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Leo Bloodworth And Serendipity Dahlquist #1
Sleeping Dog
This beloved, comedy-noir thriller teams up Leo Bloodworth, a hard-drinking, middle-aged Los Angeles PI with hypertension and a low tolerance for precious teenagers, with Serendipity Dahlquist, a bright and strong-willed roller-blading 14-year-old searching for her lost dog. But things quickly escalate, plunging the oddest of odd couples into the dark underworld of sunny Southern California and pitting them against one of the biggest, and most brutal, organized crime families in Mexico.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
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290 people want to read
About the author
Dick Lochte
55 books27 followersDick Lochte, author of the noir thriller Blues in the Night and co-author with The Today Show's Al Roker of the comedy mysteries featuring restaurateur Billy Blessing (The Talk Show Murders), began his career as a novelist with the publication of the award-winning mystery, Sleeping Dog.
As a journalist, Lochte has written for numerous publications, including the Washington Post, Playboy, TV Guide, Chicago Tribune and Salon. He has been a columnist for the Los Angeles Times for a number of years, most recently as a reviewer of crime fiction. He has also served as a contributing editor and theatre critic for Los Angeles magazine, receiving an Ovation Award from the Los Angeles Theatre Alliance, the only critic so honoured.
He has also written film scripts for such actors as David Niven, Roger Moore, Martin Sheen and Jodie Foster.
Lochte, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, now lives with his wife and son in Southern California.
As a journalist, Lochte has written for numerous publications, including the Washington Post, Playboy, TV Guide, Chicago Tribune and Salon. He has been a columnist for the Los Angeles Times for a number of years, most recently as a reviewer of crime fiction. He has also served as a contributing editor and theatre critic for Los Angeles magazine, receiving an Ovation Award from the Los Angeles Theatre Alliance, the only critic so honoured.
He has also written film scripts for such actors as David Niven, Roger Moore, Martin Sheen and Jodie Foster.
Lochte, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, now lives with his wife and son in Southern California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
September 5, 2014
Precocious doesn’t begin to describe fourteen-and-a-half year-old Serendipity Dahlquist who’s wise well beyond her years. Neither of her parents is in the picture and so Serendipity, or Sarah, lives in L.A. with her grandmother, a famous day-time television soap opera star. Sarah’s treasured companion is her dog, Groucho, a bullterrier that was a gift from Sarah’s late father thirteen years earlier, before he went off to meet his fate in the Vietnam War.
Sarah is devastated when she returns home one afternoon to find the front door standing open and Groucho gone. She appeals to the police for help to no avail, but a police detective refers her to a P.I. named Leo “the Bloodhound” Bloodworth. Sarah straps on her roller balls and skates over to Bloodworth’s office, but Bloodworth has no tolerance for kids and even less interest in the case of the missing Groucho. When Sarah refuses to take no for an answer, Bloodworth’s office mate, a P.I. named Roy Kaspar, offers to help. He takes a retainer from Sarah, drives her home and looks over the scene. He then promises to report back in three days.
When Kaspar fails to report as promised, Sarah tracks down Bloodworth is a sleazy bar and informs him that she’s just been to his office which has been ransacked. After assessing the damage in the office, the two then go in search of Kaspar and find him murdered. Bloodworth didn’t like Kaspar very much, but Sarah insists that “When a man’s partner is killed, he’s supposed to do something about it. It doesn’t matter if he liked him or not, he’s supposed to do something about it.” The Bloodhound tells Sarah that she’s been watching too many old movies and that he’s perfectly content to let the cops handle the investigation.
In fairly short order, though, it turns out that Kaspar’s murder and the disappearance of Groucho are almost certainly related and for reasons way too complicated to explain, Sarah and Bloodworth wind up joined at the hip, on the road, and up to their necks in trouble with a particularly vicious band of Mexican criminals. It’s a very entertaining romp, principally because Lochte has created in Sarah and Bloodworth two unique, intriguing and very amusing characters. The dialogue between them is often hilarious.
The story is told through their alternating views so that the reader sees each development through the eyes of both Sarah and Bloodworth, and the end result is a great deal of fun. This book was first published in 1985, and was nominated for virtually all of the major crime fiction awards. The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association named it one of the 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Twentieth Century, but it has been out of print and largely unavailable for a number of years. Happily, it has just been re-released in a new trade paperback edition as well as in an e-book edition and so it’s now available to an entirely new audience of readers who are sure to enjoy it as much as the original audience did.
Sarah is devastated when she returns home one afternoon to find the front door standing open and Groucho gone. She appeals to the police for help to no avail, but a police detective refers her to a P.I. named Leo “the Bloodhound” Bloodworth. Sarah straps on her roller balls and skates over to Bloodworth’s office, but Bloodworth has no tolerance for kids and even less interest in the case of the missing Groucho. When Sarah refuses to take no for an answer, Bloodworth’s office mate, a P.I. named Roy Kaspar, offers to help. He takes a retainer from Sarah, drives her home and looks over the scene. He then promises to report back in three days.
When Kaspar fails to report as promised, Sarah tracks down Bloodworth is a sleazy bar and informs him that she’s just been to his office which has been ransacked. After assessing the damage in the office, the two then go in search of Kaspar and find him murdered. Bloodworth didn’t like Kaspar very much, but Sarah insists that “When a man’s partner is killed, he’s supposed to do something about it. It doesn’t matter if he liked him or not, he’s supposed to do something about it.” The Bloodhound tells Sarah that she’s been watching too many old movies and that he’s perfectly content to let the cops handle the investigation.
In fairly short order, though, it turns out that Kaspar’s murder and the disappearance of Groucho are almost certainly related and for reasons way too complicated to explain, Sarah and Bloodworth wind up joined at the hip, on the road, and up to their necks in trouble with a particularly vicious band of Mexican criminals. It’s a very entertaining romp, principally because Lochte has created in Sarah and Bloodworth two unique, intriguing and very amusing characters. The dialogue between them is often hilarious.
The story is told through their alternating views so that the reader sees each development through the eyes of both Sarah and Bloodworth, and the end result is a great deal of fun. This book was first published in 1985, and was nominated for virtually all of the major crime fiction awards. The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association named it one of the 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Twentieth Century, but it has been out of print and largely unavailable for a number of years. Happily, it has just been re-released in a new trade paperback edition as well as in an e-book edition and so it’s now available to an entirely new audience of readers who are sure to enjoy it as much as the original audience did.
December 5, 2025
A biting LA noir. The use of two narrators - the cynical PI joined by the young teenage girl - makes this stand out from others in the genre and adds a refreshing twist to the suitably convoluted plot that comes together nicely at the climax. Full of dead pan dialogue and a sprinkling of violence. It's a shame the sequel failed to live up to this and the series never took off, but this is a great standalone book.
March 5, 2019
Mar 4 ~~ Will explain my DNF of this one tomorrow.
Mar 5 ~~ I call it my Encore List. It is made up of books that caught my eye for whatever reason while I was tidying and culling my library recently. The Encore List consists of books that I know I have read at some point in the past but can't remember enough about them to make a Stay or Go decision without re-reading. I've been plugging away at these books since January and have now made decisions on 17 out of 50 of them.
I am being a bit ruthless in my reading of these titles, too. I am trying to demand more from a Keeper Book than I used to, which made it possible for me during that clean-up to put aside around 400 for donation (either to Mom, who insisted on going through every title before I could get it too far out of her reach, or to the local library).
I don't read much crime stuff or detective tales any more. I used to go through them like candy but my tastes have changed. So the odds were against this book to start with, I suppose. But the cover intrigued me, and the premise: written simultaneously by two different characters. One a 14 year old girl (the owner of the missing dog) and the other a private detective with plenty of issues and a lot of trouble with certain people who are looking for something and kill the man who shares office space with him.
It all started off okay for me. I sort of liked the girl Serendipity, even though I heard slight echoes of Damon Runyon for some reason in the way she wrote her sections of the story. And I liked when the detective came in and had a slightly different view of things. But then why would he admit that the girl had clobbered the bad guy, thereby saving the detective the humiliation of a more thorough beating. Then again, whose is the correct version?
But I don't know, once the killing began I was put off by the book and lost interest. I could not see a fourteen year old girl reacting the way this one did at the scene of the crime. Or any of the adults accepting her presence in the first place, not to mention all the comments they made to the detective about her. I couldn't help it, this book may be very clever further along, but I do not care to keep trying to recapture the fun of the first few pages.
So Away it goes.
Mar 5 ~~ I call it my Encore List. It is made up of books that caught my eye for whatever reason while I was tidying and culling my library recently. The Encore List consists of books that I know I have read at some point in the past but can't remember enough about them to make a Stay or Go decision without re-reading. I've been plugging away at these books since January and have now made decisions on 17 out of 50 of them.
I am being a bit ruthless in my reading of these titles, too. I am trying to demand more from a Keeper Book than I used to, which made it possible for me during that clean-up to put aside around 400 for donation (either to Mom, who insisted on going through every title before I could get it too far out of her reach, or to the local library).
I don't read much crime stuff or detective tales any more. I used to go through them like candy but my tastes have changed. So the odds were against this book to start with, I suppose. But the cover intrigued me, and the premise: written simultaneously by two different characters. One a 14 year old girl (the owner of the missing dog) and the other a private detective with plenty of issues and a lot of trouble with certain people who are looking for something and kill the man who shares office space with him.
It all started off okay for me. I sort of liked the girl Serendipity, even though I heard slight echoes of Damon Runyon for some reason in the way she wrote her sections of the story. And I liked when the detective came in and had a slightly different view of things. But then why would he admit that the girl had clobbered the bad guy, thereby saving the detective the humiliation of a more thorough beating. Then again, whose is the correct version?
But I don't know, once the killing began I was put off by the book and lost interest. I could not see a fourteen year old girl reacting the way this one did at the scene of the crime. Or any of the adults accepting her presence in the first place, not to mention all the comments they made to the detective about her. I couldn't help it, this book may be very clever further along, but I do not care to keep trying to recapture the fun of the first few pages.
So Away it goes.
November 7, 2016
Meet one of the most offbeat detective teams you’ll ever meet – a sharp 14 year old girl looking for her missing dog and a world weary LA former cop turned private eye – as they try to unravel a string of knife and garroting killings up and down California – killings that seem to follow them wherever they go.
Along the way, they run into organized dog fights; the girl’s mom who abandoned her years ago and left her in care of her soap actress grandmother; the local mafia; violent, but dumb, detectives; LA television people, and a host of other strange and too familiar characters, many you’ll wish you never meet.
This is a laugh out loud thriller that will keep you looking for the killer until nearly the last incredible page.
Along the way, they run into organized dog fights; the girl’s mom who abandoned her years ago and left her in care of her soap actress grandmother; the local mafia; violent, but dumb, detectives; LA television people, and a host of other strange and too familiar characters, many you’ll wish you never meet.
This is a laugh out loud thriller that will keep you looking for the killer until nearly the last incredible page.
November 14, 2014
The success of self-publishing meant that books no longer have an expiration date. Authors have a chance of rescuing their out-of-print books and giving them a chance to find a new audience. But should they? In the case of Dick Lochte’s “Sleeping Dog” (Brash Books), the answer is definitely yes. The slightly skewed story of a world-weary Los Angeles P.I. helping a precocious girl find her missing dog reads as fresh as when it was released in 1985.
In the pantheon of L.A. detectives, put Leo Bloodworth down alongside Sam Spade, only older and more broken-down ─ with a dickey ticker and not much of a fighter. Late in his life, the former LAPD cop is only interested in doing his job with a minimum of damage. When his ex-partner on the force sends the girl to Leo on her rollerblades ─ this is 1985, remember ─ the last thing he wants is a clever boots and a small-change case, and he sends her along to the guy he shares to office with.
Then that guy gets himself killed. Someone thinks Bloodworth knew about the dodgy stuff he was up to. His home and office are tossed, and he gets beaten up. Somehow, the missing dog is part of the mystery. Leo has to get on the case, if only to keep what’s left of his health.
At 14, Serendipity Dahlquist is smart enough to be believable and so adorable you want to protect her. Her missing-dog case is complicated by her straying mother, her soap-opera actress grandmother, and a TV comic gunning to be the next Bob Hope. There is also an encounter with organized dog fights that might upset some animal lovers.
“Sleeping Dog” is also worth reading for its clever backstory. After the blood dried, both Leo and Serendipity wrote tell-all books which an unscrupulous publisher combined into one over their objections. The result is a story told in two distinctive voices, with some events retold Rashomon-style.
“Sleeping Dog” comes from Brash Books, a new publishing house dedicated to bringing back the best mysteries and thrillers of the past. It was a notable debut for Lochte, winning the Nero Wolfe Award and shortlisted for the Edgar, Shamus and Anthony. The New York Times made it one of their books of the year. Three decades later, their judgments are still on the money.
In the pantheon of L.A. detectives, put Leo Bloodworth down alongside Sam Spade, only older and more broken-down ─ with a dickey ticker and not much of a fighter. Late in his life, the former LAPD cop is only interested in doing his job with a minimum of damage. When his ex-partner on the force sends the girl to Leo on her rollerblades ─ this is 1985, remember ─ the last thing he wants is a clever boots and a small-change case, and he sends her along to the guy he shares to office with.
Then that guy gets himself killed. Someone thinks Bloodworth knew about the dodgy stuff he was up to. His home and office are tossed, and he gets beaten up. Somehow, the missing dog is part of the mystery. Leo has to get on the case, if only to keep what’s left of his health.
At 14, Serendipity Dahlquist is smart enough to be believable and so adorable you want to protect her. Her missing-dog case is complicated by her straying mother, her soap-opera actress grandmother, and a TV comic gunning to be the next Bob Hope. There is also an encounter with organized dog fights that might upset some animal lovers.
“Sleeping Dog” is also worth reading for its clever backstory. After the blood dried, both Leo and Serendipity wrote tell-all books which an unscrupulous publisher combined into one over their objections. The result is a story told in two distinctive voices, with some events retold Rashomon-style.
“Sleeping Dog” comes from Brash Books, a new publishing house dedicated to bringing back the best mysteries and thrillers of the past. It was a notable debut for Lochte, winning the Nero Wolfe Award and shortlisted for the Edgar, Shamus and Anthony. The New York Times made it one of their books of the year. Three decades later, their judgments are still on the money.
July 1, 2025
Serendipity Dahlquist is a 14-year old roller-blading child of the sixties, living in 1985 Los Angeles, bright and curious, and then her prized pet dog Groucho is stolen. She seeks the assistance of the police but they shrug her aside and refer her to a hard-drinking PI named Leo Bloodworth. Bloodworth ignores her until his skirt-chasing partner is found dead and learns that Serendipity witnessed some hoodlums ransacking his office the murder.
"Sleeping Dog" (1985) is told to us with back-and-forth narratives between the two protagonists who don't always see things the same way. If you are familiar with the classic western, there is a "True Grit" vibe with regard to the character and mannerisms of the two, with Serendipity playing the Mattie role, young, smart, suspicious, relentless, and Leo playing the Rooster, world-weary, jaded, cynical, tough. Those characters in this noir LA private eye setting and combating narratives work very well and are quite entertaining.
The mystery itself and the crime investigation sway back and forth between comedic and rough pieces so that it surprises at times with moments of levity followed by a few moments of raw violence with startling abruptness.
Verdict: A really good 1980's California crime mystery/thriller with the great odd couple of Serendipity and Leo, and then jumping to an even more interesting caper when the Soto brothers, a pair of hispanic private eyes from southern California, are introduced in the back third of the book. The novelty is offset a bit by tenors that break the dark humor barrier at times but otherwise a really fun read.
Jeff's Rating: 4 / 5 (Very Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: R
"Sleeping Dog" (1985) is told to us with back-and-forth narratives between the two protagonists who don't always see things the same way. If you are familiar with the classic western, there is a "True Grit" vibe with regard to the character and mannerisms of the two, with Serendipity playing the Mattie role, young, smart, suspicious, relentless, and Leo playing the Rooster, world-weary, jaded, cynical, tough. Those characters in this noir LA private eye setting and combating narratives work very well and are quite entertaining.
The mystery itself and the crime investigation sway back and forth between comedic and rough pieces so that it surprises at times with moments of levity followed by a few moments of raw violence with startling abruptness.
Verdict: A really good 1980's California crime mystery/thriller with the great odd couple of Serendipity and Leo, and then jumping to an even more interesting caper when the Soto brothers, a pair of hispanic private eyes from southern California, are introduced in the back third of the book. The novelty is offset a bit by tenors that break the dark humor barrier at times but otherwise a really fun read.
Jeff's Rating: 4 / 5 (Very Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: R
January 15, 2015
What I liked best about this book
I loved the characters I could picture every one of them in my mind they are so real. Serendipity; a typical 14 year old, going on 20 something. She is the most adorable pain in the butt child and as sharp as a knife. Leo Bloodworth; a middle aged bumbling P.I. is no fool. Grandma an actress in a soap, Edith Van Dine, a great lady with sense of drama around her. And of course the cast of many others in this plot. Cleverly narrated through the points of view of the kid, and by Leo giving different versions of events. I loved how this worked so well.
Her dog is stolen and Serendipity is sent to a P.I. by police to help search for him, his partner decides to take the girls money to look for it but then gets murdered. Leo is then paid to look after her, and find her mother by her Grandmother. Reading what follows is one hell of a ride, that is both exciting and funny. The further into the the book I read the more complex the story and the characters which combines dog fighting, guns, gruesome murders and mafia style gangs. Comedy and crime brilliantly executed. A P.I. and a 14 year old girl make a very amusingly odd couple
There is so much great comedy in the writing that one time when I was laughing out loud I had to read the passage out to explain what was so funny and this set my husband laughing too, no mean feat I can tell you!. Listen to this:
What a great movie this would make.
Lochte managed to weave some wonderful characters into the story, so many that I wished I had a who's who list so as to keep up with them all.
Updated and now in ebook format this is a must for your reading pile. There is a real sense of old fashioned adult crime thriller in a style which is delightfully humorous to read.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many thanks to the publisher for a copy via NetGalley in return for an honest review
I loved the characters I could picture every one of them in my mind they are so real. Serendipity; a typical 14 year old, going on 20 something. She is the most adorable pain in the butt child and as sharp as a knife. Leo Bloodworth; a middle aged bumbling P.I. is no fool. Grandma an actress in a soap, Edith Van Dine, a great lady with sense of drama around her. And of course the cast of many others in this plot. Cleverly narrated through the points of view of the kid, and by Leo giving different versions of events. I loved how this worked so well.
Her dog is stolen and Serendipity is sent to a P.I. by police to help search for him, his partner decides to take the girls money to look for it but then gets murdered. Leo is then paid to look after her, and find her mother by her Grandmother. Reading what follows is one hell of a ride, that is both exciting and funny. The further into the the book I read the more complex the story and the characters which combines dog fighting, guns, gruesome murders and mafia style gangs. Comedy and crime brilliantly executed. A P.I. and a 14 year old girl make a very amusingly odd couple
There is so much great comedy in the writing that one time when I was laughing out loud I had to read the passage out to explain what was so funny and this set my husband laughing too, no mean feat I can tell you!. Listen to this:
Peru was a reasonably honest member of my profession who, though not exactly Mensa material, was big enough and mean enough to keep the kid out of trouble for an hour or two, if that was his task. At a cost of only $50. A steal. Peru's mother handed his business arrangements.
"What are the instructions again, Hound?"he asked.
"You keep Sarah, the little girl, in and everybody else out. Except me".
He nodded his big, oddly handsome head. He was wearing a bright Hawaiian spot shirt, tan slacks, and gym shoes with straps instead of string. "What about he mailman?"
"The mailman?"
"I once made a mistake with a mailman. You know, kinda pulled him apart. He was only doing his job, but I was on'y doing' my job, too."
"I think you can forget the mailman, Peru. Unless he rings more than twice."
Peru gave me a wink that was supposed to convince me that he understood.
What a great movie this would make.
Lochte managed to weave some wonderful characters into the story, so many that I wished I had a who's who list so as to keep up with them all.
Updated and now in ebook format this is a must for your reading pile. There is a real sense of old fashioned adult crime thriller in a style which is delightfully humorous to read.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many thanks to the publisher for a copy via NetGalley in return for an honest review
June 2, 2018
Awful book about dogfights
Subject matter was horrid. Graphic descriptions about dogfights. Girl's dog's head was cut off. I skimmed the book just to see if she found her dog and was disgusted at the outcome. Book was written almost 30 years ago. Author just spewed words. Would have been a short story had the author not padded the book with so much sloggy dialog and valueless descriptions.
Subject matter was horrid. Graphic descriptions about dogfights. Girl's dog's head was cut off. I skimmed the book just to see if she found her dog and was disgusted at the outcome. Book was written almost 30 years ago. Author just spewed words. Would have been a short story had the author not padded the book with so much sloggy dialog and valueless descriptions.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2018
Excellent book! I am so glad I found it. I had read one of the author's short stories in "The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries" and the blurb about the author enticed me to read his first novel. I look forward to the other novels in the series. I liked the stucture of the book in the way that Leo and Serendipity alternated narrating the chapters. It provided their differences in the perspective of the events that occurred. A thoroughly satisfying read.
Read
June 12, 2021wild about the 2 contrasting voices here: leo's wannabe philip marlowe vs serendipity's valley girl b/w prim old ladyisms inherited from her gma set each other off beautifully. the most fun you'll have learning about the dogfighting circuit. a handful of refs peppered in here to serendipity's budding sexuality were awk w/o adding any value to the narrative but nothing was unbearably cringe-provoking. (except for the reissue cover, zing!) looking fwd to reading the sequel
December 16, 2014
Sleeping Dog, a crime novel first published in the '80's, introduces a precocious and persistent teen, a jaded detective who disdains kids in general, and tells how they become an effective crime fighting team in spite of the awkwardness and miscommunication that ensues when they meet. Author Dick Lochte uses the Same Story/Separate Perspectives technique to tell the whole story as it unfolds.
Serendipity Renn Dahlquist lives with her grandmother, a key cast member of a popular soap opera. Her dad is deceased; her mother has a series of men in her life and long ago ceded the care of her child to her own mother, actress Edith Van Dine, aka Aunt Lil Fairchild. Serendipity enjoys a great deal of independence. She loves her grandmother and Groucho, the dog her dad had given her so long ago. She is of course distraught when she returns home from school to discover that Groucho is missing.
Leo Bloodworth is a seasoned private investigator. The local police department detective gives Serendipity his name, admitting that the missing dog will never be a priority for them. His real motive is probably to annoy Bloodworth, but regardless, Serendipity is not to be put off.
The plot twists and turns, introducing several interesting characters from seedy business people to Mexican gang members to local tv personalities who may not be all they seem to be. The book snagged several nominations for mystery book awards and, at the onset of a new millenium, was named one of the 100 Best Crime Novels of the Millenium by the Independent Mystery Booksellers of America.
Fun to read, with interesting characters who experienced Life Before Cell Phones and still managed to solve some crimes! There is a second in the series, Laughing Dog, which sounds like a promising read as well.
Serendipity Renn Dahlquist lives with her grandmother, a key cast member of a popular soap opera. Her dad is deceased; her mother has a series of men in her life and long ago ceded the care of her child to her own mother, actress Edith Van Dine, aka Aunt Lil Fairchild. Serendipity enjoys a great deal of independence. She loves her grandmother and Groucho, the dog her dad had given her so long ago. She is of course distraught when she returns home from school to discover that Groucho is missing.
Leo Bloodworth is a seasoned private investigator. The local police department detective gives Serendipity his name, admitting that the missing dog will never be a priority for them. His real motive is probably to annoy Bloodworth, but regardless, Serendipity is not to be put off.
The plot twists and turns, introducing several interesting characters from seedy business people to Mexican gang members to local tv personalities who may not be all they seem to be. The book snagged several nominations for mystery book awards and, at the onset of a new millenium, was named one of the 100 Best Crime Novels of the Millenium by the Independent Mystery Booksellers of America.
Fun to read, with interesting characters who experienced Life Before Cell Phones and still managed to solve some crimes! There is a second in the series, Laughing Dog, which sounds like a promising read as well.
February 12, 2016
Serendipity Dahlquist, who earned her name at birth in the late 60s, opens this story as a fourteen year old in the early 80s. Her dog, the one given her as an infant by the father who perished in Vietnam, is missing. At the suggestion of a Los Angeles police officer whom Serendipity thinks is not giving the problem due attention, she turns to detective Leo Bloodworth, whose office is in a seedy area, and Leo and Serendipity meet when a thug assaults Leo upon his getting to the office where Serendipity was waiting for him. A character in the book says of the two of them, “Spunky little miss and case-hardened private shamus join forces...” That seems to catch them in a nutshell. Serendipity is knowledgeable, observant, impulsive sometimes, and snarky. Leo, at triple her age, hasn't much experience with teenagers and does his best to show a hard shell. The two of them are the good part of the book, serving as alternating first-person tellers in an engaging way. The missing dog turns into a much more complicated case involving some serious bad guys. The awards and recognition this book earned surely sprang from the unique and well-drawn pair, a good pace, and an intricacy that I found to be too much of a good thing. That was not my largest reservation, however. At the beginning, I thought I was going to like the characters and the book. As things went on and the blood flowed freely and often, something I do not appreciate in a mystery, its rating slowly wafted down. There is apparently only one other full length book of theirs, and I may try it out of liking them, but they will lose my attention at the indication of similar amounts of bloodflow.
August 19, 2013
I think dogfighting is so barbaric that I nearly quit reading SLEEPING DOG by Dick Lochte. But, the story was so good it kept me going; instead, the volume of my daily reading reduced drastically.
There’s a very old-fashioned feel to the story—I kept expecting Humphrey Bogart to appear. The good guys are repeatedly attacked and beaten up, for what seems like slight reason. And there are plenty of horrible deaths.
Not my kind of story, you would say.
The ingeniousness of SLEEPING DOG comes from the two point-of-view characters: one, a world-weary, hard-boiled private investigator and the other, a precocious, strong-willed, fourteen-year-old. The P.I. writes spare text with an awareness of human depravity, while in alternating chapters—without ever telling the same story twice—the young Miss provides a fuller emotional explanation of events, only slightly twisted by her unique attitude.
At the end of the book Dick Lochte writes about the numerous awards the story has received and it’s obvious to me they’re well deserved. The original story was written in 1985 and Lochte made some small modifications to the ebook version. I think the book would have been better had he added a Cast of Characters (I think most books would be better for one). As it was I had to go back to reread large sections of the book to search for a character’s prior deeds.
If you haven’t read SLEEPING DOG by Dick Lochte, I suggest you dash out, grab the book and put it on the top of the reading pile.
http://www.reviewsbytdev.com/content/...
There’s a very old-fashioned feel to the story—I kept expecting Humphrey Bogart to appear. The good guys are repeatedly attacked and beaten up, for what seems like slight reason. And there are plenty of horrible deaths.
Not my kind of story, you would say.
The ingeniousness of SLEEPING DOG comes from the two point-of-view characters: one, a world-weary, hard-boiled private investigator and the other, a precocious, strong-willed, fourteen-year-old. The P.I. writes spare text with an awareness of human depravity, while in alternating chapters—without ever telling the same story twice—the young Miss provides a fuller emotional explanation of events, only slightly twisted by her unique attitude.
At the end of the book Dick Lochte writes about the numerous awards the story has received and it’s obvious to me they’re well deserved. The original story was written in 1985 and Lochte made some small modifications to the ebook version. I think the book would have been better had he added a Cast of Characters (I think most books would be better for one). As it was I had to go back to reread large sections of the book to search for a character’s prior deeds.
If you haven’t read SLEEPING DOG by Dick Lochte, I suggest you dash out, grab the book and put it on the top of the reading pile.
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September 15, 2022
An enjoyable detective story from the early 80s with two alternating narrators - a bog-standard world-weary, wisecracking private eye, and a near-insufferable, precocious fourteen year-old girl. Some of it hasn't aged well (the racial and sexual epithets used by our heroes, and the comments made about the girl's sexuality are fairly consistent), and I imagine the sequel is nothing but the girl recovering from the trauma she experiences in this novel (there's a lot of violence and a pretty high body count, and she witnesses some gruesome deaths), but it's a clever idea with some great action set pieces, and it's often a lot of fun.
October 21, 2017
Not bad, but the dogfighting aspect (while not gone into in great detail nor too much of the book) was ugly and unpleasant. It didn't rise to a condemnation or expose, however. The girl's reaction to the death of her pet was oddly complacent, and it didn't make a lot of sense, given the relationship to the girl, for the dog to be killed. The coincidences and the likelihood that the scam would be realized and carried out so long stretch the bounds of belief.
February 3, 2018
I did not the subject matter. A 14 year old girl should not be exposed to such violence and immorality. It is supposed to be humorous but I found it disgusting.
March 20, 2024
What a fun read. I had never heard of this novel or author but since I really liked the cover of the new green Penguin Modern Classic I picked it up. Apparently it’s one of a 100 favorite book list of classic mysteries, and it’s earned its place.
I loved everything about this mystery. Laugh out loud funny, original and interesting, with great characters and a road trip thriller with many noir twist and turns. Oh, and some fabulous female characters: soap opera actress granny, snarky fourteen-year-old-going-on-fifty Serendipity Dahlquist (great name!), a smart double-crossing chainsmoking PI and a lesbian designer Mafia Queen.
The plot is too elaborate to summarize here, but it all starts with Serendipity losing her dog and getting tricked by a police officer (who wants to play a prank on his friend) to hire a private detective specializing in missing persons. From there on it’s a noir comedy rollercoaster, with serial killings, the Mexican Mafia, illegal dogfights, assumed identities, and much more. The private detective roped into this mystery is Leo Bloodworth, a 45-year-old tired low rent Philip Marlowe called Bloodhound. Leo and Serendipity make for an unlikely but unstoppable team, and the choice of letting them each narrate alternate chapters makes for a suspenseful and hilarious read.
Very highly recommended. It’s one of those mysteries you want to reread every now and then. I do hope the sequel gets reprinted too.
I loved everything about this mystery. Laugh out loud funny, original and interesting, with great characters and a road trip thriller with many noir twist and turns. Oh, and some fabulous female characters: soap opera actress granny, snarky fourteen-year-old-going-on-fifty Serendipity Dahlquist (great name!), a smart double-crossing chainsmoking PI and a lesbian designer Mafia Queen.
The plot is too elaborate to summarize here, but it all starts with Serendipity losing her dog and getting tricked by a police officer (who wants to play a prank on his friend) to hire a private detective specializing in missing persons. From there on it’s a noir comedy rollercoaster, with serial killings, the Mexican Mafia, illegal dogfights, assumed identities, and much more. The private detective roped into this mystery is Leo Bloodworth, a 45-year-old tired low rent Philip Marlowe called Bloodhound. Leo and Serendipity make for an unlikely but unstoppable team, and the choice of letting them each narrate alternate chapters makes for a suspenseful and hilarious read.
Very highly recommended. It’s one of those mysteries you want to reread every now and then. I do hope the sequel gets reprinted too.
April 25, 2020
This entertaining mystery is the same story told by its two main characters: Detective Leo Bloodworth and his client, the precocious teenager Serendipity Dahlquist. The conceit of the story is that both have written a book about this particular affair, and their common editor has decided to combine the two versions into one book. The chapters alternate between the two, with minor deviations as each tells the story from his or her own perspective. George Eliot once defined a memoir as ''a string of lies'', and their is an element of this as the two stories deviate slightly in specific tales. Back to the story, several murders ensue and the plot gets murkier. Eventually, all is revealed. The dialogue is excellent, clever and sharp, with well rounded secondary characters. The story moves fast, with just the right amount of detail mixed in with the action, leaving the reader in state of consistent suspense. The book's ending is decent, which is unusual in this genre. Recommended!
December 11, 2024
I actually stopped reading at page 274 but going to count this as finished anyway.
It was fine to start, not my cup of tea but you know, fine. Animal cruelty aside. Then the middle aged dude started to get horny looking at the 14-year old. And then the author started to hint that the 14-year old wanted to sleep with the middle aged man and I just closed the book. This makes me wonder if all men think kids are sexy or if this author is just as sick as his characters.
This could have been soo good! An unlikely pairing solving crimes together (and saving dogs!). Instead it just did the opposite. So disappointed.
It was fine to start, not my cup of tea but you know, fine. Animal cruelty aside. Then the middle aged dude started to get horny looking at the 14-year old. And then the author started to hint that the 14-year old wanted to sleep with the middle aged man and I just closed the book. This makes me wonder if all men think kids are sexy or if this author is just as sick as his characters.
This could have been soo good! An unlikely pairing solving crimes together (and saving dogs!). Instead it just did the opposite. So disappointed.
August 11, 2019
The two main characters are cute together - an older ex-policeman-turned-private-investigator and a sassy teenager. The pair is reminiscent of the story “True Grit”. The story pacing is good, and the various characters are interesting.
I didn’t buy the ending explanation at the end - it didn’t make sense to me. It was not off-putting enough for me to down-grade my rating.
I didn’t buy the ending explanation at the end - it didn’t make sense to me. It was not off-putting enough for me to down-grade my rating.
June 26, 2025
I'm glad I found this series
I wasn't familiar with this writer until I randomly picked up this book. I liked it. I already have another installment in my reader waiting in line to be read. I'm looking forward to it.
A fresh storyline and good writing. Believable characters speaking convincing dialog. All the good stuff.
I wasn't familiar with this writer until I randomly picked up this book. I liked it. I already have another installment in my reader waiting in line to be read. I'm looking forward to it.
A fresh storyline and good writing. Believable characters speaking convincing dialog. All the good stuff.
November 24, 2017
Hilarious mystery featuring a unique odd couple of protagonists
Leo and Serendipity are marvelously original characters involved in a very complicated mystery... perhaps a bit too complicated...but the characters are so interesting that the plot barely matters.
Leo and Serendipity are marvelously original characters involved in a very complicated mystery... perhaps a bit too complicated...but the characters are so interesting that the plot barely matters.
December 18, 2021
Loved the characters, hated the dog fighting plot line. With different subject matter I would have rated it 4 stars. The afterword mentions that the author did some editing and updating- interesting that he decided to leave the racial slurs in and don’t consider removing those.
May 7, 2024
Thank you so much to Penguin for publishing Sleeping Dog in its first series of 20 Classic Crime reissues. Lochte is funny, a real stylist, and perfectly pulls off the bonkers plot in best Chandler fashion. I enjoyed it enormously.
Want to read
March 10, 2019Synopsis: Serendipity is fourteen and a going concern. She returns home to find her dog Groucho gone. PI Bloodworth doesn't want to help.
April 2, 2019
old fashioned complicated who done it with good characters
August 19, 2019
I enjoyed the switching narratives between the two characters, but the plot made little sense to me.
November 24, 2020
Really good fun! Re-read it many times, never loses its charm.
Want to read
April 14, 2021Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
Read
September 18, 2022Oddball.
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