Regular readers of this series don’t need a review to know they want to read this next book. But there may be other readers out there who think a book in with a dog as narrator (and a punning title) must be too cutesy. I’m here to tell those readers that’s not the case. I generally read grittier crime fiction, but doesn’t everyone like a change of pace occasionally? I know I do, and I get a kick out of Chet’s point of view. Oh, and Bernie is appealing too.

Only a few months ago, I read another mystery in which a senior citizen was cleaned out financially by a phone call from a relative (grandson in that case) in desperate need of money in a big hurry. Giving the grandson financial details lead to scammers accessing all the senior’s assets. And then the grandson, like Billy in this case, denies ever making the phone call. This is an interesting theme in the AI era, and Spencer Quinn handles it well. There is plenty of interesting action in Chet and Bernie’s pursuit of the bad guys, and this novel is as big-hearted as all the rest in the series.

This was another winner in the Chet & Bernie mystery series, the characters were everything that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall element of this book. The concept was everything that I was looking for and thought it continued the story that I was looking for. Spencer Quinn has a great writing style and I was glad to go back to this world.

In A Farewell to Arfs by Spencer Quinn, Chet and Bernie are snared. into helping their neighbors, the Parsons and Iggy when it seems as though their son Billy has stolen all their savings through a wire transfer. The following search to find Billy and the money ends up with more dead bodies and interesting characters and of course Chet's comments of how he sees the investigation. The observations by Chet of the limitations of humans never fails to entertain.

I don’t know how Spencer Quinn does it, but this book is just as exceptional as his previous ones! I am so glad that I was able to read an advanced copy, thanks to NetGalley. In this book, Bernie and Chet are busy trying to track down who scammed their neighbor, Mr. Preston, out of his life savings. He swears that it was his son Billy who called him asking for an advance of $2,000, but before he knows it, his entire bank account has been wiped out. Billy swears that he didn’t make that phone call. Mr. Preston swears that he knows his own son’s voice. Could an AI generated phone call be the culprit, or is Billy, a supposedly reformed ex-con, lying? Bernie and Chet’s investigation finds them dealing with an arsonist, AI, murder, and fiancé troubles with Weatherly. I was sad to reach the end of the book. Please write another one quickly, Mr. Quinn!

Private investigator Bernie decides to track down his next door neighbor's son Billy who seems to have scammed his dad of all his life savings. Mr. Parsons swears it was Billy's voice on the phone asking for only $20,000, but all his money was taken out of the account.

Bernie's partner, Chet the dog, is always unique in his assessment of Bernie, the crime, the perps. His dog's view of the situations is both humorous and spot on. I come back time and time again to this series mainly because of Chet, the narrator of the books.

Bernie is also a charact to like and admire - he is generous, but angered by injustice and criminals and goes out of his way to help friends facing bad circumstances. Scamming elderly people is a frequent theme in today's world, so this topic is relevant. Aslo, using advanced technology to detonate buildings and commit murder is also a theme.

Bernie's marriage plans suffer during a misunderstanding but I loved it when he got back together with his partner, Meredith.

I thoroughly enjoy the Chet and Bernie mystery series so much! I even named my dog Quinn after author Spencer Quinn. These mysteries combine a good story with interesting characters. Once again, this engrossing story is narrated by the one and only Chet the Jet. Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a chance to read and review A Farewell to Arfs.