Costco Connection - August 2012

Doggone delightful

book pıck

By Matthew Robb

“ONE OF THE great things about this job is that the vision needed to set a book in motion ordinarily takes six months of hard work to achieve, but sometimes crystallizes in your mind in one magical moment,” declares New York Times best-seller Peter Abrahams (who also goes by the pen name Spencer Quinn), the publishing phenom hailed by critics, adored by fans and praised by Stephen King as “my favorite American suspense novelist.”

In the publishing world, Abrahams’ finger-snap feat—breathing fresh life into a suspense sub-genre—was beyond huge. It was like unscrambling a 60-sided Rubik’s Cube in the blink of an eye. The best and the brightest struggle over these conundrums for lifetimes. But when he scored the writer’s trifecta (terrific book, terrific reviews, terrific sales), a star was born.

Pausing to mentally inventory a few of his
career missteps, he adds with a chuckle, “Of course,
There’s no stumbling in Abrahams’
often waggish, always gripping canine
whodunit, Dog on It, proclaimed by The
New York Times as “an exciting, stylish
page-turner and a true breath of fresh
air.” Buoyed by acclaim, Abrahams
quickly answered with three follow-up
tomes: To Fetch a Thief, The Dog Who
Knew Too Much and Thereby Hangs a
Tail. In September, Simon & Schuster
will release A Fistful of Collars.

From his above-garage home office overlooking the picturesque salt marshes of western Cape Cod, the Boston-born, preternaturally humble wordsmith takes it all in: the media crush, the fan adulation, the ongoing Hollywood discussion of a movie version of Dog on It. Abrahams pauses for words, halts, then recalls the chance birth of his series.

PETER ABRAHAMS

Peter Abrahams, aka
Spencer Quinn, and Audrey

“One day my wife said, ‘You should do some-
thing with dogs.’ I knew right away I wanted to write
something in the voice of a dog, who is as purely a
dog as I can get him. So I went over to my office and
wrote the first page of Dog on It exactly the way that
you see it today—and only 10 minutes had gone by
since my wife’s suggestion. Well, she read it over and
we voted 2 to 0 that it worked.”
The very notion of an adult suspense novel fea-
turing a crime-solving dog named Chet the Jet, as
both narrator and detective sidekick to Bernie Little
In a sign of the times, Chet boasts his own web-
site ( www.chetthedog.com), blog, Facebook page
and Twitter account. The author and his Manhattan
publicist divide duties on the social media front,
which Abrahams credits for better connecting him
with fans.

Signed book giveaway

At home, he and his wife enjoy the antics of their dogs, Audrey (“a lovely dog and terrific protector of the house”) and puppy Pearl. Like much of his readership, Abrahams is passionate about animal welfare. He’s convinced dogs can be great teachers.

“In Dog on It,” he says, “Bernie refers to the ‘nation within the nation.’ In other words, to the 77 million dogs in the United States. Frankly, when I’m feeling out of sorts, I don’t always bounce back so quickly. Dogs are different. They rebound fast. It’s bizarre, but Chet—a character entirely from my imagination—has helped me to cope with life’s ups and downs just a little better.”

Actually, Chet might just say it’s all in a day’s work for man’s (or woman’s) best friend. C

i million dogs in the United States. Frankly, when I’m bizarre, but Chet—a character entirely from my

Canine detective series has readers howling with delight COSTCO HAS 50 SIGNED COPIES of Spencer Quinn’s Dog on It to give away. To enter, go to Costco.com, search for “AugBookPick” and follow the instructions. Or print your name, address and daytime phone number on a postcard or letter and send it to: Spencer Quinn, The Costco Connection, P.O. Box 34088, Seattle, WA 98124-1088.

THERE ARE TWO things
I can’t imagine being
without. One, of course, is
books. The other is my
dog, Bear. As most pet
owners will understand, I
get no small pleasure out
of imagining the thoughts
behind his beautiful amber
eyes. Sometimes I verbalize
those thoughts for him;
sometimes we enjoy a
knowing silence. Ahem.
Getting back on track, it
will be no surprise to hear
that for me a book/dog
combo—especially when
the dog lives—is a treat.
Spencer Quinn’s 2009
Dog on It marks the
beginning of a thoroughly
enjoyable series with Chet
the dog serving as narrator
and not-always-right
detective. In the novel,
Chet and his human,
Bernie Little, of the Little
Detective Agency, are hired
by a wealthy divorcée to
track down her missing
15-year-old daughter.

Whether you’re a fan of four-legged friends or not, I believe this book is so cleverly written that it will appeal to all readers. For more book picks, see page 71.