What We're Reading: Rita

To Fetch a Thief: A Chet and Bernie Mystery

Spencer Quinn

This is the third title in the Chet and Bernie series, all narrated by Chet. Bernie is Bernie Little of the Little Detective Agency, and Chet, his partner, is a dog. Not just any dog, but a highly trained canine professional, even if he didn't make it all the way through K-9 school (something about an incident with a squirrel during the final exam). This time out, when Chet and Bernie take Bernie's son Charlie to the Drummond Family Traveling Circus, they discover that the show has been cancelled because the star of the show, Peanuts the elephant, has disappeared. Police later discover that Peanut's trainer has also gone missing, but are reluctant to pursue the matter. Charlie, who has a thing for elephants, begs Bernie to investigate, and when Popo the clown officially hires the Little Detective Agency, Chet and Bernie are off on another case. The series is well written and the plots have plenty of mystery, with a little emphasis on some serious social issues - in this case, animal rights. Chet is the true star, however, and sees more than his fair share of action. Additionally, his insights on humans and their behavior (perps and good guys alike) are amusing but insightful.