Spencer Quinn. Bark to the Future. Forge, 2022.

We have previously noted that since we have been reviewing books here (we started around 2010). we have read more Spencer Quinn books than books by any other author. There is a reason. We really like Chet and Bernie.

As usual, the title does not have a whole lot to do with the story, but in this case there is a hint. The film Back to the Future involves a high school student who time travels to the future. In Bark to the Future Bernie sort of goes back in time. He ends up connecting or meeting a bunch of people he went to high school with.

It more or less starts with Bernie stopping by the side of the road to help a homeless beggar that we sometimes see in such situation. I suspect it is probably more common in warmer areas like Arizona than where we live. It turns out that the scruffy beggar recognizes Bernie. Bernie does not recognize the beggar, now skinny with a beard and long straggly hair. It turns out that the man played baseball with Bernie on their high school team. He was two grades ahead of Bernie. Martin “Rocket” Saluka got his nickname because he was such a fast runner.

Clearly, Bernie is surprised at Rocket’s current condition. Slowly, he discovers that Rocket has made a mess of his life. Part of his problem is understandable. His father was connected with organized crime and was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering his mother. Rocket now lives at a tent city behind a Catholic Church in a rundown part of town on the edge of the desert. The priest, Father Doug Plumtree, oversees the needs of the folks in the tent city and has been helping Rocket get his life back together.

Rocket has suggested to Bernie that something happened at a narrow canyon in the desert (they call them slit canyons) that is popular with hikers looking for a challenge. Bernie and Chet hike there only to discover the body of Father Plumtree. Bernie suspects foul play but the medical examiner rules it an accident. On the other hand, the sheriff there is an old acquaintance of Bernie’s who sides with Bernie’s understanding of the situation.

Bernie returns to the tent city to see how Rocket is doing, but Rocket has gone. A woman who was friendly with Father Doug and who helped at the tent city understands Bernie’s concern about Rocket. When they go to Rocket’s tent, Chet the dog digs up a distinctive switchblade knife, one that Rocket had shown to Bernie. Its handle has the image of a skull with jade green eyes. Much of the story from that point on involves the history of the knife. The woman hires Bernie to find Rocket and figure out what truly happened to Father Doug.

Bernie takes the knife to a friend who runs a pawnshop and who knows a lot about weapons. It turns out that the knife was made by the friend himself when he was fourteen years old. The last he knew, it had been owned by a chemistry teacher at Chisholm High, Bernie and Rocket’s alma mater. Everyone connected with the high school back when they were there remember them. Bernie pitched and Rocket played outfield for the baseball team when they won a championship.

Shortly after the only time that the chemistry teacher Mr. Kepler showed the knife to his AP chemistry class, the knife disappeared. Kepler is retired now, but tells Bernie some of the story of the knife. There were only six students in the class, and he only showed the knife to that one class, so he suspects one of the six must have had it. Rocket was not in that AP class; in fact, he dropped out before graduating. Kepler kept the knife locked in a cabinet in his classroom, and as far as he knew, he had the only key. There was no sign of the lock being damaged, so someone must have figured out how to unlock the cabinet.

That is the basic mystery.

Bernie then questions various people from his high school to find out more about Rocket and the AP class. He is able to question nearly everyone still living from the AP class. It turns out that one member of the class who has died was the sister of a girl who Bernie took his junior prom. Well, she has been declared dead since there was a witness who said that she fell or jumped from a cliff in the slit canyon though her body has never been found.

His former prom date is recently divorced and tries to flirt with Bernie, but Bernie needs information. Other members of the AP class include a woman who knew Rocket but, unlike him, cleaned up her drug habit and is now trying to operate a restaurant. There is also the former football player who now is a big real estate developer—not as big as Trump, but big in the region.

And then there is a guy that only Chet seems to notice because of the same scent appearing in several different places. Too bad Chet cannot talk to Bernie the way he talks to us.

That is, of course, the continued attraction of reading the Chet and Bernie mysteries. We see things from the dog’s perspective—scents, food, loyalty, suspicion of other dogs. One little gem:

Sometimes you’ll see humans sniff under their arms and make a face or say, yikes. Imagine not liking your own scent! Where would you go from there? (281)

It takes some sleuthing, some diving, some old photos to solve the mystery. Also contributing are regulars in many of the stories like Weatherly the police officer, Suzie the reporter, and Bernie’s son Charlie. We also meet the current principal of Chisholm High, the baseball coach (the same coach who coached Bernie and Rocket), and a few other residents of the tent city. There are organized criminals and a drug dealer, too. It makes for a varied and interesting search.

If there is a flaw, it is simply that one of the criminal actors was predictable early in the story, not because of any evidence, but because of who he was. Hollywood often types people with certain financial positions as criminals. It is a cliché. Nevertheless, Bernie and Chet do solve the crime. Indirectly, Chet also helps young Charlie overcome a social difficulty. The stories are still pretty rich.