Heart of Barkness (Chet and Bernie Series #9)

by Spencer Quinn

Overview

THE INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER

Spencer Quinn's Heart of Barkness is the latest in the New York Times bestselling series that the Los Angeles Times called “nothing short of masterful"…

Chet the dog, “the most lovable narrator in all of crime fiction” (Boston Globe), and P.I. Bernie encounter heartache and much worse in the world of country music. They’re both music lovers, so when Lotty Pilgrim, a country singer from long ago, turns up at a local bar, they drive out to catch her act. Bernie’s surprised to see someone who was once so big performing in such a dive, and drops a C-note the Little Detective Agency can’t afford to part with into the tip jar. The C-note is stolen right from under their noses – even from under Chet’s, the nose that misses nothing – and before the night is over, it’s stolen again.

Soon they’re working the most puzzling case of their career, a case that takes them back in time in search of old border-town secrets, and into present-day danger because powerful people want those secrets to stay hidden. Chet and Bernie find themselves sucked into a real-life murder ballad where they have no one to trust but each other.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250297730
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/04/2020
Series:	Chet and Bernie Series , #9
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	159,435
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Spencer Quinn is the pen name of Peter Abrahams, the Edgar-award winning author of 47 novels, including the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Chet and Bernie mystery series, Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge, The Right Side, and Oblivion, as well as the New York Times bestselling Bowser and Birdie series for younger readers. He lives on Cape Cod with his wife Diana—and Dottie, a loyal and energetic member of the four-pawed nation within.

Hometown:

Falmouth, Massachusetts

Date of Birth:

June 28, 1947

Place of Birth:

Brooklline, Massachusetts

Education:

BA, Williams College, 1968

Website:

http://www.peterabrahams.com/

Editorial Reviews

Chet, the dog, and Bernie, the PI, are a team made in mystery series heaven. Would that we all were as infallible in our dogs' eyes as Bernie is in Chet's.” —Susan Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Two Good Dogs on Heart of Barkness

“Spencer Quinn speaks two languages—suspense and dog—fluently. Sometimes funny, sometimes touching, and in a few places terrifying … enchanting [and]one-of-a-kind.” —Stephen King on Dog On It

“Nothing short of masterful…. Sequels are a given, and a must.” —Los Angeles Times on Dog On It

“The most winning detective duo since Shaggy met Scooby.” —Christian Science Monitor

From the Publisher

07/01/2019

In bestseller Quinn’s delightful ninth Chet and Bernie mystery (after 2015’s Scents and Sensibility), Chet, the series’ good-natured, loyal, and exuberant canine narrator, and his partner and friend, Bernie Little, the owner and sole employee of the Little Detective Agency (based in an unnamed Western state), receive free passes to a performance at a local dive of country singer Lotty Pilgrim, whose megastar status is a thing of the dim and distant past. Bernie, saddened by the singer’s reduced circumstances, slips a $100 bill into her tip jar, though he can ill afford to do so. He subsequently tackles the thief who tries to steal it, only to have it plucked from his hand by Lotty’s shady manager. When her manager ends up dead and all clues point to Lotty as the murderer, Bernie offers his help, which she hotly refuses. Bernie and Chet, who won’t take no for an answer, stumble on a web of murder, fraud, and blackmail, plus enough sorrow to inspire a ream of country tunes. There’s no real detection, and Chet’s short attention span can irritate, but Quinn eventually steers the meandering plot onto a satisfying course. Dog lovers won’t want to miss this one. Agent: Molly Friedrich, Friedrich Agency. (July)

Publishers Weekly

02/01/2019

When longtime country singer Lotty Pilgrim rather surprisingly shows up at the local bar, PI Bernie Little goes to hear her sing. Of course, he brings along Chet, one of fiction's most persuasive dogs, and soon the two have something a lot bloodier to worry about than the missing $100 bill Bernie dropped in the tip jar.

Library Journal