Cat on a Hot Tin Woof: A Chet & Bernie Mystery

By Spencer Quinn

THE INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER

Join Chet the dog, "the most lovable narrator in all of fiction" (Boston Globe), and his human partner Bernie as they scramble to solve a case exposing the dark side of internet fame.

Chet the dog is less than enthusiastic about the Little Detective Agency's next case. Chet and his human partner, PI Bernie Little, have been hired to find a missing person--only the missing person is a cat. Miss Kitty, an internet sensation, has disappeared, and Chet and Bernie have been hired to find her before her many followers realize something is wrong.

Miss Kitty belongs to Bitty, a sweet teenage girl who lives with her mom. Bitty and her mother are struggling financially, but the arrival of Miss Kitty and the chance discovery of her social media appeal has changed everything. Bitty now has sponsors, a high-powered agent, and all the tools needed to thrive online, and real money is flowing in. At least, it was. With Miss Kitty gone, the family's income is on the line.

The case presents a slew of challenges for Chet and Bernie. For one thing, a potential witness is a pig named Senor Piggy who may be in possession of an important piece of evidence. For another, it seems like a possible perp has been killed twice--and there's evidence implicating Bernie in the crime.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250331773
• ISBN13: 9781250331779
• Release Date: April 2026
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Loved this entertaining page-turner!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a digital advance reader copy. All comments and opinions are my own unless otherwise noted. I love this series, and this book lived up to all that I enjoy in a Chet and Bernie mystery. Chet is the charming canine narrator of each mystery. He’s also the four-legged team member of the Little Detective Agency, along with human partner and private investigator Bernie Little. What makes this series endearing is their relationship, as well as the fact that Chet takes everything literally and misunderstands the many idioms we humans take for granted. While he can only really count to two and has a weakness for anything edible, his sense of smell, his strength and loyalty, as well as his ability to leap are what Bernie depends on to help them overcome the bad guys and solve the crimes in each novel. The plot of this mystery starts out simply with a social media parody – a famous and valuable cat known on the internet as “Miss Kitty” is missing. Hired to find her by Miss Kitty’s teenage owner, Bernie and Chet soon discover it’s a more serious issue when two people turn up dead. Danger, clues, guns, and even a pig named Senor Piggy make this an edge-of-your-seat read. What makes this series outstanding is the humor of Chet's narration and his naive interpretation of humans - both their language and behavior. And the series is not cutesy or cloying. If you're looking for a well-thought-out mystery, great characters, and a humorous page-turner, this is the book for you. Once you finish this, I guarantee you'll want to go back and find one of the earlier books - they're all endearing and entertaining!

Laugh your sox off!

Chet tells all from his own unique perspective which is very literal and reminiscent of a human on the spectrum. I think that each book is capable of being standalone but is more fun each time I read one. Bernie is a private investigator in the American southwest and Chet is a failed K9 who narrates everything from his perspective. While Bernie Little runs the Little Detective Agency alone (with Chet) is a good investigator and does have a life outside of work that includes a teenaged son and a remarried ex-wife, Chet is a real laugh riot with his point of view and ability to make almost everything fun. But he does NOT like cats, and their assignment is to find a missing famous cat. Plenty of twists, turns, danger, crooks, and surprises as usual! This is not an unbiased review as I have loved Chet's stories for more than 10 years. I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital galley from St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Pub Date Apr 14, 2026 #preorder #CatonaHotTinWoof by Spencer Quinn #ChetandBernieMysteriesBk16 @stmartinspress @minotaur_books #NetGalley #bookbub #thestorygraph #goodreads @librarythingofficial #bookshop_org #bookshop_org_uk #bookshop_org_ca #privateinvestigators #missing #murder #investigations #arizonadesert #suspense #excop #cat #exmilitary #partners #failedK9 #snarkyhumormurders #relationships #friendship #pig