by Lindsay Patriquin
Book Reviewer, Walls of Books
It’s hot. Summer is almost over. Pick up a good book and relax.
Dog On It – Spencer Quinn
Peter Abrahams’ (writing as Spencer Quinn) Chet and Bernie mysteries are the most refreshing crime series I’ve read in a very long time. They follow a formula, as expected, but are still not too predictable that they become tiresome. Chet, a failed K9 pup and the most lovable narrator, runs around the desert with his charming private investigator companion Bernie, solving mysteries and grabbing bad guys by the pant legs.
In this first installment of the series, Dog On It, characters and ongoing plot lines are established during a missing persons case, the duo’s specialty. Each book has a different crime to solve, and each is just as irresistible and quick-paced as the last. You will definitely be searching for the next book before you’ve even finished the first.
Travels with Charley – John Steinbeck
Travels with Charley was the first book I read by John Steinbeck, and had me immediately hooked. This is the true story of Steinbeck traveling the country in a GMC pickup with his poodle Charley in 1960. It is exactly as you would expect a lonesome road-trip—full of lessons and potholes and new experiences. Throughout his trip, he meets all kinds of people and learns from every single one. As always, his prose is poetic and thought provoking, and recalls themes from a couple of his most famous works, such as The Grapes of Wrath and Cannery Row. It’s not the quickest, easiest read, but it’s worth the story and insights, especially for a fan of Steinbeck.
Cujo – Stephen King
For suspense readers, Stephen King and his tortured state of Maine come highly recommended. Cujo is a wonderfully psychologically thrilling story, truly scary, made scarier by the fact that it was written to be a cautionary tale of a situation that can easily happen. When the family St. Bernard is bitten by a rabid bat, he is turned beast and brings wreckage and destruction to the entire town. It is action-packed and the characters are developed well, as usual with King’s novels. One of the coolest parts about this book is that it takes place in King’s fictional town of Castle Rock, where plenty of connections can be made between character repeats and plot match-ups from different stories. This one is a must read for King fanatics.
An avid reader, Lindsay Patriquin works at a small used bookstore called Walls of Books in Cornelius, NC.
