S&S gets its paws on Mara's 'joyful' series, The Dog Park Detectives

Simon & Schuster UK has snapped up The Dog Park Detectives series by Blake Mara.

Katherine Armstrong, deputy publishing director for adult fiction, acquired world all-language rights to the first two books in the series from James Wills at Watson, Little. The first book, The Dog Park Detectives, will publish as a paperback original in June 2024, with the second in the series, Bone of Contention, following the next year.

The Dog Park Detectives follows Louise Mallory and her dachshund Klaus, who come across a body at their local park. The synopsis reads: "When the body turns out to be a friend of the local dog-walking group – The Pack – Louise and her friends decide to lead the charge in finding out who killed him. But have The Pack bitten off more than they can chew, or can they follow their noses and solve the crime?"

Armstrong commented: "I immediately fell in love with the idea for The Dog Park Detectives series when James and Mara first pitched it to me, and I’m delighted to be working with Mara again. She’s a brilliant writer and it’s such a great idea.

"In Mara’s hands it’s a fur-ociously joyful and entertaining murder mystery and the start of a pawfully exciting new series. With a great cast of characters, I can’t wait to let The Dog Park Detectives off the leash in bookshops next year!"

Blake Mara is a pseudonym of Mara Timon, author of Second World War thrillers City of Spies (Zaffre) and Resistance (Zaffre). She said: "I’m over the moon – it’s a such a treat to be working with Katherine Armstrong again and the amazing team at Simon & Schuster! This book is really close to my heart, inspired by my dachshund and our local dog park community, and there isn’t anyone I’d rather have unleash it!"

Wills added: "This book is witty and charming and lots of fun, filled with wonderful characters, delightful doggies and a great twist in the (wagging) tail. Think ’Crufts’ (but funnier) meets Richard Osman but furrier!"