Bowser, a shelter dog, and Birdie Gaux, an 11-year-old girl, live on the Louisiana coast with Birdie’s Grammy. When a prized stuffed marlin is stolen from Grammy’s bait and tackle shop, Birdie and Bowser decide to take on the case. But what looks like a straightforward break-in soon becomes as tangled as a tourist’s fishing line.

Was Grammy hiding a treasure map in the marlin? What’s up with Old Man Straker, owner of a rival tackle shop, and his juvenile-delinquent son? And most sinister of all, why does it suddenly look as if someone wants to harm Birdie?

A mystery told from the voice of a dog. Pure genius.

Like ‘Ellie’s Story,’ this story is told from the dog’s point of view. Bowser has the same scene of humor as Stan from ‘Dog with a Blog.’ Bowser’s dialogue throughout the book is hilarious, like how people smell and how confusing humans are. I read this book with my mom, and she loved it more than I did.

Throughout this entire book, the biggest question I had was, ‘What kind of past did this dog have?!’ Bowser keeps mentioning his past with ‘The Gang’ and all the criminal things they did. I kept hoping he would explain why he was with a gang in the first place.

This mystery was a lot more interesting than the last book. I kept getting lost and confused.

There were two specific characters in this book which I can explain using my favorite expression. “The wheel is moving, but the hamster is dead.” Another example: “The lights are on, but nobody’s home.” These two sayings are more elegant ways of saying someone is not very smart or just dumb. To be honest, Bowser is the smartest one in this story.

These books are available as audiobooks. I recommend listening to them on a road trip, especially if you have kids. I listened to these books with my niece and nephew, and they just laughed and laughed.