Lily and the Octopus, by Steven Rowley ranks as Jeoffry’s just about all-time favorite animal novel – or at least dog novel. It’s about dealing with the pending death of your best friend, about grieving her loss, and about loneliness, just about life, and about what will survive of us when we leave this earth. And as dismal as the themes sound, it’s actually told from a quite humorous perspective. Read our review here.
Craig and Fred, by Craig Rossi. This is a memoir about a Marine who is befriended by a local stray dog in Afghanistan. Craig grows to love the dog, Fred, and manages to bring him back to the U.S. (no easy feat!) where Fred helps him overcome PST he didn’t know he had. Wonderful story, taught us a great deal about Marine life and brought to our attention all the barriers to bringing a beloved dog back home. That must change! Our review is here.
Our favorite K-9 mystery thus far, Suspect, by Robert Crais, stars Scott and Maggie, both of them suffering from PTSD after their partners are killed. They heal each other in a novel that manages to be both an edge-of-your-seat suspense, and a detailed character study of both man and dog. Our review is here.
The Chet and Bernie series by Spencer Quinn! If you like mysteries and detective novels told with a humorous bent, this series is for you. Bernie is kind of a down-on-his-luck private investigator who’s got troubles: drinking, smoking, investing in some not-so-good enterprises. Chet is his smart, loyal dog who helps solve the mysteries that come their way – and tries to keep Bernie out of trouble. Chet narrates the books in his funny, clever, very dog-esque voice. Entertaining humorous reads that will keep you turning the pages! Check out the first in the series, Dog On It.
The Paw Enforcement series by Diane Kelly! Also for people who like K-9 crime novels with a humorous bent. When the series begins, officer Megan Luz, new to law enforcement, accidentally tasers her male colleague where it counts, and is assigned as a kind of punishment to the K-9 division, with a new partner named Brigit. Brigit one of the most witty, ironic, very smart German Shepherds you will ever meet, and her adventures with the very relatable Megan are a hoot. Very funny, sometimes bawdy, sometimes acerbic, these books are a blast! Check out the first in the series, Paw Enforcement.
n a much more serious note, we recommend the memoir Dog Medicine: How My Dog Saved Me From Myself by Julie Barton. I hadn’t known much about depression, and this book is sadly timely, in light of so many recent celebrity suicides, in how it enables you to understand the mental disease and how helpless a person suffering from it can become. The book is beautifully written and the ways that Bunker, a golden retriever Julie adopts, helps her back into life, are immensely moving. Read our review here.
Worthy by Catherine Ryan Hyde is a beautiful novel about a woman engaged to Mr. Wrong and a painfully shy, hurt young boy and the dog they both love. One of our favorites, though we’ve found nearly everything Hyde has written to be a gem. She is the master of compelling dramas about animals who bring unlikely humans together.
Find more of our favorite dog books here.