Chet The Dog

Posts Tagged ‘Scents and Sensibility’

Beginnings

On Sundays, we do beginnings, taking a look at the start of a Peter Abrahams novel, including those written under the Spencer Quinn moniker. Were we working our way backward through the Chet and Bernie series (which can be read on any order)? I believe we’d reached Scents and Sensibility:

Home at last!

MLK Day

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. – Martin Luther King

The truth is there’s not much color variety when it comes to humans, not compared to how we roll in the nation within. Take me, for example: mostly black but with one white ear, which I know on account of how many people mention it in my presence. Ever seen a human colored like me? The point is humans go on and on about skin colors when it isn’t even one of their strengths.

– from Scents and Sensibility

 

Stompin’ at the Savoy

Many thanks to the Savoy Bookshop in Westerly RI for last night’s event. One of the most beautiful book stores we’ve ever been in. And no one threw anything – always the sign of a successful appearance. Plus it was very nice that we could be partnering with Stand Up For Animals, a wonderful organization. The Heart of Barkness tour continues next week, starting at Murder By The Book in Houston. (For tour info – click events at peterabrahams.com.) Meanwhile, Happy 4th, everybody! We just did a quick search for the word “American” in Chet and Bernie, and this brief excerpt from Scents and Sensibility popped up:

“But it wouldn’t be just!” said Mrs. Parsons. “Locking someone up for buying the wrong cactus? What country are we in?”

A tough question. The Valley was in Arizona, a fact I’d picked up fairly recently. Also we were Americans, me and Bernie. That was as far as I could take it. Maybe not far, but farther than Iggy. He wriggled around on the footstool, getting more comfortable, and began to snore.

Beginnings (More)

On Sundays we’ve been doing beginnings – all the Peter Abrahams books in chronological order, including those written under the Spencer Quinn pen name. Here from 2015 – #34, SCENTS AND SENSIBILITY, most recent in the Chet and Bernie series – which can be read in any order (see Bureau of Imagination Regulation section 18, subsection 22). HEART OF BARKNESS comes July 2.

[“Light-hearted, humor-filled…the ending of this book is especially touching. Most readers will want to read it over (and maybe over yet again, to be sure they are understanding it). It’s beautifully written and very emotional.” (Examiner.com)]

Home at last! We’d been away so long, first in swampy country, then in a big city – maybe called Foggy Bottom – that confused me from the get-go. Is there time to mention the air in both those places before we really get started? Soggy and heavy: that sums it up.

Where were we? Was it possibly … home? Yes! Home! Home at last! Our home – mine and Bernie’s – is on Mesquite Road. Mesquite Road’s in the Valley. Quite recently I might have heard that the Valley’s in Arizona, but don’t count on that. What matters is that right now I was inhaling a nice big noseful of Valley air. Light and dry, with a hint of greasewood and just plain grease: perfect. I felt tip top. Bernie opened our door, kicked aside a huge pile of mail, and we went in.