PLN24

"The curious incident of the dog in the night," by John Haddon, is a story about an autistic boy named Christopher (Chris) who lives near London with his father. Readers do not know exactly how old Chris is but he seems to be about thirteen. Chris likes to go out alone in the night. One night he discovers his neighbor's dog, Wellington, dead with a pitchfork through its chest. The neighbor blames Chris and from there the story unfolds as Chris tries to solve the mystery of who killed the dog. Clearly Chris' crime-solving abilities are impaired by his autism which leaves him mistrustful of strangers and being touched and extremely detail-oriented. However, he is also a mathematical genius. Ultimately Chris discovers that his father killed the dog to get back at the neighbor and that the mother he thought had died was actually alive and well.