A Fistful of Collars

A Chet and Bernie Mystery, Book 5

By: Spencer Quinn

Narrated by: Jim Frangione

Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Hoping to bring some Tinseltown money to the Valley, the mayor lures a movie studio to town to shoot their next production, a big-budget Western in the classic tradition. The star is none other than ruggedly handsome—and notoriously badly behaved—Thad Perry. When the mayor decides that someone needs to keep an eye on Thad so that he doesn’t get into too much trouble, Bernie and Chet are handpicked for the job.

The money is good but something smells fishy, and what should have been a simple matter of babysitting soon gets more complicated—especially when they discover that Thad has a mysterious connection to the Valley that nobody wants to talk about. What kind of secret could Thad have left behind when he went to Hollywood to seek fame and fortune? The only people who might know the answer have a bad habit of turning up dead before they can talk.

©2012 Spencer Quinn (P)2012 Recorded Books

Best one so far

The best one so far. Creative and insightful communication of Chet's feelings, thinking and behavior --- all wrapped up in a good story.

Chet and Bernie babysit a spoiled actor

In A Fistful of Collars the mayor, in an attempt to bring some money into the Valley, lures the producers of a big-budget Western, starring Thad Perry, to town. Thad seems to have something of a reputation for being unreliable (or worse), so the mayor decides that someone needs to keep an eye on him – and picks Bernie for the job.

I was afraid that Thad Perry would be intolerably stuck up, but although he does seem to be pretty spoiled, in the long run, he turns out to be not all that bad. Aside from his poor attitude, however, there do seem to be some suspicious things about some of the people who work for him.

Bernie gets the idea of following his bodyguard one evening shortly after they start work and discovers that the person he visits that night is missing by the next day. This builds into a pattern of missing or dead contacts.
Meanwhile, Chet and Bernie are also having some trouble keeping up with Thad himself. He likes to hike or drive out into the desert alone, and on some of these trips, it appears that he may be contemplating suicide. Why?

Add in the actions of a snobby cat (Thad isn’t a dog person) and Bernie’s ex-wife’s insistence on meeting Thad, as well as somebody’s insistence on letting Bernie’s son, Charlie have a cameo appearance in the film (in which Charlie reveals a real talent for acting), and it makes for a busy time.

As always, Chet and Bernie are a joy to work with, and Chet’s opinions are amusing when not insightful. Jim Frangione as always does a great job of telling the story in Chet’s voice.

Chet and Bernie do it again!

I LOVE the Chet and Bernie books.

It is such a breath of fresh air to read these novels from the point of view of a dog.

The story line in this novel was good- not great. It felt as though it lacked a little something to really pop, but it was good enough for me to give the story 4 out of 5.
The pace of the novel was a little slower than the previous novels, but it was still good enough for me to give 4 out of 5 for story.

The narrator is amazing! He truly captures the spirit of Chet when he narrates. He really makes the dog point of view believable.

Overall, if you enjoyed the previous Chet and Bernie books, you should also enjoy this. Keep in mind that the story isn't quite as good as the others, but it is totally worth the listen to. The narrator - 5 out of 5 he is absolutely excellent.

Compared to his other books..

I love Chet and Bernie and the narrator carries Chet really well but I compare all his performances with The Sound and the Furry which was the perfect Chet voice to which all other performances pale. All and all, Chet tales are the best ever but I'm hoping the narration perks up a bit in future stories.

My favorite in the series so far!

Would you consider the audio edition of A Fistful of Collars to be better than the print version?

The audio version is great because the reader puts so much "dog" into Chet, and is really good at sounding like the dog point of view.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Fistful of Collars?

Chet, "Curiosity killed the cat - don't know what that means, but curiosity must be good." I laughed for days over that line. There were a lot of memorable lines in this book, mostly on the part of Chet, but sometimes through Bernie.

Have you listened to any of Jim Frangione’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is one of his best. I really enjoyed it. He balances making the voices clearly different without being distracting.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The crime, the dog, the cat, the romance, the movies, the whole enchilada.

Any additional comments?

This is such a great series - solid mysteries and laugh-out-loud lines from the dog, Chet. I'll come back to these for a second listen, because there are details that add to the mystery that are easily missed on the first listen. This series is well constructed and executed,and the reader is wonderful. All in all, well worth the listen.

The "f" Word

Chet is an excellent friend and partner to Bernie. It makes me smile listening to his reasoning.

I do not like listening to the "f" word. I do not care who uses it. Whether it is the good guy or bad guy, I do not like to hear it or see it on the written page. Hearing it is worse. I almost turned the book off.

A dog's work just keeps on coming!

Chet is delightful. Bernie is smart and pretty cool.

Together they figure out and fix a complex problem with roots well into the past. Along the way they find some romance.

Chet's chicken's may come home to roost (Chet is the dog, Bernie is the detective) and that is interesting as we so often think of dogs as having no personal life.

If you like a good detective story and you like animals, you'll like this. Chet narrates much of the book, responding and speaking as a dog and with a dog's perspective on the events his owner drags him through. I have read a few others of this series and find it delightful.

Chet's voice is so much like what I think my own dog would think and say. Even if you don't like dogs you'd like the book because the story is good.

Woof! They Did it Again

Where does A Fistful of Collars rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'm a dog lover and a mystery lover, and I've enjoyed every book in this series. Not "great" books by stringent standards, just fun detective stories from a dog's POV. It's all about the characters and the writer's insight into all things dog.

Would you recommend A Fistful of Collars to your friends? Why or why not?

I'd recommend it to dog lovers. In terms of detective stories, it's nothing special. Even in terms of the series, it's on par with all the others - none stands out in my mind as better or worse than the others.

Which character – as performed by Jim Frangione – was your favorite?

Duh! Chet the dog.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

I think Jim Frangione adds a lot to the overall experience. The "voice" of Chet could make or break this audiobook, and he does a great job of capturing the "hard boiled detective" Chet and the "Oops, did I just gnaw a hole in the leather upholstery?" Chet.I classify the entire series as "easy listening," and go back to these little treats whenever I'm in the mood for a light-hearted listen.

plenty of dog activity

Chet is one good guy. Smart. Has a best friend dog who lives next door. And a best friend human as a house mate. I enjoy these stories and plan on listening to them again in future.

Chet and Bernie

I love the views of Chet. Chet the Jet.
Bernie can be frustrating with so little talk and his finances!
I hope Bernie and Susie make it.
Lita is a bully. How he and Bernie could have been an item is a mystery.
My only complaint is the long pauses between chapters and sometimes paragraphs.