by Sandra Murphy

Details at the end of this review on how to enter to win a copy of Paw and Order.

When we last saw Chet (the dog) and Bernie (the human), the forces to be reckoned with and the entire staff of the Little Detective Agency (Little is Bernie’s last name), they were in Bayou Country and anxious to head home. On the other hand, Susie is in Washington, D. C. so it’s practically on the way, right? A drop in visit sounds like just the kind of surprise she’d like.

On the way to Washington, Chet and Bernie stop for lunch and have a little misunderstanding with a group of bikers and their ladies. Bernie has to relieve one of the ladies of a small pink revolver. He stashes it in the glove box on the Porsche, hard to remember what number Porsche this one is as Chet would say, and thinks no more about it.
Except. Just as Bernie knocks on the door, it opens and a man comes out, calling “Bye, love” over his shoulder. One can safely say Susie was surprised by the drop in visit.

It’s not what it looks like. The man, Evan, is a source for a big story Susie wants to write for her paper. He’s being pretty coy about the details and isn’t quite ready to spill the beans just yet. Sadly, before that can happen, Evan is shot and killed.

By a little pink gun. That is no longer in Bernie’s glove box.

Bernie is arrested and has to spend the night in jail. Chet, suffering from some severe separation anxiety about this, escapes Susie’s house and makes a friend of his own. Well, anybody who would share a steak sandwich with a dog they just met is a friend of Chet’s.

Chet is being stalked by a bird that just hovers and seems to have no eyes, feet or feathers! What’s up with that? Every time he tries to show Bernie, the darn thing flies away before Bernie catches on even though Bernie’s always the smartest guy in the room–even outside.

As fast as Bernie’s arrested, he’s released. Now for a client. Evan’s father is in town and hires the Little Detective Agency to find out who killed his son and why. He pays in British pounds which looks funny to Chet since it’s not the green he’s used to but Chet’s glad to see it goes into Bernie’s wallet, not into his Hawaiian shirt’s pocket where sometimes checks get lost.

This being Washington, D. C., there’s a lot of politics going on and a lot of suspects for reasons no one may ever understand. A General who has heard of Bernie’s football exploits as well as his war record, wants to offer him a job in case the General decides to run for President. Police Lt. Soares, in a surprise move, gives Bernie the paperwork that will allow him to work as a PI in Washington. Susie and Bernie, after some initial disagreement and working at odds, team up to find the killer.

As usual, Chet’s thought process drives the book. His commentary on what’s happening or at least what he thinks is happening, move the story at a rapid fire pace. The plot thickens and the reader is carried along for the ride. It’s great to see Susie back and I suspect some of the new people met in this book might surface again in the future.

I must give the usual warning though, and if you’ve read Chet and Bernie’s past adventures, you’ll know–don’t start the book unless you have time to read it straight through. You’ll never be able to put it down–and that’s about the highest compliment you can give a writer.

To enter to win a copy of Paw and Order, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “Paw,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen August 9, 2014. U.S. residents only.

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Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the arch, in the land of blues, booze and shoes—St Louis, Missouri. While writing magazine articles to support her mystery book habit, she secretly polishes two mystery books of her own, hoping, someday, they will see the light of Barnes and Noble. You can also find several of Sandra’s short stories on UnTreed Reads including her new one Bananas Foster.