Animal Mysteries

Judy Moody is in a mood. A sleuthing, Nancy Drew kind of mood. So what’s a WBMS (world’s best mystery solver) to do? Go find a mystery, that’s what! And she doesn’t have to snoop for long: when Mr. Chips, a beloved crime-dog-in-training, goes missing, Judy Drewdy and her chums, agents Dills Pickle (Frank), Spuds Houdini (Rocky), and James Madagascar (Stink) find themselves smack-dab in the middle of a real-life, scare-your-pants-off whodunit. Was Mr. Chips stolen by dirty dognappers? And why are chocolate-chip cookies disappearing all over town?

Soon after banker Willard Carmichael and his young bride arrive in Pickax, a string of petty burglaries follow. Then Willard meets his demise—an apparent victim of a mugging—and the banker's home restoration project goes to the widow's cousin. Though the clues are as elusive as a cat burglar, the suspicious Qwill and his feline companions, Koko and Yum Yum, are determined to catch a thief—and a killer.

Sarah Grayson is taking a break from her bustling secondhand shop in small-town Maine to spend time with a friend and her dog. But their purr-fect visit comes to an end when the dog leads them to a storm cellar on a nearby property, where they discover a dead body. The deceased turns out to be a sticky-fingered financial adviser who swindled millions from investors and who has been presumed dead for almost three years. Unfortunately, suspicion falls on the owner of the property where the body was found.

Hank the Cowdog could have told Slim that bringing an orphaned raccoon back to the ranch was not the best idea. But since Slim never pays any attention to Hank, Loper, and Sally May soon find themselves housing an adolescent coon with a mischievous streak a mile wide.

When the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master Mr Jones and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a life of freedom and equality. But gradually a cunning, ruthless élite among them, masterminded by the pigs Napoleon and Snowball, starts to take control. Soon the other animals discover that they are not all as equal as they thought, and find themselves hopelessly ensnared as one form of tyranny is replaced with another.

A rumor on the ranch: who ever heard of a fiddle-playing fox? Not Hank the Cowdog, that's for sure. But when several reports of unexplained fiddle music come in, Hank knows that it's his job to check things out. And to his surprise, he finds that the ranch has indeed been invaded by a fox with a fiddle!

Blessed (or cursed, depending on who you ask) with human intelligence, Sir Edgar Allan Kipling, magical talking cat extraordinaire, spends most of his time keeping his human out of trouble. Of course, having a wizard for a human means that trouble is never far away. When Sir Kipling's human goes away for the weekend and leaves him to guard her magical library, things start out quiet. But he soon discovers witches smelling suspiciously of demon magic snooping about, and quiet goes out the window as chaos looms on the horizon.

Minnie Hamilton and her rescue cat, Eddie, cruise around lovely Chilson, Michigan, delivering good reads in their bookmobile. But the feisty librarian is worried that the bookmobile's future could be uncertain when a new library board chair arrives and doesn't seem too friendly to her pet project. Still, she has to put her personal worries aside when she and Eddie are out on their regular route and one of their favorite customers doesn't turn up to collect her books. Minnie, at Eddie's prodding, checks on the woman and finds her lying dead in her snow-covered driveway.

A series of bogus reports of active shooters has rattled the Fort Worth PD. The SWAT team has been repeatedly deployed to what turn out to be nonevents. When no connection can be made between the "swatting" calls, Megan's mentor, Detective Bustamente, is at a loss. Are the phony calls being made by copycat criminals, or is there a link they haven't yet been able to identify? Megan and Brigit join the investigation. But will they be able to stop the calls before the department's reaction turns deadly?

The arrival of the Janes brothers has the little town of Mayville Heights buzzing. Everyone of a certain age remembers when Victor had an affair with Leo's wife, who then died in a car accident. Now it seems the brothers are trying to reconcile, until Kathleen finds Leo dead. The police set their sights on Leo's son and Kathleen's good friend Simon, who doesn't have much of an alibi. To prove her friend innocent, Kathleen will have to dig deep into the town's history - and into her sardine cracker supply, because Owen and Hercules don't work for free....

It's summer in Mayville Heights, and Kathleen Paulson and her detective boyfriend Marcus are eager to attend the closing concert of the local music festival. The concert is a success, but then one of the band members is discovered dead shortly after it. At first it's assumed the death is a robbery gone wrong, but Kathleen suspects foul play - and she's certain that she, along with her trusty side-cats, Owen and Hercules, can help solve the murder.

An eye for an eye. Things are looking pretty bleak for Hank the Cowdog. First he gets sick on poisoned bacon grease. Then he accidentally trips Sally May - and she ends up with a broken ankle. And if that's not bad enough, he gets stuck playing dress-up with Amy and Ashley, Little Alfred's cousins. But when Tuerto the Killer Stud Horse breaks free and charges at the girls, Hank knows it's up to him to protect them. He'll show that one-eyed horse who's boss - even if it means risking his own life!

Kathleen is excited to meet three old pals of her beau, detective Marcus Gordon, while they visit charming Mayville Heights on business. But the reunion is cut short when one of the friends is killed - and the evidence points toward Marcus as the murderer. Though it seems she doesn't know all of Marcus's secrets, Kathleen is sure he's no killer. With his suspect status sidelining him from investigating the case, it's up to Kathleen and her feline partners-in-crime to find whoever is framing Marcus.

As the only veterinarian at Oak Falls Animal Hospital, Dr. Kate's life is complicated. When winter storms hit the Hudson Valley, she's swamped with hospital patients and house calls, and her long-distance relationship with law student Luke Gianetti is precarious. The discovery of the body of Sookie Overman, a professional organizer, gets the town buzzing, but Kate's too busy to take the case. She has her animals to take care of after all.

Just as Jen sits down to write her next murder mystery novel, a killer strikes again in the tiny town of Riddleton. Will Jen be able to solve this murderous plot, or will the killer, and her new book, get the better of her?

Cat ranch or cattle ranch? Hank the Cowdog doesn't like cats. Not one bit. So when a mother cat and her kittens take up residence in the haystack, he does all he can to get them to leave. But they've got nowhere to go. Unfortunately, neither does the gigantic bull who has knocked down the fence - and is headed right for the haystack! Hank knows that it's up to him to run that bull off and keep the ranch safe for everyone...even if that includes a bunch of cats.

The Cat Who Cracked a Cold Case by L T Shearer is a charming cosy crime listen for fans of Richard Osman and S. J. Bennett. A crime gone unsolved for five years . . . The life of Lulu Lewis, a retired police detective, took an unforgettable turn when Conrad first introduced himself to her...

In A Villa in Sicily: Olive Oil and Murder (Book 1), Audrey Smart, 34, is a brilliant vet—yet fed up by her demanding clients who think they know more than her and who don’t care about their animals. Burnt-out with the endless hours, she wonders if the time has come for a new direction. And when her 15th year high school reunion (and her hopes for re-sparking on old flame) end in disaster, Audrey knows the time has come to make a change.

When a funny turn of events brings a parrot to the ranch, Hank is not worried. After all, what harm can one copycat bird do? So he decides to go about his business. The only problem is, Loper and Sally May don't seem to appreciate his heeding their requests to bark louder and dig up the flowers. What's really going on here? Hank's not sure, but he's determined to find out! Picknickers sing "Because Thy Loving Kindness," and Drover sings a little number called "There Once Was a Doggie".

Clover Ridge librarian Carrie Singleton is thrilled to attend her best friend Angela's wedding, but Angela's family can be a bit...much. Angela’s wealthy cousin Donna hosts an extravagant bridal shower at her resplendent home, but the celebrations turn to gossip as the guests notice Donna's surgeon husband, Aiden, spending a bit too much time with Donna’s cousin Roxy. At the wedding reception, the sweet occasion turns darkly bitter when Aiden topples into the chocolate fountain - dead.