Dog on It: A Chet and Bernie Mystery by Spencer Quinn

Chet the "Jet" is a dog with one white ear and one black who failed K-9 school (cats in the open country played a role in his demise), but now he is a dedicated PI and works with Bernie, owner of the Little Detective Agency. The story is told entirely from Chet’s point of view, which gives us an interesting twist on the traditional PI mystery, and it is definitely fun to read.

Wealthy divorcée Cynthia Chambliss hires Bernie, a former cop, to find her missing 15-year-old daughter, Madison, whose father is a real estate developer who smells suspiciously of cat. (Chet's keen sense of smell comes in handy.) When Madison reappears and disappears again, her dad says she's just a runaway, though Bernie thinks otherwise.

Chet may not understand things like maps (he doesn’t need them, as he can sniff his way home), but he is a great sleuth who finds the girl and solves the case. The always upbeat Chet makes us cheer for him and realize that dogs can be detectives too. Bernie is a good detective too but sometimes you need a nose to sniff out the truth.

This was a fun read from start to finish. I now have a new favorite duo to look for next year as I'm sure there are more books to come. The only thing I wish the author would do is actually name where the characters live. It is a generic "Valley" in the desert with former ranches and open land that are now city. I guess since I live in a valley in the desert I'm curious to where this is.