~ The Right Side, by Spencer Quinn ~
Chet and Bernie are beloved literary characters in Spencer Quinn’s earlier books, but he has created a completely distinct, remarkable character in The Right Side.
LeAnne Hogan, the protagonist of The Right Side, is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan where she was badly wounded. She has scars, a missing eye, shrapnel in her brain, flashbacks and PTSD. Her former athleticism and quick reactions are gone, and she struggles to adapt to her newly unresponsive body and mind. Yet LeAnne is never a victim: she rejects pity, comfort, sympathy, and is determined to make her own choices at every point.
One might think that a writer of dog-detective books is ill suited for the intense character and plot of The Right Side. But Quinn is not a sentimental writer. Dog-lovers are drawn to his Chet-and-Bernie books, but those same dog-lovers can find it agonizing to read about some of the situations in which Chet is placed: about to be put to sleep in an overfull shelter, lost in the desert without water, thrown off a boat into the Gulf of Mexico.
That lack of sentimentality is very visible in The Right Side. LeAnne’s struggles are documented in detail, and can be painful to read. There are times when everything, including her own reluctance to accept help, seems stacked against her recovery.
LeAnne makes one friend, Marci, while recovering at Walter Reed in Bethesda, Maryland. But Marci dies suddenly, and LeAnne takes off on a crosscountry drive to Arizona and then Washington State, where she finds herself on a search for Marci’s missing daughter.
This is where the dog comes in. He bears some resemblance to Chet, in that he is independent, loyal, sensitive to situations and need, a large strong mixed-breed. Unlike with Chet, you don’t get to hear the dog’s inner thoughts: LeAnne is the focus of this novel, and that is very much as it should be.
LeAnne is not a dog person and has no interest in becoming one. The growing relationship between the two is beautifully detailed, and it’s almost thrilling to see the dog Goody instinctively protect her blind side. (Dog-owners, though, may wonder why their own beloved mutts are not quite as remarkably responsive and capable as Goody). Of course, the reader is rooting for the dog to solve all her problems, but life is rarely so simple, and Quinn is not about to let the novel be predictable either. The book draws to a startling, demanding conclusion.
The Right Side is not always an easy book to read, but is very much worth the effort.
The Right Side, by Spencer Quinn. Atria Books, 2017
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