The corgi detective team of Sherlock and Watson are back with Case of the Chatty Roadrunner by Jeffrey Poole. When we last saw them and their human, Zack Anderson, they were getting ready to travel to Phoenix to solve the mystery of the death of Zack’s late wife. Zack has only just learned that Samantha’s fatal car accident was not merely a traffic accident but intentional, making it murder. So he; his new girlfriend, Jillian; his police detective friend, Vance; and of course the pair of corgis travel to Phoenix to get to the bottom of the case.
The investigation proves to be a challenging one, both personally and technically. Zack has to deal with the new knowledge that someone deliberately killed his wife after he has finally started to move on with his life. Further, the team faces new difficulties trying to get information about the giant pharmaceutical corporation which they suspect is responsible for Sam’s death. But every time they face a roadblock, Sherlock and Watson stand ready to put them on the right track again.
I really enjoy this series but was disappointed that two books prior to this one ended on the cliffhanger of Zack’s learning that Sam might have been murdered. However, I was very pleased with the resulting book detailing the investigation into Sam’s death. There was genuine humor and a more complex plot than is common. Further, the murder method was creative and unique. I also found it scary to learn that this can happen. I continue to love the dogs, and it’s obvious that Poole has a genuine love of corgis as I hear the descriptions of the pair. However, the dogs’ 6th sense seemed to stretch beyond credibility in this book, as Zack has them meet a group of people for the first time and expects them to tell him which one is the bad guy, which of course they do.
Bob Johnson continues in his performance of this series, creatively bringing to life the corgis and their people. When the dogs take over a corporate team building exercise by getting first every time to the bouncing beach ball and hitting it into the air, listeners really envision the scene vividly through the effectiveness of Johnson’s narration. As we listen to this audiobook, we genuinely believe that we are hearing the voice of Zack and not Johnson.
I really had fun listening to Case of the Chatty Roadrunner. While the whole series has humor, this one seemed to have an extras degree of it, which is good to balance the more serious subject matter. I give this book five stars.
Disclaimer: I received this book for free for review purposes, but that had no effect on the content if my review.
