Told entirely from the point of view of Chet (aka Chet the Jet) a dog who almost passed the police K-9 training course, this is one book that will havTold entirely from the point of view of Chet (aka Chet the Jet) a dog who almost passed the police K-9 training course, this is one book that will have you wondering about every single move your dog makes. Chet belongs to Bernie Little of the Little Detective Agency (ahem, an unfortunate name, right?) and his job is to help Bernie crack their cases. This time there is a 15 year old girl who might have run away, might have been kidnapped and it's a super sized problem for our detective team to solve.
Boy, did this book ever hit the spot. I was in the mood for some lighter reading and happened to rediscover this series. I have read some of the books in this series but didn't remember this one as I went along so it was all brand new for me again. I kept coming on circumstances in the story that made me wonder how Spencer Quinn was ever going to get his point across by utilizing the dog character. Every time he managed just fine. This is a good (not great) mystery to solve but there is no doubt that Chet is the star here with Bernie coming in just a whisker behind. It's obvious Quinn is a dog owner and a dog lover because he gets the physical mannerisms of Chet exactly spot on and uses them to his advantage. Lots and lots of fun. (Cat owners, beware. Chet isn't a friend of the feline nation. No harm was done to any fluffy felines, but Chet sure did think about it.)...more
Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for an eGalley of this novel.
What a delightful reading experience this book was. It was as if a nThank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for an eGalley of this novel.
What a delightful reading experience this book was. It was as if a new Jeeves and Wooster by P. G. Wodehouse had been discovered in a trunk in an attic somewhere. I have to say, I'm pretty much a stickler when it comes to my Jeeves and Wooster but Ben Schott has done a great job recreating the whole atmosphere of a J&W novel. The humor is both dry and slapstick at the same time - check. Jeeves is an absolute expert on everything and I still believed it - check. Bertie and other Eggs, Crumpets and Beans are outlandish and loveable - check. Now, add a mission to be a spy for His Majesty's Government and....well I don't know how it could get much better than that.
Once again Bertie has to use all of the tricks and stratagems he can come up with to escape the marriage snares lurking 'round every corner. If you are familiar with the original stories, you will find situations mentioned in those books are continued on in this one to give both a sense of familiarity and a desire to see how Jeeves will save the day this time. It turns out Bertie is quite good at this spy business so I'm thinking (and sincerely hoping) that there will be more adventures along these lines in the future. In fact, I'm ready for that trip to Scotland right now....more
My thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the digital galley of this novel.
Within the past two years I have discovered a number of books reissMy thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the digital galley of this novel.
Within the past two years I have discovered a number of books reissued through the British Library Crime Classics program. These are classic crime fiction novels which have fallen out of print for a variety of reasons but which are being enjoyed again by a new readership. This is the third novel I've read in this group featuring John Bude's work. This one was originally published in 1947 and differs quite a bit from the other Bude works I've read because of the light feel for this one. Bude included a lot of humor, especially in the first half of the book, which was okay for me but I did want the story to move on in a more serious direction. The series detective Bude used often is Inspector Meredith of Scotland Yard and his presence in the last half of the book puts a damper on some of the lightness of tone. I suppose it had to when the body count began to rise.
The plot of this story centers around the believers in the religious teachings of Cooism, the Children of Osiris, founded by Eustace Mildmann in the Garden City of Welworth which didn't even exist 30 years previously. The cult's most wealthy sponsor, The Honorable Mrs. Hagge-Smith, proposes a summer convocation of Cooists on the grounds of her estate. Mildmann seems to be losing control of his own religion with someone else wanting the position of Head Prophet. Could there be trouble among the Children of Osiris? Well, naturally.
I have to admit to thinking about abandoning ship during the first half of the book because it was being much too "punny" and cute. Luckily I stayed with it until the story became more serious, but even then the Scotland Yard detective did lots of smiling, laughing and chuckling. I've found a lot to like along the lines of classic crime fiction by John Bude, but I think I will probably approach any other books by him after doing as much research as I can. One humorous murder story was okay, in fact I eventually became fully involved with this book, but I don't think I want to read one like this again. I tend to take mystery novels rather seriously. ...more
I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley and Inkshares Geek & Sundry. Thank you.
This was a wonderful reading experience and the mix of humoI received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley and Inkshares Geek & Sundry. Thank you.
This was a wonderful reading experience and the mix of humor with science - with an added twist of adventure - made me want to put everything else aside to see what Joel was into now.
This story takes place in 2147. Freight teleportation began first (not slowed down at all by the loss of one of the art world's practically sacred icons), but by 2126 human teleportation had become commercialized by one of the largest corporations in the world, International Transport. (See, we can blame it all on IT!) Joel Byram's wife Sylvia works for IT and has been so consumed by a new project that it has caused some serious stress on their marriage. The plan is for the two of them to teleport to Costa Rica for a second honeymoon. Sylvia leaves first (because only one person can go at a time) and a few seconds later Joel's teleportation process begins. So why does Joel regain consciousness after being given a huge electric shock to find himself not in Costa Rica but in a room with three people he doesn't know and without the ability to use his comms? The story is told by Joel as a way for him to explain to people in the future how he found out there was a dirty little secret about teleportation and a huge global corporation would do whatever it took to keep that secret hidden. This is Big Technology against Religious Fanatics and, yes, the capital letters are necessary.
The book is very much science fiction with the insertion of humor making it a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The author has done this one right because everything from the monetary system to the medical science to global governing has moved far ahead of our present world. Joel is definitely not going to impress as a standard hero of a novel except that you understand that he is basically a very good guy, he just lets his attitude and sarcasm get him into all kinds of trouble. Tal M. Klein did such a good job with the science of explaining what the Punch Escrow is that even I understand where he was going with it. There is good hard science involved in telling the story and making it plausible but it is also filled with lighter moments of humor and plot twists that keep readers wondering what - or where - in the world the book will go next.
Grab this one if you like something really different to read. Grab this one if you like science fiction. Grab this one if you want to feel like you've been on a big, impossible adventure. In short, just grab this one because it's such a darn good book!...more
I received an e-ARC of this book through NetGalley and Crown Publishing.
If you are fortunate enough to have seen some (or all) of the live performanceI received an e-ARC of this book through NetGalley and Crown Publishing.
If you are fortunate enough to have seen some (or all) of the live performances of the eleven seasons of The Carol Burnett Show, this book is sure to have you remembering, laughing, and even sighing gently to yourself about "the good old days". Even though the programs have gone into syndication that doesn't mean you get to see the entire show; those programs only show the comedy sketches. If you want to see the musical segments included in each show you can purchase the full seasons on videos. Just imagine, doing eleven years of a comedy-variety show and holding it all together for all but the final year with the returning performers. Quite an undertaking.
This book is also quite an undertaking because Ms. Burnett lets us all go with her behind the scenes of the entire 276 shows from 1967 to 1978. That's a tall undertaking. There are summaries of many of the comedy skits and anecdotes about the ideas which worked well and those which were not quite as successful. Reading this book is like opening the pages of who's who in the entertainment industry of those years. This is a very positive book, perhaps because Carol Burnett seems to have a positive personality in real life, but there are not any snippy comments or negative incidents included. Even when she had to gather up her courage and fire one of the original cast members there are no negative comments at all. That is quite an accomplishment and one of the things which makes this book such a relaxing, fun filled, joy to read. At the end of the book there is a wealth of information included in Appendix 1 listing every show during each season with things such as date the program originally aired and who the guest star is. Appendix 2 lists who the writers were for each of the eleven seasons.
Some of my favorite segments of the book deal with the Q & A times with the audiences and the skits which included Tim Conway. Really, it's hard to not enjoy this book if you liked watching the series because the writing of Carol Burnett feels exactly like the off-script Carol Burnett - someone you could meet in the grocery store and have a good, old fashioned gossip with. Thank you, Ms. Burnett, this was a wonderful escape back into a time when comedy didn't have to bristle with profanity to be considered funny. Many is the time I ended up reaching for the Kleenex box to wipe away the tears streaming down my face from laughing so much my face and sides hurt. What great television that was....more
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