CAT ON A HOT TIN WOOF

4 stars out of 5

I like Bernie Little. I love his dog Chet a lot. I’m way more fond of cats than dogs (sorry, Chet), and it’s a cat, after all, that gets this story rolling. But this particular adventure somehow needed another wheel or two to keep it on its usual entertaining fast track.

That doesn’t mean, however, that it moves along slowly; just like all the other books in this wonderful series (this is the 16th), it’s always a treat to get Chet’s take on the situation, and Chet isn’t known for dragging his feet (wagging his tail, maybe, but that means something entirely different). And when was the last time you got to see the world of a private detective through the eyes of a pooch who flunked out of K-9 school on the last day of training (blame that, too, on a cat)? No, it’s more that the plot itself was a bit less interesting to me than most of the others.

Here, Bernie’s Little Detective Agency has taken on the job, albeit reluctantly, of finding a missing cat. Miss Kitty, though, is no average feline; she’s a social media sensation, thanks to her owner, teenage Bitty. She lives with her mother Evelyn, and together they’re looking at raking in some serious and much-needed cash from sponsors. Up to now, Miss Kitty has had purrfect attendance in her media appearances, but suddenly she’s nowhere to be found. Bitty and her mom have been diligent in keeping doors and windows locked, so how on earth did she get out? More to the point, where did she go, and can Bernie and Chet find her so Bitty can sign a big contract worth even more money?

At the outset, there’s one primary suspect, but that turns out to be the wrong choice. So, Bernie and Chet take off once again to follow clues that lead to unexpected encounters with still another four-legged critter – one whose unfamiliar sniffs and snorts put Chet on high alert while Bernie focuses on following the evidence left by humans who might have a grudge against Miss Kitty or her owners.

It is, as always, a merry chase that leaves readers chuckling in spots as the irrepressible Chet shares his point of view as only he can. All in all, it’s another perplexing mystery solved in a very entertaining fashion with a bit of a bang-up ending. And once again, my thanks go to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to get in on the action by way of a pre-release copy.

Cat on a Hot Tin Woof by Spencer Quinn (Minotaur Books, April 2026); 320 pp.