Spencer Quinn's It's a Wonderful Woof presents a holiday adventure for Chet the dog, โthe most lovable narrator in crime fictionโ (Boston Globe), and his human partner, PI Bernie Little.
Holiday time in the Valley, and in the holiday spiritโdespite the dismal shape of the finances at the Little Detective AgencyโBernie refers a potential client to Victor Klovsky, a fellow private eye. Itโs also true that the caseโpromising lots of
online research but little actionโdoesnโt appeal to Bernie, while it seems perfect for Victor, who is not cut out for rough stuff. But Victor disappears in a rough-stuff way, and when he doesnโt show up at his momโs to light the Hanukkah candles, she hires Chet and Bernie to find him.
They soon discover that Victorโs client has also vanished. The trail leads to the ruins of a mission called Nuestra Seรฑora de los Saguaros, dating back to the earliest Spanish explorers. Some very dangerous people are interested in the old
mission. Does some dusty archive hold the secret of a previously unknown art treasure, possibly buried for centuries? What does the Flight into Egyptโwhen Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus fled Herodโhave to do with saguaros, the Sonoran desert cactus?
No one is better than Chet at nosing out buried secrets, but before he can, he and Bernie are forced to take flight themselves, chased through a Christmas Eve blizzard by a murderous foe who loves art all too much.