about the book
Two humans stare at me from outside my cage, so I stare back. The kid seems pretty great, what with her gum-chewing habit and all. The white-haired woman, I’m not so sure about.
She’s talking about how I’ll eat them out of house and home. Whatever that means. It seems like she’s insulting me though, so I growl. “‘Doesn’t look very friendly, neither.’”
“‘Yeah, he does, Grammy. See his eyes?’”
All of a sudden I’m being called Bowser, hooked up to a leash, and led out the front door. FREEDOM! My tail’s going wild!
But something isn’t right back at their place. Grammy’s prized mounted marlin is missing. Apparently there are rumors going ‘round that there’s a treasure map hidden inside of it. All I know is that my kid—Birdie—is in danger.
Can Bowser and Birdie solve the mystery of the missing marlin?
about the author
Growing up, Spencer Quinn was a pretty happy kid who would lose himself in books. When his family went to their summer cottage in Quebec, his grandmother brought him popcorn and a stack of books—two of the titles included at some point were Treasure Island and Red Pete the Ruthless.
Spencer was so fascinated with words that he went on to write his own novels. His adult, stand-alone titles are published under his real name: Peter Abrahams.
Under the pen name Spencer Quinn, he’s published his popular Chet and Bernie mysteries. Chet, the dog who narrates the stories, is often distracted by smells, cats, and who knows what else. Bowser and Birdie, Spencer’s newest series, is very similar to the Chet and Bernie mysteries. The biggest difference is that it’s for middle grades instead of adults!
His wife inspired these two series by saying he “should do something about dogs.” Moments later Spencer had the idea of a dog narrating a mystery, but not talking like other titles told by dogs. Then he walked the fifteen feet to his office above the garage and wrote the first page.
Spencer has two dogs, Audrey and Pearl, who “are the kind of researchers writers dream of, showing up every day and working for treats.
He and his wife live on Cape Cod. They have four grown children.
Sources:
Author website
Author interview: LitStack
Author interview: Book Browse
Also by Spencer Quinn:
Arf (Bowser and Birdie, Book 2). Scholastic. April 2016.
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