bernie’s wall is gone, and with it Bernie’s grandfather’s watch, their most valuable possession. And next door, old Mr. Parsons is under investigation for being in possession of a saguaro cactus illegally transplanted from the desert. Bernie and Chet go deep into the desert to investigate. Is it possible that such a lovely old couple have a terrible secret in their past?
In the seventh book of Spencer Quinn’s mystery series, canine narrator Chet and P.I. Bernie journey to Washington, DC, and the dog-eat-dog world of our nation’s capital. Soon Chet and Bernie are sucked into an international conspiracy, battling unfamiliar forces under the blinking red eyes of a strange bird and the menacing Barnum, a guinea pig with the fate of the nation in his tiny paws.
When Chet and Bernie happen upon a prison work crew that includes Frenchie Boutette, an old criminal pal they sent up the river, getting a new case is the last thing they expect. But Frenchie, who comes from an old Louisiana family full of black sheep, needs help finding his one law-abiding relative: his brother Ralph, a reclusive inventor who has gone missing with his houseboat.
Hoping to bring some Hollywood money to the Valley, the mayor lures a movie studio to town to shoot their next major production starring Thad Perry. Known for his bad behavior, Thad needs a babysitter, and the mayor hires Chet and Bernie for the job. When they dig into the details of an old crime, they discover that Thad has links to the Valley that go way back. To complicate matters, Thad’s cat seems hellbent on making trouble for Chet.
Bernie is invited to give the keynote speech at the Great Western Private Eye Convention, but it’s Chet that the bigshot P.I. in charge has secret plans for. Meanwhile, Chet and Bernie are hired to find a kid who has gone missing from a wilderness camp in the high country. As if that weren’t enough, matters get complicated at home when a stray puppy that looks suspiciously like Chet shows up.
In this, their first adventure, Chet and Bernie investigate the disappearance of Madison, a teenage girl who may or may not have been kidnapped, but who has definitely gotten mixed up with some very unsavoury characters. A well-behaved, gifted student, she didn't arrive home after school and her divorced mother is frantic.