His residence and devotion to Chet are most of what separates him from Elvis Cole, for example (sure, Elvis has his cat, but he doesn’t take the cat with him on cases).
He’s a top-notch P.I., but like most fictional P.I.’s, his principles, independence, and lousy business sense keep him from being much of a success. But Bernie’s more than just the guy who complains about wasting water while making horrible investment choices. On the other hand, I think I’ve given Bernie short shrift over the years-it’s easy to focus on Chet. But We Can’t Forget Bernie (or Anyone Else)
Don’t read anything into me not having a lot to say about him-he’s the best dog in fiction (for my money), but there are only so many ways you can say that. Other than a couple of sentences showing a more libidinous side to Chet than we’re used to seeing, he’s exactly what we’ve come to expect. For those who don’t know-Chet’s our narrator, Bernie’s partner, and a 100+ pound dog. What is there to say about Chet the Jet? He’s the same loveable, heroic champ we’ve come to know and love. Only no one-including the deputy, and the suspect’s own defense attorney-will listen to him. But the more that Bernie looks into things-if only to find out why Wendell wanted to hire him-the more he’s convinced the suspect is innocent. This was a mistake as Beasley locks in on the suspect and ignores any other possibilities. Some quick detective work leads Bernie to a suspect-not one that he believes really did it, but he still feels compelled to hand him over to Deputy Beasley. Bernie naturally begins investigating-spurred to action after meeting the Sheriff’s Deputy in charge of this case, if nothing else-who is one of the sorriest excuses for a law enforcement officer that I’ve read this year. I don’t think we’ve managed to get a novel where Bernie hasn’t complained about the waste of water in the area (except maybe those two when they were back East), “we only have one aquifer.” It appears that Wendell has need of a P.I., too-the two make arrangements to meet the next day to discuss it.īut when our dynamic duo shows up at Wendell’s worksite office, they find him murdered. Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thrillerīernie meets the man destined to his new best friend-a hydrologist who seems to share many of the same opinions as Bernie when it comes to water usage in Phoenix.
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