Animal Mysteries

Help solve the mystery with the detective dog, set sail on an exciting adventure in the flying bath and cook up a feast for a very fussy king! This collection includes stories from four of Julia's illustrator partnerships: David Roberts, Sara Ogilvie, Catherine Rayner and Rebecca Cobb.

Lacey Doyle, 39 years old and freshly divorced, has made a drastic change: She has walked away from the fast life of New York City and settled down in the quaint English seaside town of Wilfordshire. Everything’s going perfectly - until someone mysteriously dies in her friend’s new B&B. Their village turned upside down and her new friend’s livelihood now in jeopardy, it’s up to Lacey and her dog to get to the bottom of the mystery.

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....

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.

Carpenter Whitney Whitaker, her cousin Buck, and guard-cat Sawdust just scored a hot property near downtown Nashville in a tax sale. While the Music City Motor Court might not be much to look at now, the two plan to transform the motel's 12 units into six one-bedroom condominiums with popular mid-century styling. But surprises await when Whitney discovers a squatter living in Room Nine and Sawdust uncovers a body in the bed next door.

Lost in a dark, spooky forest! So I sought shelter in a crumbling old mansion. But I quickly discovered that it was haunted - by cats!

Lacey Doyle, 39 years old and freshly divorced, has made a drastic change: She has walked away from the fast life of New York City and settled down in the quaint English seaside town of Wilfordshire. Spring is in the air. With last month’s murder mystery behind her, a new best friend in her English shepherd, and a budding relationship with the chef across the street, it seems like everything’s finally settling into place. Lacey is so excited for her first major auction, especially when a valuable mystery artifact enters her catalog.

Rufus the Doberman Pinscher has come to the ranch, and he's harassing the girl of Hank's dreams - the beautiful Miss Beulah the Collie. Meanwhile, Hank is suffering a serious case of mopwater poisoning. In his weakened condition, he enlists the help of that crafty little owl, Madame Moonshine.

Tired of his reputation as a con artist, Eddy the Rac sets out to prove that he's really a master magician. But the trick's on Hank when Eddy pulls a disappearing act - and leaves the Head of Ranch Security perched in the henhouse with egg on his face.

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".

Maddie Mills never planned on starting over in her late 40s. But after her no-good husband ends up behind bars, the middle-aged divorcée along with her two adorable pups, reluctantly moves back to her late parents’ oceanfront house. She reconnects with old friends and family, and finds herself embroiled in more than her fair share of murder investigations. Determined to get to the truth she does a little sleuthing with her lovable pooches by her side.

Retirement in the Cotswolds has given Leta Parker a new lease on life. Growing close to her small-town pals, the former corporate trainer is thrilled to help them put on the village's annual autumn celebration. But the punch goes sour when a friend's estranged magician husband is found murdered. With the newly widowed woman the prime suspect, Leta leaps into action with spunky friends and her talking dog and cat to clear her name. But when they trace the lecherous victim to England's picturesque southern coast, they discover a long list of past lovers.

Cattle call. A gang of marauding dogs is threatening the calf population on the ranch, and Hank knows that it's up to the Head of Ranch Security to do something about it. But instead of being outside where he can fight off the fiends, Hank is trapped inside - at the mercy of Slim and his dreaded vampire sweeper!

It's roundup time, and Hank the Cowdog is ready to strut his stuff. So what's Benny - a world-class cattle dog with the papers to prove it - doing at the ranch? As Head of Ranch Security, Hank knows it's his job to find out. But what Hank learns isn't easy to swallow. Benny has been brought in to take his place in the roundup!

Big plans are afoot! Butterbean is going to become a therapist. The white cat is going to do a commercial for caviar-flavored pet treats. And Wallace is moving into a great new apartment. But these plans don't include a group of rowdy raccoons taking over the loading dock and throwing the building into turmoil. Now residents from the whole building are coming to the Strathmore Seven for help—from Second Floor Biscuit, a Yorkie with an unfortunate haircut who faces eviction for barking at the intruders, to the loading dock rats, who are feeling intimidated and upset.

To cheat or not to cheat? That is just one of the questions to be answered on the ranch! While interrogating J. T. Cluck, will Hank be able to figure out what scary creatures are planning an attack on the ranch? After Hank lures Pete the Barncat into making a foolish bet for scraps, would Pete try to cheat the Head of Ranch Security? Will truth and justice win in the end?

Between organizing a joint session with her friends at Bull Run Hunt, leading her own Jefferson Hunt Club’s fox hunting season, and looking after her beloved hounds and horses, “Sister” Jane Arnold is as busy as can be. She and her friend Tootie Harris are helping to lure home hunt club member Cindy Chandler’s two escaped cows, Clytemnestra and Orestes, when they discover an expensive watch carelessly abandoned on an overgrown path. The last thing Sister needs is another mystery to solve, but when one falls into her lap, she can’t help but get involved.

When Chet the dog, "the most lovable narrator in all of crime fiction" (Boston Globe), and his partner, PI Bernie Little of the desert-based Little Detective Agency, arrive to a meeting with hydrologist Wendell Nero, they are in for a shocking sight - Wendell has come to a violent and mysterious end. What did the hydrologist want to see them about? Is his death a random robbery, or something more? Chet and Bernie, working for nothing more than an eight-pack of Slim Jims, are on the case.

Things have been quiet in the coastal town of North Harbor, Maine, since Sarah Grayson and her rescue cat, Elvis, solved their first murder. Sarah is happy running Second Chance, the shop where she sells lovingly refurbished and repurposed items. But then she gets dragged into a controversy over developing the waterfront. Most of the residents - including Sarah - are for it, but there is one holdout: baker Lily Carter.

When novice P.I. Geri Sullivan first heard her adopted Chihuahua talk, she thought she'd gone barking mad. But it turns out Pepe is a savvy sleuth - and if he has his way, he'll soon be a bone-a-fido celebrity, too, as Pepe and Geri are Hollywood-bound to star in the reality show Dancing with Dogs. So far, so bueno. Then Nigel St. Nigel, the judge everyone loves to hate, becomes the judge someone wanted dead. Pepe and Geri are hot on a killer's heels but between perfecting the paso doble and protecting Pepe's Pomeranian lady love, both have their paws full.