The dog solved it

I combine my love of reading mysteries with my love of dogs. The library has numerous dog-themed mystery series to enjoy. After a day working then walking and training with my dogs there is nothing better than to cuddle with them while I read a cozy dog mystery. I have been reading this specific niche of the mystery genre since the ‘90s and have never been short on books to read when I crave a good mystery.

A Dog Lover’s Mystery by Susan Conant

The first dog-themed mystery series I read was A Dog Lover’s Mystery, which is centered around Holly Winter, a dog trainer and writer. Her main canine sidekick is Rowdy an Alaskan Malamute. As the series progresses she also welcomes two other malamutes, Kimi and Sammy into her family. I consider her the mother of the dog-themed cozy mysteries.

Rachel Alexander and Dash Mysteries by Carol Lea Benjamin

This 9-book series features private investigator Rachel and her canine sidekick Dash. This is one of the OG dog mystery series. Benjamin is a great writer and dog trainer. This is a series you can read in any order. Four of these books are available as ebooks through our Libby app. Check with interlibrary loan for the other books in the series.

FBI-K-9 Series by Jodi Burnett

These books are excellent mystery thrillers. Each book features a different dog who helps their handler solve a mystery. You can check out audiobooks for this series through Hoopla.

Mace Reid K-9 Mysteries by Jeffery B. Burton

This is a great three book series available in audiobook on Hoopla. Mace Reid is a dog trainer who specializes in training human remains detection dogs. He and his dogs, especially Vira, his Golden Retriever, work to find the dead, but also to hunt the killers. Kippy Gimm is a Chicago Police Officer who joins Mace and his dogs to bring the killers to justice. 

Suspect and The Promise by Robert Crais

These are two novels in Crais' Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series that feature LAPD K-9 Officer Scott James and his German shepherd Maggie. I read these without reading the rest of the series and I wasn't lost at all.

Suspect is fast paced and phenomenal! Officer James lost his former human partner when she was murdered. Maggie is a former military working dog who was traumatized after losing her handler to an IED. They help each other recover from their losses as they work to solve his former partner’s murder. The Promise was just as good as Suspect. I love fast-paced mystery books and these both deliver that in spades!

Ryder Creed Series by Alex Kava

Ryder Creed, a scent dog trainer, is the main character along with his pack of dogs, especially Grace, a little Jack Russell Terrier. Creed is motivated by the trauma of his sister being abducted when they were kids. That storyline is prominent throughout all eight books in the series. Creed and his dogs are also featured in Stranded, which is part of Kava’s Maggie O’Dell series.

FBI K-9 Novels by Sara Driscoll

FBI Agent Megan Jennings and her K-9 partner a Labrador Retriever named Hawk are the main characters in this series. Hawk is trained to find missing people – alive and dead. The first book in the series Lone Wolf has them tracking down a serial bomber. I look forward to reading the rest of this engaging series!

Sara Driscoll is the pen name of Jen J. Danna, coauthor of the Abbott and Lowell Forensic Mysteries and author of the FBI K-9s and the NYPD Negotiators. After more than 30 years in infectious diseases research, Jen hung up her lab coat to concentrate on her real love—writing thrillers.

Ten Little Bloodhounds by Virginia Lanier

This is one of my favorites! The main character kennel owner Jo Beth Sidden is great and the book is filled with lots of fantastic Bloodhounds. Lanier also has a delightful short story in Bark M for Murder.

Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries by Margaret Mizushima

The ninth book in this series set to be released on Oct 8, 2024. Mattie Cobb and her police K-9 Robo take the lead in this series. The books are all interconnected as they help Mattie piece together her family’s tragic history. Plus, they take place in Colorado, one of my favorite places on Earth!

Mercy Carr Mysteries by Paula Munier

Mercy Carr and her Belgian Malinois named Elvis star in the five books in the series and a sixth is scheduled to be released in October 2024. The stories take place in Vermont with a lot of time spent in the great outdoors. There is a nice cast of characters including game warden Troy Warner and his canine sidekick Susie Bear.

The Rescue by T. Jefferson Parker

This is a great canine-themed thriller with mystery and suspense. It delves into the story of Felix a dog rescued and adopted from the streets of Mexico by a journalist who just cannot leave him behind after reporting from an animal shelter in Tijuana. She soon discovers Felix is actually a highly trained detection dog. This is a fast-paced intriguing story that shows the lengths people will go for those we love, human or canine.

Chet & Bernie Mysteries by Spencer Quinn

Quinn does an excellent job capturing the voice of the dog Chet who is the main narrator of these books. This is an especially fun series to listen to audiobooks.

Quinn also has two middle grade dog mystery series – Bowser & Birdie and Queenie and Arthur (cat and dog). They are on my to-read list. If they are anything like the Chet series, they are amazing.

Downward Dog Mysteries by Tracy Weber

This is a very cozy mystery series to curl up with the dogs when it is time to read. It features Kate Davidson a yoga instructor and Bella a German Shepherd. Kate adopted Bella in the first book after a homeless man she befriended was murdered. The best part of this series is that the author is a yoga studio owner/instructor and a dog trainer, so the yoga and dog parts are done well.

More dog mysteries

I have added the following to my to-read list. I will never run out of great dog/animal mystery series to read for dessert!