Short Tails
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15
Ratings1
Average rating3
Short stories in the New York Times and USA Today bestselling series that Stephen King calls “without a doubt the most original mystery series currently available.” This collection of short stories of Chet the dog, “the most lovable narrator in all of crime fiction” (Boston Globe), and his human partner, PI Bernie Little includes: Upper Story, The Iggy Papers, and The Numbers After Two, plus a sneak peek at the newest installment of the series, Bark to the Future. “I have been a Chet and Bernie fan from the start. Chet is a wonderful narrator—top dog, you could say—but he never descends to cuteness, and Bernie is as tough a PI as Spade or Marlowe, a man as quick with his .38 as he is with a Slim Jim for his sidekick. I’m already jonesing for the next one.” —Stephen King “Delightful...dog lovers won’t want to miss this one.” —Publishers Weekly on Heart of Barkness “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 The Dog I Loved At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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I grabbed him by the pant leg, which was how we closed our cases, me and Bernie.
“Aieee! Aieee!”
Oh, come on, Chuckie! Suck it up. My teeth were barely engaged at all. But the funny thing is that when that Aieee sound is in the air, they—meaning my teeth—get this sort of…urge.
“AIEEE! AIEEE!”
WHAT'S SHORT TAILS ABOUT?
This is a collection of short stories from the Chet & Bernie series. I don't normally do this for short story collections, but the collection is brief enough that I can get away with it, let's take a quick look at each.
UPPER STORY
I want to say that this takes place during Scents and Sensibility, but I can't swear to it (if it didn't, I might as well have). Bernie's in the hospital, so Chet's staying--and working with--their friend, Rick Torres. This story is heavy on Chet's actions and his contrasting appraisal of working with Bernie vs. Rick. As you'd expect, the comparison does not go in Rick's favor (no matter that he's freer with the Slim Jims).
It's a very short story with a great emotional punch and some good chuckle-inducing lines. I'd have honestly expected this to be last in the collection because of that--but what do I know?
THE IGGY PAPERS
This is probably the most satisfying story in the bunch. Like with The Iggy Chronicles, this focuses on something to do with Mrs. Parson's medical care. Bernie gets to flex his investigative muscles here a bit more than in the other stories from the book, and Chet's major contributions come from his commentary and interaction with Iggy.
This is everything that a Chet and Bernie short story should be.
THE NUMBERS AFTER TWO
It's been a bit since we got to see Bernie's head for finances on display (more accurately, total lack of one), this story gives us a tale about an interrupted vacation for the detectives and a chance to see Bernie's gullibility on display.
I know that it's good to see Bernie's fallibility--Chet tends toward hagiography when he describes Bernie. We need to see him stumble outside of his romantic relationships--but I have such trouble buying that he can be as gullible as he so often is when it comes to financial schemes and yet be such a good detective. Still, this is who he's been since Day 1 of the series, so we need to see it every now and then.
The story isn't all about watching the train wreck of Bernie making a bad investment*, but it's the heart of it--the rest of the story makes up for that part of it, and it ends on a good note (as it started).
* That feels like a spoiler, but if you don't know what's going to happen the instant that Bernie gets a wad of cash, you haven't been paying attention.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT SHORT TAILS?
These were cute stories, but there were too few of them. If this collection was 2 or 3-times as long? I'd have been as happy as a dog with a new Kong. I had fun with this, but it was just enough to satisfy me. But not much more than that.
Still, I'll take any excuse to read a Chet & Bernie story, and I figure most of Quinn's readers will, too. So yeah, I recommend it.
Originally posted at irresponsiblereader.com.
