Alex is twelve years old and an only child. He spends a lot of time with his dog, William, which the family got from the SPCA a few years ago. But only Alex knows William’s secret: he can talk! William reveals this to Alex in the car on their trip home from the SPCA. But Alex learns even more secrets about his dog in this book, the first of a series featuring Alex and William’s adventures all over the world. William, who is a dogtective, makes arrangements to travel to Istanbul, where, in true espionage-style action, his contact awaits. From there the hunt for the villain Scurvy Scabscratch take them to Venice, Paris, Amsterdam and finally to London, where master criminal Brumbum’s mansion holds the key to the disapperance of the Silver Tulip. With black and white line drawings by Chris Venter.