Review: Scents and Sensibility by Spencer Quinn

A Mysterious Review of Scents and Sensibility by Spencer Quinn. A Chet and Bernie Mystery.

Review summary: The dynamic between the lead characters is once again the hallmark of this series. The mystery plot is a fairly complicated one, well-developed, and plays out in some unexpected ways. This is a solid entry, entertaining but not necessarily memorable, ranking about middle-of-the-pack with respect to the previous books. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

Scents and Sensibility
Spencer Quinn
A Chet and Bernie Mystery
Atria Books (July 2015)

Publisher synopsis: Private Investigator Bernie Little and his canine companion Chet return home to encounter some alarming developments. First off, Bernie's wall safe — normally hidden behind the waterfall picture in the office — is gone, and with it Bernie's grandfather's watch, their most valuable possession. And next door, old Mr. Parsons is under investigation for being in possession of a saguaro cactus illegally transplanted from the desert. Bernie and Chet go deep into the desert to investigate. Is it possible that such a lovely old couple have a terrible secret in their past?

Chet and Bernie discover bad things going on in the wilderness, far worse that cactus smuggling, and all connected to a strange but innocent-seeming desert festival called Arrow Bright. They unearth leads that take them back to a long-ago kidnapping that may not have been a kidnapping and threaten a ruthless and charismatic criminal with a cult following, a criminal who sees at once what Chet and Bernie mean to each other and knows how to exploit it.