Ruff vs. Fluff

A Queenie and Arthur Novel

By: Spencer Quinn

Narrated by: Jay Aaseng, Rachel Jacobs

Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best-seller Spencer Quinn returns with a laugh-out-loud series about the most epic rivalry of our time...Arthur the dog vs. Queenie the cat.

From the outside, Queenie the cat and Arthur the dog appear to have a lot in common. Both pets live in the charming Blackberry Hill inn. They both love their humans, twins Harmony and Bro. They both have a fondness for sausage.

But that doesn't change the fact that they are mortal enemies.

Goofy, big-hearted Arthur loves everyone he's ever met...except the snobby, scheming cat who's devoted her life to ruining his.

Queenie is a bit choosier. And who can blame her? When you're brilliant AND exquisitely beautiful, you can't be expected to rub tails with commoners. Especially not slobbery dogs.

But when the twins' beloved uncle is framed for murder, Queenie and Arthur must work together to clear his name...something Queenie finds even more distasteful than inexpensive caviar. Can two enemies put aside their differences long enough to solve the mystery?

©2019 Pas de Deux Corp (P)2019 Scholastic Inc.

So entertaining

Such fun hearing from a woman for Queenie and a man for Arthur. My grandson loves cats and dogs in daily verbal combat.

Ruff v Fluff

Loved the story, love the characters. I enjoy all stories involving cats and dogs, they make them the best stories.

Dang

So... this was an amazing book! Jeez.... the story was also unexpected... it was overall great! 👍

Stick with it, the narrators improve, a bit

This authors normally rates 5 stars. Every book written by Spencer Quinn, or pseudonyms, rates highly in my experience, and i have read-listened to everyone. I had a difficult time getting into this story, possibly due to the narratos voices, mostly the female narrating the cat. At first she had such a grating voice fry version of a cat that i had to set aside the book a few times i found the narration so pleasant, but as the book went along, her voice quality improved, possible good direction, or self editing took place. It is sad that the book did not start that way. Voice tone and quality are personal preferences. You might like these narrators, do give it a try. I stuck it out beca i believe in the author.

Fun

I've loved all of Spencer Quinn's Chet & Bernie books and Browser & Birdie books. I didn't think this quite as good, took awhile to get used to Arthur's narrator's voice, Arthur was too goofy for my taste, and story seemed a little slow at first, but then it did grab me and I wanted to know what would happen. I also liked Quinn's portrayal of Arthur better once he saved the day! I liked Queenie...cute & amusing portrayal of a cat.

Cat, dog, kids, mystery. Lots of fun!

This is a story aimed a younger readers, though its length may conflict with its cat and dog narrators in finding the right audience.

On the other hand, I really like Spencer Quinn's animal narrators, and he writes a good mystery, so, I may not be the only older fan of his adult mysteries that is ready to enjoy a somewhat simpler tale from him.

Arthur is a bouncing, happy, loves-everyone sort of mutt. He's not too smart, but he's very loyal, loves his family, and has an excellent nose. Queenie is a beautiful, elegant, intelligent, perfect cat. Just ask her! She'll tell you. She, too, loves the human family she and Arthur reluctantly share.

The family they share includes Mom, who seems to have another name as well, and the twins, Harmony and Bro (real name Ringo, but don't ever call him that.) They own the Blackberry Inn, a bed & breakfast in a small town somewhere in the snow country of New England. Things are tough right now, with no guests, so it's a big relief when Mr. LeMaire shows up to take a room for a couple of days, and do some hiking. He's really specific about what trail he wants to hike, though, and it's not one of the popular ones. When their cousin, the professional trail guide isn't available right away, in the end, the twins lead him to the trail--and then he dismisses them right away.

When their guest doesn't return that evening, they report it to the sheriff, who can't be bothered to send the deputy to look for him immediately. When, the next day, they get a text message from LeMaire's phone saying he had a business emergency and had to head home, they're puzzled, but what can they do? Harmony, though, is still worried, and she takes Arthur on a walk that just happens to be the one where Mr. LeMaire was hiking.

They find the body. The sheriff instantly comes up with a "solution" to the murder, and arrest the family's trail guide cousin. The twins are determined to solve the crime, but, of course, both Queenie and Arthur, limited though their knowledge of humans away from the Blackberry Inn is, have access to information beyond the reach of mere human noses. And they gradually realize that the situation is so dire that they need to (horrors!) work together.

It's a fun story, and Arthur and Queenie are fun characters. I have my doubts about a murder in a young readers' book, but the most important thing, of course, is both the cat and the dog survive unharmed. Recommended.

I bought this audiobook.

Very good character voices

A Nice, upbeat and funny book, very enjoyable listen on a long drive. I haven’t read Mr. Spencer‘s books yet but I have listened to 3 of them & I enjoy the narrator’s pacing.

Definitely for children

Like 4 years old maybe. I really enjoyed his other children’s books, but this one was too much!