Amateur sleuth Clarissa Montgomery Hayes loves her loyal canine partner, Paw. Together they sniff out crime and dig up clues to solve mysteries. Can a dog be a detective? He sure can. The dog detective is on the case in this collection of the first five cozy mystery short stories. In "The Mystery of the Blue Dolphins," Clarissa's amateur sleuth uncle has died. Or was it murder? And what has happened to the stolen jewels he was investigating? Clarissa and Paw are on vacation at the beach in "The Mystery of Aunt Carol's Disappearance" where their friend's aunt has vanished. Has she been kidnapped? Can Paw track her down? Clarissa finds a dead body in her neighbor's shed in "The Mystery of the Body in the Shed." Who was the man and how did he die? Will Paw be able to protect Clarissa from the killer? Clarissa and Paw are on the case in "The Mystery of the Missing Bear." Why would anyone hide a key in a stuffed bear? More secrets are revealed as Paw sniffs out clues. In "The Mystery of the Missing Actor," the new actor in town is missing from his ransacked home. Where is he and his cat? And why is his parrot yelling, "No! John! No!" Join Clarissa and her feisty Saint Bernard as they dig up clues and collar the criminals.

I could smell him - or rather the booze on his breath - before he even opened the door, but my sense of smell is pretty good, probably better than yours. So begins this fabulous, funny new detective novel featuring Bernie, a slightly down-at-heel PI; and his off sider, Chet, a dog - and the captivating narrator of the story. Chet may have flunked out of police school (I'd been the best leaper in K-9 class, which had led to all the trouble in a way I couldn't remember exactly, although blood was involved), but he's just as much a detective as Bernie - superior, sometimes, in his insight into human foibles. In Dog On It, their first adventure, Chet and Bernie investigate the disappearance of a teenage girl who may or may not have been kidnapped, but who's definitely gotten herself mixed up with some very unsavoury characters.

When someone steals an old boot, Jack doesn't care. Then someone steals his squeaker bone. And his blanket. And Red's ball. Now Jack does care. Who is the thief of Doggeroo? How will Jack solve the case of the Dog Den Mystery?

Meet Randolph. A dog like any other dog—but with a nose for murder . . . Harry is a man still mourning the loss of his beloved girlfriend, Imogen, who left him suddenly without a word. He’s also the owner of a plump, poetry-loving Lab, Randolph. Like most Manhattan dogs, Randolph spends his days sifting through a world of scents, his owner’s neuroses, and an overcrowded doggy run at the American Museum of Natural History. But now a bereft Harry has drifted into a circle of would-be occultists. Which might not be so bad if one of them wasn’t also a murderer. But which one? With 100,000 times the smelling power of a human being, Randolph can quickly detect the scents of guilt, anxiety, and avarice—and he has no lack of suspects, from a seductive con woman to an uncouth professor of the decorative arts. Now, to protect his hapless owner’s life, Randolph might have to do the unthinkable—and start training Harry to catch a killer. . . .

A beautiful heiress has been found dead on a train. A playboy has been stabbed through the heart during a costume ball. An elderly woman suspects that she is being slowly poisoned to death. A prince fears for his reputation when his fiancÉe is embroiled in another man's murder. A forgotten recluse makes headlines after he is shot in the head. Who but Agatha Christie could concoct such canny crimes? Who but Belgian detective Hercule Poirot could possibly solve them? It's a challenge to be met—in a triumph of detection.

A bestselling modern classic—both poignant and funny—narrated by a fifteen year old autistic savant obsessed with Sherlock Holmes, this dazzling novel weaves together an old-fashioned mystery, a contemporary coming-of-age story, and a fascinating excursion into a mind incapable of processing emotions. Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. At fifteen, Christopher’s carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbour’s dog Wellington impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing. Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer, and turns to his favourite fictional character, the impeccably logical Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration. But the investigation leads him down some unexpected paths and ultimately brings him face to face with the dissolution of his parents’ marriage. As Christopher tries to deal with the crisis within his own family, the narrative draws readers into the workings of Christopher’s mind. And herein lies the key to the brilliance of Mark Haddon’s choice of narrator: The most wrenching of emotional moments are chronicled by a boy who cannot fathom emotions. The effect is dazzling, making for one of the freshest debut in years: a comedy, a tearjerker, a mystery story, a novel of exceptional literary merit that is great fun to read.

Tracy Waterhouse leads a quiet, ordered life as a retired police detective -- a life that takes a surprising turn when she encounters Kelly Cross, a habitual offender, dragging a young child through town. Both appear miserable and better off without each other -- or so decides Tracy, in a snap decision that surprises herself as much as Kelly. Suddenly burdened with a small child, Tracy soon learns her parental inexperience is actually the least of her problems, as much larger ones loom for her and her young charge. Meanwhile, Jackson Brodie, the beloved detective of novels such as Case Histories, is embarking on a different sort of rescue: that of an abused dog. Dog in tow, Jackson is about to learn, along with Tracy, that no good deed goes unpunished.