Fuzzy, Finned, and Feathered Sidekicks

 

Fuzzy, Finned, and Feathered Sidekicks 

by Heather Weidner

So many of our favorite sleuths have a pet sidekick like Spenser and Pearl, Chet and Bernie, Mary Minor Haristeen and Sneaky Pie Brown, and Stephanie Plum and Rex the Hamster. Pets are part of our families and integral to our lives.

During the pandemic, my two Jack Russell terriers (Disney the brunette and Riley her brother) became my fuzzy coworkers. They Zoom-bombed my staff meetings, barked at the most inappropriate times, snored during staff meetings, and provided comfort and support during the craziness.

So, it’s just natural to have pets in my mysteries. In the Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries, Bijou is a little Jack Russell, who is based on my dog Disney. She’s spunky and a ball of energy. The Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries has Margaret Thatcher Reynolds, an English bulldog who has two speeds, slow and napping.

My Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries features Chloe, a French bulldog, and her nemesis, store cat Neville the Devil cat. The pair who have a love/hate relationship are good company, and they’ve helped solve several mysteries in their quaint beach town. My new series, the Pearly Girl Mysteries (April 2024) has Elvis, a spunky Chihuahua. He may be small, but he’s a mighty defender of justice and an awesome squirrel chaser.

I am in good company with mysteries that showcase pet sidekicks. Here are the Writers Who Kill whose stories have furry and finned friends.

Sarah E. Burr’s Book Blogger Mysteries feature Winnie Lark and her fat, orange cat, Langdon. Her Glenmyre Whim Mysteries have Hazel Wickbury and her dog, Magnolia, and her cat, Bergamot.

Marilyn Levinson, who writes as Allison Brook, has Smoky Joe in her Haunted Library series. He’s the Clover Ridge library cat gray with a bushy tail (kinda like her own Romeo), and he actually belongs to Carrie, her sleuth. He has helped find a bag of diamonds and saved Carrie from a murderer’s clutches in another.

Korina Moss’s Cheese Shop Mystery series has Loretta, Willa’s judgy beta fish.

Susan Van Kirk’s Detective T. J. Sweeney in the Endurance Mysteries has a kitten named Eliot Ness, who’s the hero of Marry in Haste.

Grace Topping’s Laura Bishop Mystery series features Inky, a tiny black cat. Inky waits for Laura at home and gives her comfort after a trying day. She is an unusual cat in that she loves playing in water. So, an unattended basin of water is fair game for her. 

Molly MacRae writes about Ranger (a cairn terrier who makes a clever team with Rab MacGregor), Quantum (a brave and loyal smooth collie who belongs to Inspector Reddick), and Smirr and Butter (a large gray tom and a yellow kitten who belong to Janet and Tallie Marsh.) In her Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries, there’s Argyle the cat who lives in the shop and can see and hear the ghost, and Bruce, the intrepid Scottie who belongs to fireman Al Rogalla.

Kait Carson has a rescue cat named Tiger in her Hayden Kent series, and her new series, set in Maine, features a large ginger cat named Jellyroll.

Lori Roberts Herbst, in her Callie Cassidy Mysteries, has a Golden Retriever named Woody and an Orange Tabby Cat named Carl. (You have to read her series to see who they are the namesakes of.)

Margaret S. Hamilton’s Jericho Mysteries feature three standard poodles, Tib or Thibodeaux, Boo or Boudreaux, and Pip or Pippa the alpha female.

In Debra H. Goldstein’s Sarah Blair Mysteries from Kensington, RahRah, the alpha Siamese cat is the star until a rescue dog comes along in Two Bites Too Many. The little dog is a fluffy mess. The pair live with Sarah, but everyone knows RahRah is in charge. 

Who is your favorite literary pet?