Dog Thriller

DeLillo's Running Dog, originally published in 1978, follows Moll Robbins, a New York City journalist trailing the activities of an influential senator. In the process, she is dragged into the black market world of erotica and shady, infatuated men, where a cat-and-mouse chase for an erotic film rumored to “star” Adolph Hitler leads to trickery, maneuvering, and bloodshed. With streamlined prose and a thriller's narrative pace, Running Dog is a bright star in the modern master's early career.

Still recovering from the traumatic events of the past year, newlyweds Aggie Malone, police chief of Dogleg Island, and Deputy Sheriff Ryan Grady are looking forward to a casual day trip to Wild Horse Island, a nearby nature preserve, with their precocious - and uncannily perceptive - border collie, Flash. But when Flash discovers a body in a shallow grave on the island, and Aggie and Ryan learn of an attack on the park ranger, a tangled knot of conspiracy, murder and deception begins to unfold.

Spencer Quinn's Heart of Barkness is the latest in the New York Times best-selling series that the Los Angeles Times called "nothing short of masterful".

The Kentuckiana Dog Show Cluster is not to be missed. Ellie Gates Wanamaker, a former standard poodle exhibitor and a member of a well-heeled Kentucky family, has been out of the dog show world for more than a decade, but when Melanie invites her to spectate at the Louisville Kennel Club dog show, she's eager to accompany her. Miss Ellie's presence at the expo center, however, provokes mixed reactions from exhibitors she hasn't seen in years, including some outright animosity. The following day Melanie learns that Miss Ellie has suffered a fatal accident while exercising her dogs.

In the fifth FBI K-9 novel, Sara Driscoll weaves together fast-paced suspense and the fascinating world of law enforcement canines, as Meg Jennings and her search-and-rescue dog, Hawk, are heading south, where it's hunting season. But this time the prey is human.

DC Craig Hunter of Police Scotland's Sexual Offences Unit. Ex-Army. Back doing the work that drives him, that makes a difference. Private Sean Tulloch. Squaddie. Monster. He charms women. Moves in, dominates them, abuses them. Under investigation by the Sexual Offences Unit and the Royal Military Police, his partner Paisley Sanderson receives a threat. Soon she's in hospital and Tulloch is in the wind.

Kay Powell wants to find that break-out client who will become a star. And she thinks she's found him: His name is Bruno, and he has to be walked three times a day. Kay is the Agent to the Paws, representing showbiz clients who aren't exactly people. In fact: they're dogs. Bruno's humans, Trent and Louise, are pains in the you-know-what, and Les McMaster, the famous director mounting a revival of Annie, might not hire Bruno just because he can't stand them.

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 Sally May and Loper head out of town for a wedding, Hank the Cowdog, Head of Ranch Security, knows it's up to him to keep things under control. After subjecting strawberry ice cream to rigorous product testing, test-driving a mysterious spaceship, and thwarting a sneak attack from a couch monster, Hank faces the fight of his life.

Thanks to Aunt Peg and her enthusiastic dog show pals, Melanie's aptly named Bite Club reading group has book lovers all over town burying their noses in thrilling murder mysteries. But another pet project surfaces when Melanie reluctantly agrees to train a Bulldog puppy for elusive member Evan Major. Between the unusual bruise on his face and a bizarre run-in with an unknown dog show attendee, introverted Evan's penchant for trouble sends him to an early grave - while landing Melanie in the hot seat for homicide.

Raine Stockton knows dogs, not kids. Nonetheless, she is supremely confident in her ability to take care her fiancé’s 10-year-old daughter Melanie for a week while he is out of town. After all, how hard could it be? But things get complicated when Raine and her golden retriever Cisco rescue a dog who is locked in a hot car in a remote Smoky Mountain park and subsequently discover the owner of that car drowned in the creek only a few dozen yards away. Was it an accident, or was it murder?

Edinburgh reporter Doug McGregor is no stranger to breaking the news. But when his editor is shot dead by a sniper in front of him, Doug becomes part of the headline. His close friend and cop DS Susie Drummond orders him to stay out of the investigation, so Doug retreats to Skye, seeking solace from his old mentor’s fate.

The name Stockton has always carried weight in the small Smokey Mountain community of Hanover County, North Carolina, and Judge Jonathon Stockton was one of the most respected men in the county… until a scandal was uncovered that destroyed his legacy and shook his daughter, Raine, to the very foundation of her being. Now her father’s misdeeds are once again threatening to upend Raine’s world, this time in the form of a relative she never knew she had.

Audrey Smart, 34, has made a major life change, walking away from her life as a vet (and from a string of failed romances) and moving to Sicily to buy a one-dollar home - and embark on a mandatory renovation she knows nothing about. She finds herself busy running the town’s new shelter, while also renovating her own problematic home - and dating again. When Audrey gets a call to find an injured stray in an orange grove at an old estate, the last thing she expects to find is love. The estate owner is charming, handsome - and like no one she’s met before. Might he be a Mafioso?

After years working as detective, Sergeant Rakesh Siyal is back in uniform and facing the hard realities of Edinburgh’s streets. With a missing teenager sucking away manpower, his frontline team have to contend with a pub fight in danger of spiralling out of control and turning into something far more dangerous.

Over a decade before the events of the manga series, a chance encounter leads professional bodyguard Yukichi Fukuzawa to begrudgingly take an arrogant boy genius named Ranpo Edogawa under his wing.

Meet PC Craig Hunter of Edinburgh's Local Policing Unit. Ex-Army. Ex-CID. Back in uniform. A straightforward domestic call out twists out of control when 16-year-old schoolgirl Stephanie Ferguson alleges her stepfather, Doug Ferguson, has been abusing her. Hunter is soon working with DS Chantal Jain of Police Scotland’s Sexual Offences Unit to kick off the prosecution. But before a full statement can be taken, Stephanie disappears from hospital.

Everyone knows the dead woman under the lighthouse, but no one seems to know why she died. What brought the folk-rock star back to Exham on Sea after so many years? Who wanted her dead? Does the key to her murder lie in the town, or far away across the Atlantic? Libby Forest arrives in Exham to build a new life making cakes and chocolates, and discovers a talent for solving mysteries, helped by Bear, an enormous Carpathian sheepdog, and a cast of local characters.

When a ghost from DS Susie Drummond’s past threatens to release explicit images unless Doug drops a dangerous investigation, his rage boils over. Fearing he's crossed a line that can't be uncrossed, Doug scrambles to cover his tracks and shield Susie from a devastating scandal.

Toby dog suddenly has plenty to say for himself. The only witness to the brutal murder of his owner, Toby is hexed by a woman with evil intentions. “Speak to none but me”, she tells him. Wretched and misunderstood, he’s incarcerated in the local pound. With a death sentence hanging over his head, Toby has almost given up hope. But then he meets Clarissa. Not only is she a witch, she’s a local investigative journalist, and - amazingly - she can understand what he says too. Finally, he’s found somebody who believes his story.