While Spencer Quinn's popular and enjoyable Chet and Bernie series is filled with marvelous mysteries, we read these books for the pitch-perfect narration by perhaps the most lovable of canine characters, Chet.

A FAREWELL TO ARFS opens with Daniel Parsons, an elderly neighbor of Chet and Bernie, getting a call from his son Billy, who asks to borrow $2,000 just for the weekend because of a financial problem. Daniel readily agrees, but when he checks his bank account the next day, he finds that his life savings are gone. Bernie takes him to the bank, and the police are called. Billy says he hasn't talked to his father for a while and definitely didn't make that call. But Billy is an ex-con, and Bernie isn't sure that he isn't somehow involved in the scam.

"Bernie may make mistakes and antagonize people, but we know his heart is made of pure gold, which just happens to be one of Chet's favorite flavors.... We adore Chet, but we also respect and admire Bernie. And we can't wait for their next adventure."

Just as I was thinking that this part of the plot sounds a bit like Quinn's previous novel, MRS. PLANSKY’S REVENGE, the bank’s reporting officer from the fraud squad remarks, "Did you hear about that old lady in Florida? A grandson impersonator in her case. It was on the news. I'll be damned if she didn't hop on a plane to Romania to get her money back." Shades of Mrs. Plansky, especially for those of us "of a certain age."

Unlike the dry, clear air in the desert setting in which most of the Chet and Bernie stories take place, the plot thickens like a New England fog in a gothic novel. It turns out that Billy has redeemed himself since his less-than-law-abiding days. He now runs an organization that helps former prison inmates go clean, find work and lead productive lives. But after the scam on his parents, Billy disappears. His girlfriend says he occasionally is out of town helping former convicts, but Bernie is worried that there is more going on here.

In trying to find Billy, Chet and Bernie meet a unique cast of characters. Some are from Bernie's past, some are new, and we also find that Chet often knows more than Bernie does thanks to his super sleuth of a nose. Speaking of Chet, it's because of that personable pup that these mysteries are so incredibly popular. We love Chet and enjoy hearing his thoughts because they are so doggy-perfect. It's as if Quinn got into the mind of his dog and learned to speak canine language. An example is when Chet and Bernie are driving, and Chet sees a cat in the car next to them. When such a sighting occurs, he can't think of anything else.

Chet explains, "Your mind just goes CAT CAT CAT until finally it ends, you give yourself a good shake, starting at the head, rippling through to the tip of the tail and back again, and then your mind returns to its peaceful resting state, mostly blank. But here's the worst part. While your mind is going CAT CAT CAT, the cat's mind is doing nothing of the sort. What the cat's mind is doing I couldn't tell you." There are more Chet-isms as we are reminded that only occasionally can he count past two. But he is there in his finest form when Bernie needs him and especially when his human’s life is at stake.

Bernie is far from perfect, and he and Weatherly may or may not be getting married. Will he be able to convince her to overlook his sometimes brutish behavior? Or his overwhelming need to protect those he loves, whether or not they want him to do so? Bernie may make mistakes and antagonize people, but we know his heart is made of pure gold, which just happens to be one of Chet's favorite flavors.

As we knew would happen, Chet and Bernie prevail. And as fans of the series know, Bernie's bank account at the end of the story is no greater than it was at the start. His investigative skills are only surpassed by the generosity of his spirit. We adore Chet, but we also respect and admire Bernie. And we can't wait for their next adventure.