Fri 13 Feb 2026
Archived PI Review: DICK LOCHTE – Sleeping Dog.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[6] Comments
DICK LOCHTE – Sleeping Dog. Leo Bloodworth and Serendipity Dahlquist #1.Arbor House, hardcover, 1985. Warner, paperback, December 1986.
In which a young worldly-wise girl (Serendity, 14) meets a world-weary private eye (mid-40s?) named Leo Bloodworth. Her dog is missing, and she needs him to help find him. The trail (for her mother, as well) leads them up and down the state of California today.
I loved the first two chapters, and the wrap-up of the detective story was nearly as nice, but I have to confess I found the middle section of this long book just a little too long, And if this is the state of California today, I’m glad to be here in New England.
The Leo Bloodworth & Serendity Dahlquist series:
Sleeping Dog (1985)
Laughing Dog (1988)
Rappin’ Dog (2014)
Diamond Dog (2014)
Devil Dog (2017)
Mad Dog (2017)
February 14th, 2026 at 12:16 am
Unlike the majority of these old reviews I post here on this blog, I do remember this one, and in my memory, I remember liking it more than this reviews says. I think I remember reading the second book in the series, but I had no idea until tonight that the last three even existed.
They came along much later. I wonder if the characters aged as well over the 25 year gap.
February 14th, 2026 at 4:39 am
I think I read Laughing Dog, I know I had one of Lochte’s Leo Bloodworth titles, but I don’t recall any details sticking in my imagination.
February 16th, 2026 at 6:45 am
I reviewed Sleeping Dog in CADS 5 ending with “a very well written and witty book … Highly recommended”. I also reviewed Laughing Dog, though not in CADS, and found it OK in parts but a bit disappointing and not as good as the first one.
February 16th, 2026 at 7:44 pm
Other people may have felt the same, Geoff. It took over 25 years before another book in the series came out.
I’m speaking mostly in jest, but the second sentence in the paragraph above is true, and at the moment all we can do is wonder why. All kinds of reasons, of course!
March 2nd, 2026 at 10:57 am
I absolutely loved Sleeping Dog and Laughing Dog. Unfortunately, the subsequent efforts were short stories rather than novels.
March 2nd, 2026 at 2:37 pm
Aha. One source calls one of them a novella. There is a hardcover edition, but it seems to be marketed primarily as an ebook. I haven’t checked out the others, but the same may easily be true about them. This explains why I never noticed them before. Thanks, Kevin!