Doodle’s “career-change” lands him with a new family and unexpected trouble in this laugh-out-loud mystery perfect for dog lovers of all ages.
Doodle's not worried about his new job. Sniffing out bed bugs? Easy as pie. Well, easier, actually, as getting pie can be a problem for a dog. Doodle finds best part of the new job is Molly, the boss’s ten-year old daughter, who slips Doodle extra treats when she’s not snapping photos with the camera she carries everywhere. But Molly has secrets of her own. And when she enlists Doodle’s help to solve a crime, his nose and her camera lead them straight into danger.
Readers have called the Doodlebugged mysteries perfect of fans of Spencer Quinn’s popular Chet & Bernie mysteries, and best-selling author Virginia Smith called Bed-Bugged, "a first-rate mystery" and a "triumphant beginning to a series."
Before she let her writing go to the dogs, Susan J. Kroupa won awards for her fiction from such places as the Utah Arts Council Contest, Writers of the Future and the Deep South Writing Competition. Her stories have appeared in Realms of Fantasy and in a variety of anthologies, including Bruce Coville's Shapeshifters. Now, she is perhaps best known for her Doodlebugged Mysteries, a gentle cozy series featuring the irrepressible but obedience-impaired sniffer-dog, Doodle.
Susan lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Southwestern Virginia with her husband and a trouble-prone labradoodle whose superpower is bringing home dead possums. You can learn more about her on her webpage www.susankroupa.com or by subscribing to her newsletter (where you can sometimes get free stories and other cool stuff) at http://eepurl.com/3PUR1.
Doodle is a bed-bug hunting dog. This is his story, but also the story of Molly, who photographs as much of her life as she can for a secret project, and "the boss," Molly's dad, who is trying to get a business off the ground so he can support Molly. Doodle knows if he messes up it's back to the pound, and though he's not quite sure what euthanasia is, he knows it isn't good. So he loves his job, he loves getting paid (in treats), and he begins to love Molly, and wants to protect her, which almost gets him canned when Molly's room is broken into, and Doodle tries to give chase.
On a job, Doodle picks up the scent of whoever it was who broke into the house, and goes nuts trying to catch the person and alert the others, but as usual, the humans are clueless and react only to his noise. And then Molly catches a glimpse of her missing mom . . .
This mystery isn't very long, but it's delightful, briskly paced, with appealing characters, especially Doodle. Kroupa's knowledge of, and love for, dogs shines through every scene.
It looks like this is going to be a series. I'm off to find out if there is another one out yet. (If there are, I do hope the publishers will proof a bit better.)
This is a fun book. There's a good story and a mystery, but I found getting into the labradoodle's head i.e. hearing about life from a dog's perspective, quite educational. He can't communicate directly with his humans, but he understands what they say, even if he doesn't 'get the reference'. Great read for young readers and adults.
If so, read no further. You'll love Bed-Bugged: a Doodlebug Mystery, so just buy it without delay.
Do you love mysteries?
If so, you're going to love Bed-Bugged, but you might need more convincing. Why? Because you may never have read a mystery with a dog as detective. Or with a dog as detective narrator. Or especially with a bedbug sniffing dog as detective narrator. But that's exactly what Doodle, the Labradoodle, is.
I loved many thing about the book, not the least of which was the mystery itself, which concerns a number of crimes from simple theft to complex theft to kidnapping. (No murders, no awful language, and no explicit sex, so your kids can enjoy it, too.)
I enjoyed all the characters, but I couldn't help falling in love with Doodle and his owner's daughter, Molly.
But in a way, I most loved watching a story from the low-down, smell-based point of view of a working dog. For me, a mystery reader and writer, it opened my mind to many new ways of observing a crime and its solution.
Bed-Bugged was fun to read. You learn a lot from Doodle, the dog's point of view. Molly is so determined in investigating and gathering information. It's so touching to read about her photo album and her rationale for keeping it and finding her her mother. This book is well written, fast-paced and enjoyable. I plan to read Susan Kroupa's other books.
Animal mysteries have long been popular, it seems -- just look at the success of Lillian Jackson Braun's "The Cat Who" books, Rita Mae and Sneaky Pie Brown's "Mrs. Murphy" series, Spencer Quinn's "Chet and Bernie" series, etc. Somehow throwing a canine or feline partner in to assist the detective -- or even making the animal the detective -- can add a fun dimension to a mystery. And "Bed-Bugged" does just that... and goes a step further by telling the mystery from the point of view of the canine companion, giving a unique animal perspective to the mystery. The end result is a cute read for middle schoolers, and a lot of fun even for adult readers.
Doodle is a service-dog-school dropout who has a stubborn, independent streak but is nonetheless dedicated to making sure his new job as a bedbug detection dog works out. He's tolerant of his new boss, but devoted to the boss' ten-year-old daughter Molly, a bright girl obsessed with her camera and with unraveling the mystery of what happened to her mother. But when Doodle's nose uncovers another mystery, one revolving around famous paintings hanging in a few of the properties they're inspecting, Molly is determined to solve it... a determination that could put her and Doodle in danger!
The central mystery of the book is rather slow to unravel, and doesn't really kick into gear until the last third of the book. For those in this primarily for the mystery, this can be a disappointment, and when the climax rolls around it feels a bit like it came right out of nowhere. I personally found the story arc of Molly seeking out her mother to be more satisfying, and was more emotionally vested in that story than in the central mystery.
The writing style and the characters mostly make up for any shortcomings of the plot, however. Doodle gives us a hilarious dog's-eye view of the world, and his perspective makes for a delightful read. He's just snarky enough to be funny (and be a refreshing antidote to other more saccharine dog-perspective books such as "A Dog's Purpose"), but not so snarky as to be unpleasant, and his devotion to Molly is heartwarming. Molly herself is a good character, with a poignant story arc of her own -- and while she's exceptionally bright for a ten-year-old, she's not just portrayed as an adult in a kid's body as kids can often be in mystery stories. Even her father, who can be a grouch, is a sympathetic character who wants what's best for his daughter.
A cute and funny canine mystery, "Bed-Bugged" is a light and entertaining read that older kids will enjoy, and even adults should like this light cozy mystery. It looks to be the start of a cute series, one that fans of animal-based mysteries such as the "Chet and Bernie" series will appreciate.
Loved this story of a smart, but not necessarily obedient, labradoodle who gets a second chance at becoming a working dog after flunking out of service dog training. Doodle hunts bedbugs -- and his nose never lies. Not about bedbugs, and not about bad guys, either. Now if there were only a way to tell his humans that....
Being a dog owner and dog lover, this was a good read! It was fun to go through the adventures through the dogs eyes or nose as it was! It was an easy read and it held my interest throughout and I really enjoyed it!
A delightful middle grade mystery and a freebie to boot!
Bed-Bugged's narrator is a real character of a labradoodle - named Doodle because his personality is rather more poodle. It's great seeing the world through his eyes, particularly how frustrated he gets that he understands every word the "boss" says (although sometimes too literally!) but people don't understand what he's trying to say. The best part, though, is the boss's warming and softening to Doodle (a working dog) and Doodle's changing perception of him and Molly from employers to something much cosier and happier... something like playing with his littermates when still a pup... something like... family.
Before I go I'd like to mention that Molly's mother upped and left when she was very young, leaving her with a single dad. This leaves a gaping hole in her life which plays a great role in forming her character, as it would in real life. This is a significant part of the story and although I don't want to go into too much detail and spoil the story, I would say that the emotions and interactions (of both mother and child) around this are really well handled/portrayed by the author. It might even be a good book to read with a child experiencing similar issues.
I couldn’t resist the cute dog on this cover. Doodle is a bed-bug sniffing dog who helps his owner in his new business of finding bedbugs in apartments, homes, and retirement homes. He also finds nasty bugs in paintings, a very odd place. Doodle tries to get the attention of his owner to solve the mystery, but as usual, the humans aren’t as bright as the dog. His girl, Molly, is also trying to solve the mystery of her missing mother. This is a well-plotted, enjoyable middle grade mystery that both kids and grown ups will enjoy. It’s often hard to come up with an appropriate ‘crime’ for middle grade books but this one does a fine job!
Bed-Bugged, the first book in the Doodlebugged Mysteries, engages the reader in a thought experiment: what would our world look like from the point of view of a dog who has not had an easy time amongst humans? The results are funny, insightful, touching. The canine-narrator of these books has the good fortune to be rescued by a young single-father and his daughter—they save him; and he, in turn, saves them in all the ways that matter.
Did I mention that these books are well written?
My Mother and I read these books together. When we had finished the last page, we did not want them to be over. I recommend these books.
A delightful romp! A light-hearted mystery with characters you can relate to--and care about. This was the first Doodle mystery I've read, but it won't be the last!
If you're a Doodle fan who enjoys a cute mystery, this story is for you. Middle grade readers looking for a light mystery involving a burglary might like this book as well. Generally, I'm a fan of serial killer mysteries, but Doodle won me over.
Doodle, the bed-bug detecting dog, lives with his handler and his ten-year-old daughter Molly. His narration made me laugh throughout this book.
Some of Doodle's observations:
"'Doodle' is not a name I would have picked for myself. Too 'cute-dog' for my taste. Not my style at all. But we can't control what the bosses call us. It's a communication thing. We can understand them, but we're pretty much at the mercy of gestures and body language to get them to understand us. Frankly, they're not very good at it."
"When they start making cameras that can capture scents as well as images, well, then I'll be impressed."
"With a sigh, he grabs some snacks from the fridge and settles on the couch to watch football. About which, I can only say, Do Not Understand the Attraction. Little men with NO scent running around on grass."
Cozy mysteries are not my thing, but Doodle is one plucky and intelligent good boy! Looking forward to reading more of his adventures in this series.
The story is narrated by Doodle, a working dog who has no interest in people except to earn his "pay" -- food. He is purchased by a man with a young daughter, Molly (warning her over and over that Doodle is NOT a pet). The man has started his own business searching hotels, resorts, and the like for bed bugs. For this, he relies on Doodle's keen nose. And Doodle is a pro, and bed bugs are easy to sniff out. Unfortunately, Doodle is starting to become attached to Molly, and Molly's secret obsession with documenting the events of her life in case her mother, who left them years ago, ever comes back, gets her in danger with some bad people who don't like some of the things she has recorded on her camera.
Although I finished the book, I felt it was too light weight, albeit charming in a way. I felt a great deal better about it after discovering that it was aimed at middle-grade readers, something I hadn't been aware of. For that age group, I would heartily recommend it. For adult readers, not so much.
For a bit of an intro, cozies, to me, have become formulaic and boring. New woman comes to town after divorcing idiot/ relation dying and leaving her a store/losing high-powered job and ratio to small town to lick wounds/start a new business and stumbles upon a corpse that makes her the main suspect/she has never seen before/was involved with relation who died. In other words, boring.
Do you have any idea how rare murder is in this country?
Suddenly, here comes a cozy that has no murders, is seen fry a completely different viewpoint, and actually keeps you on your toes. It's different, it's bright, it's imaginative, and it's fun. Given, o not the most difficult mystery I've ever read, but it's great fun and IT'S ORIGINAL.
Fabulous - as seen through the eyes of a working dog
An absolutely wonderful read. All seen through the eyes of a dog trained in sniffing out bed bugs. His employer and his young daughter take him on a job to some upscale apartments. Why do they suffer a break in later? Why are bed bugs found in some prints? A great plot that although you get who the "baddie" is early on is full of humour and a delight to read. It also delves into the pitfalls that can happen after childbirth. Warm real characters but the real star is Doddle with his common sense and logic. Leaving him totally confused by the phrases used by humans and the way they relate to issues.
I expected the book to be delightful but this book surpassed all my expectations. Doodle makes an exemplary companion to the intelligent little Molly and it is wonderful that he thinks of himself as an on-the-job service dog! In addition to his superlative bedbug detection skills, Doodle is a staunch follower of Molly's instructions irrespective of his own thoughts about whatever is going on that he freely shares with the readers. All of his expressed thoughts enchant the readers.
Thanks very much for a scintillating reading experience, Ms. Kroupa.
I'm a dog lover and goldendoodles are one of the most adorable breeds, so I naturally read the Doodle books for the sheer enjoyment of the story. I seem to be reading these out of production order, but since each is a stand-alone I don't think I've missed anything. I reach for one of these when I want a read that is light and a warm-fuzzy, even though Doodle is not a pet. There is a great deal of repetition by Doodle accompanied by '...,remember?' and '...just sayin'.' that should be edited out. Most astute readers do not like repetition. This story only had 4 proofreading errors that interrupt the good read, which I really appreciate.
The adventures of Doodles and Molly was actually a nice break after a few emotional books, mysteries and murders. Although it's probably a genre more purposed for Jr high or older, I found myself caught up in Doodles' explanations thru a dog's point of view, his identification of different smells that we take for granted, and the fact that he could feel the emotions going on around him. Must be a hard job to sniff out bed bugs, that's for sure! But at least he has a partner in crime for other off beat crimes to occupy his life. This story is told thru the dog's interpretation s, which makes it even cuter.
I really enjoyed reading this book. Once I started, I couldn’t put it down. I really like the dog Doodle who is one of the main characters and the bosses daughter Molly. If the father could just listen and understand the dog, it wouldn’t have taken as long to solve the mystery. However, I’m happier that Molly and Doodle were the ones to solve the mystery. Read this book and you’ll want to read the next book in this series until you have finished them all. I promise!!!
I chose this rating because one cannot give Doodle any less. In his own words, we learn about Doodle's job and his salary for finding bed bugs. He works for the boss and the boss' young daughter, Molly, in the bed-bugged searching business. Molly never gives up hoping to find her mother who left years ago. There is mystery after mystery and Doodle has additional duties added to his job description. I am definitely looking forward to the next book in this series.
This is the first book, other than children's books, that I have read written from an animals point of view without elements of fantasy or science fiction. It won't be the last! Doodles is a worthy hero. I was nearly as frustrated with the humans as he was at times! I am looking at my own pets with new,more attentive eyes. I can strongly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery and likes dogs and children.In fact if you don't like them before you read it,it may change your mind about all of the above!
A Doodlebugged Mystery, Bk 1, EBK-M Kindle, @ 2011, Read 10/10/24, Fiction, Cozy Mystery. A labradorite, highly trained to sniff out bedbugs is purchased by a man, with a 10 year old daughter, who starts his own business to find bedbugs in hotels, apartments, nursing homes, etc. Molly, the 10 year old is looking for her mother who abandoned Molly when she was a toddler. The book is written in Doodle, the dog's perspective. 3☆'s = Good. A fun Cozy that's a bit different from the run of the mill cozy's.
Doodle is a sniffer dog who is trained to sniff out bed bugs. Molly, his owner's daughter, gets involved in a situation when she goes on bed bug hunt with Doodle and her dad. I liked that the story is told by Doodle himself and reading it from a dog's point of view is entertaining. I hope that Doodle gets the chance to tell us more about his adventures with Molly.
Cute book told from a working dog's perspective. Doodle is trained to sniff out bed bugs. His owner (and employer) is raising his young daughter. Molly goes with him on some of his jobs - she's a budding photographer. One night their house is broken into and her laptop and camera are stolen. Thus begins the search for the missing items and in doing so, a long estranged family member is found and an art theft ring uncovered. Well written. Comical to view things from Doodle's eyes!
This is told for the dog’s POV, and surprisingly enough, it works. This is a well written fun read that is hard to put down (I didn’t-one of those that kept me up till the early hours of the morning). The interaction between Doodle and Molly with their growing affection is great. Doodle understanding what his ‘boss’ and Molly says, but not really ‘getting’ it makes up most of the ‘fun’ part. Oh, and the mystery part is good. too.