Knowing  “Dog On It” is the first in the Chet and Bernie Series, we can rest assured the dog does not die. No tissues or composure breaks needed here. This is a good snuggledown-with-your-dog-and-a-cup-of-hot-tea-on-a-winter-day kind of cozy mystery.

Chet the dog and Bernie Little comprise the “Little Detective Agency.” Chet is a trained police dog. Well, almost. Chet never got his full certification, having failed his final test. Of course, somehow a cat was involved in causing this failure. He was, however, the best “leaper” in the entire K-9 class — a quality that comes in handy when you are a detective — and you can be sure, in this story, it serves him well.

Bernie, a divorced dad, is a little down on his luck, but he has his partner, Chet, that goes with him everywhere. When anyone questions his bringing the dog inside with him wherever he goes, he just says, “He’s a trained police dog!” Charlie, his son, makes a few appearances in the book. Maybe we’ll get to know him better later in the series.

Chet, the dog, narrates the story. He sometimes misses a little dialogue between the humans due to being distracted by say, a Cheeto, potato chip or some other food item he finds on the floor, or the bark of a female in the distance, but it’s always fun hearing his thoughts.

A possible love interest for Bernie is introduced in the story as a reporter, Suzie Sanchez, wants to do an article on a day in the life of a private investigator. Chet likes Suzie right away, as she always carries dog treats with her.

In this story, Chet and Bernie are hired by a divorced mother to find her missing 15-year-old daughter, Madison Chambliss. A few hours later, the daughter comes home late with a concocted story. Bernie asks the daughter some questions and determines she is lying about where she has been and what she’s been doing but chooses not to tell the mother.

The adventure starts right away when Madison goes missing again. This time, Bernie feels almost certain that Madison has fallen victim to foul play, due to the concocted story the two checked out earlier, so Bernie and Chet take the case.

The one time that Chet is left alone in the car, while Bernie goes into a shopping mall to question a witness, someone slashes Bernie’s tires. He takes a slash or two at Chet who chases him away. At this point in the book, we have to leave most of our realities behind — a willing suspension of disbelief if you will.

Chet has his own adventure and is kidnapped by the same bad guys who have the girl. In the course of his adventure, there’s a chase scene, a party around the campfire with bikers and a short stint in a kill shelter. Now, he has to let Bernie know all that he knows.

Remember Lassie and Timmy? Bark, bark, run around in circles until we get Timmy or his parents to follow? It’s not quite like Lassie and Timmy, but it’s now time to just let go of reality and enjoy the story. Most archaeology professors can’t do what Indiana Jones can do either, right?

It felt like I was reading a family friendly, PG-13 dog action movie. Leave out a little rough language used a couple of times by the motorcycle gang, and it is good, clean fun. Made into a movie, it could be right up there with “Beverly Hills Chihuahua.”

I liked it enough that I will continue on in the series. Next in the series is, “Thereby Hangs a Tail,” “To Fetch a Thief,” and “The Dog Who Knew Too Much.”

By the way, Spencer Quinn is also known as Peter Abrahams. Happy reading!

Reviewed by Suzanne Gunn