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.
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?
