Spencer Quinn. Of Mutts and Men. Forge, 2020.

Of Mutts and Men is the latest in the Chet and Bernie stories. As always, these mysteries are told from the point of view of Chet the dog. So yes, Chet is impulsive, easily distracted, and very loyal. His senses of hearing and smell are far beyond those of humans. Indeed, a careful reader may note some things Chet sniffs that will ultimately point to the identities of the criminals.

Bernie Little, a private detective in western Arizona, not too far from California or Mexico, has been contacted by famous hydrologist Wendell Nero. Readers know that Chet worries because Bernie worries so much about the aquifer where they live. Nero wants to meet with Bernie to discuss a situation and likely hire him.

Bernie goes to meet Nero at his construction trailer at the desert’s edge, but he discovers his dead body, with his throat slit ear to ear. He calls the local sheriff, a very competent one he has worked with before. Instead a rather lazy and inept deputy shows up because the sheriff is in the hospital probably dying of cancer.

Chet and Bernie find enough clues to take them to Florian Machado, who confesses to having stolen a phone and laptop from Nero, which he fenced, but insists he did not kill him. However, his public defender lawyer—surprisingly from a big-name white shoe law firm—persuades him to cop a plea to avoid first degree murder with the possibility of execution. Deputy Beasley considers the case closed, but things do not add up for Bernie.

Bernie ends up getting hired by Nero’s three ex-wives to find out more, especially why anyone would want him dead. Bernie and Chet investigate both the underworld and the upper classes to solve this mystery.

Machado tells Bernie that he stole Nero’s laptop and cell phone and fenced them to an individual Bernie knows well. Butchie Dykstra’s mother tells Bernie that Butchie is fishing at a lake in the mountains. Chet actually tracks Butchie down, but he has been murdered, too, and in the same manner—by someone slitting his throat. Since Machado is in jail, this also suggests there is more going on. Clearly, Machado did not kill Butchie.

Bernie and Chet also get into the land of the elite. Not only do they visit that white shoe law firm, but they come in contact with investors from the Veritan endowment. Veritan is apparently a stand-in for Harvard, whose motto is Veritas, and it is described as a rival to Yale. Besides, Bernie once played them in baseball when he was at West Point.

Bernie and Chet even make a trip over the border into Mexico. And why do the grapes at a vineyard in the desert near where Nero was working taste so juicy?

And there are always the ups and downs of Bernie’s relationships with women. But even sometimes when they are down, they are up. Read it to see what we mean.

A lot of characters, many venues, and, as always, Chet’s inimitable narrative style come together. We were concerned because the last Chet and Bernie story seemed out of character, we wondered if Spencer Quinn had jumped the shark. He has not, we are happy to say.

We also learn in this volume that Spencer Quinn is not the author’s real name. There is always more to learn.