Sleeping Dog

This book is nearly 25 years old, but is still a fresh mystery/comedy pairing a precocious teen looking for her lost dog with a Sam Spade wannabe of a Hollywood P.I. The pair become involved with dog fight promoters, crooked bankers, T.V. personalities, and a succession of dead bodies.

Lochte pairs an unlikely duo of detectives -- a teenage girl and a middle-aged private eye. There is a fine mystery afoot, but half the fun comes from seeing the teenage girl through her own eyes (gifted sleuth, woman of the world) and through the eyes of her partner (she's an out-of-her-depth pest), meanwhile seeing the private eye through the same mismatched binoculars. It's a Rashomon thing. While the mystery pulled me in and eventually made me scared, the ongoing comedy of misperception made me grin and even laugh out loud.

Sleeping Dog introduces the unlikely duo of Serendipity Dahlquest, world-weary 14-year-old, and Leo "the Bloodhound" Bloodworth, a just plain weary forty-something PI. Serendipity wants to hire Leo to find her missing dog, the only reminder she has left of her long-gone father. Leo can't be bothered with a kid, and passes her on to his sleazy partner, who shortly thereafter winds up dead. Of course Leo feels obligated to step in and try to resolve the situation. From there on it's an escalating tale of misguided kidnappers, dogfights, drugs, and unique relatives all set again a Los Angeles background.This story bears up well considering it was originally published almost twenty years ago. The author's method of alternating voices between Serendity and Leo each chapter gives the reader two unique views of every situation in which the pair find themselves. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries that are lively without being too gory or too cute. I look forward to reading their second mis-adventure, Laughing Dog.