Sleeping Dog, by Dick Locht

When a girl's pet dog goes missing, it leads to two unlikely people collaborating to solve a major crime.

When fourteen-year-old Serendipity Dahlquist finds her dog Groucho has gone missing, she reports it to the police. They show little interest, but one officer suggests she try seasoned private investigator, Leo Bloodworth. Known in crime circles as “the hound”, Bloodworth shows little interest in Serendipity's missing dog, but when his associate, Roy Kaspar, is murdered, the gears shift and the two find themselves involved in a multiple murder mystery. Their pursuit of Serendipity's dog, Groucho, and the killer, take them on a road trip up and down America's East Coast.

Set in early 1980s America, Sleeping Dog was journalist Dick Lochte's debut novel and it garnered wide praise. It's a fast paced caper with a dizzying cast of eccentric characters – from Mexican gang members to a grandmother actress. The novel is alternately narrated by Serendipity and Leo. Serendipity provides the most laughs, as a wise-cracking teenager who gets around on rollerskates while Leo Bloodworth is the classic jaded, middle-aged detective, one who's seen it all, but is still as sharp as ever. The story cracks on at a rate of knots and Lochte provides a stunning portrait of America's seedy underbelly – crime rings, psychos, pornographers – you name it. It also shows an ethnically diverse America, the text sprinkled with Spanish expressions.

If you like the films of David Lynch and the novels of Charles Portis and Barry Gifford, you're sure to eat up Sleeping Dog.

Sleeping Dog, by Dick Locht. Published by Penguin. $22.99

AUG 24