The best cozy mysteries with cold wet noses

This story (and series) features pets in a retirement village where the protagonist, Charlotte, is technically too young to be there but remains because her grandmother raised her there. The neighbor’s dog unearths a skeleton in her backyard.

How it got there is the mystery to be solved. Charlotte’s pet serves as the litmus test for possible suitors. It’s a fun read. 

The mystery in this story is about the murder that happened years ago and three strangers who are drawn together in a small Georgia town. Memories come racing back to the residents in town when the woman who served prison time for the murder returns. The town is trying to survive and has lots of challenges.

Cody, the pet of Emily’s parents, is a link to them and a comfort to her. This is also the first story in a series. It makes you question everything and everyone in the small town. 

This book is the hysterical tale of two friends who started a business flipping houses after their divorces. Pam and Jan have three children between them and a Chinese Crested, toothless rescue dog named Moxie who goes everywhere with them.

The dog is hairless and infirmed but well-loved. When a body is found behind a closet wall, the real fun ensues. It’s laugh-out-loud fun, and Moxie is in the middle of it. 

This story is set at a Florida upscale resort where Millie Wentworth is the assistant general manager and discovers one of her guests dead in his penthouse suite. She has little faith in local law enforcement’s ability to solve the crime, so she takes it on herself with the help of her grandmother, Lulu, and Lulu’s dog, a Welsh corgi named Spud, and her friends.

There are lots of suspects loaded with motives. There are more stories in this series as well. 

Technically, this isn’t a cozy because Harlow Zane is part of law enforcement, but I love Elizabeth Goddard’s suspenseful romances, and this one centers around a cadaver dog—a beagle named Nell.

The dog plays a vital role in the discovery of the killer and in rescuing Harlow and her second-chance love interest. Nell makes a Goddard book even better!