Review of "Woof: A Bowser and Birdie Mystery"by Spencer Quinn

This is the first book in the 'Bowser and Birdie' series - middle-grade mysteries that are narrated by Bowser the dog.

*****

Eleven-year-old Birdie Gaux and her Grammy are perusing dogs at the animal shelter when Birdie sees Bowser - and it's love at first sight.





Bowser is thrilled to go home with his new family, and is entranced with the smells and sights of the 'Gaux Family Fish-and-Bait Shop', located in a Louisiana bayou town.



Bowser knows he and Birdie will be best friends forever, and is determined to stay right at her side (or on her feet) at all times.

Inside the fish-and-bait shop Birdie and Grammy discover that the store's assistant, named Snoozy, has fallen asleep on the job. Worse yet 'Black Jack' - the stuffed marlin that's been the store mascot since the end of WWII - has been stolen.



Rumors have swirled through town for years about a treasure map hidden by Birdie's great-grandpa - and someone may have decided to look inside Black Jack for the document.

Birdie suspects the stuffed marlin was taken by the Strakers, a bullying family that owns 'Straker's World Famous Fishing Emporium' across the bayou. A cigar butt found near the crime scene appears to be a clue, and - when the sheriff dismisses Birdie's suspicions - she sets out to surveil the Strakers herself.....with binoculars.



Not getting definitive proof from her spying, Birdie gets assistance from her friends Nola and Roy, who've heard talk around town. More clues turn up when a traveler hires Birdie to take him on a tour of the swamp.....and asks a lot of nosy questions.



By the end of the book Birdie and Bowser have solved the mysteries, but they've also been endangered several times.

Bowser is a fun storyteller who's distracted by smells; confused by people's mannerisms; and bewildered by human language (especially idioms). Thus he sometimes mixes things up and misses clues that the astute reader sniffs out.



I found the mystery entertaining and would recommend the book to youngsters. I'd caution, however, that the story contains death, violence, and danger.

Rating: 3.5 stars