Margins
Three Dogs in a Row book cover
Three Dogs in a Row
2017
First Published
4.50
Average Rating
831
Number of Pages

Part of Series

These are the first three books in the Golden Retriever Mystery Series. In IN DOG WE TRUST, Steve Levitan has returned to his hometown of Stewart's Crossing, in picturesque Bucks County, Pennsylvania, after a bad divorce and a brief prison term for computer hacking. While he’s getting his life back together, trying to start a new career in technical writing and reporting regularly to his parole officer, he becomes friendly with his next-door neighbor, Caroline Kelly, and her golden retriever, Rochester. When Caroline is killed, Steve’s high-school pal, the local police detective, asks him to become the dog’s temporary guardian. With canine charm and doggy love, Rochester begins to win Steve over, and these two unlikely sleuths work to uncover the mystery behind Caroline’s death. The second book in the series is THE KINGDOM OF DOG. When his mentor, Joe Dagorian, director of admissions at prestigious Eastern College, is murdered during a fund-raising event, Steve Levitan feels obliged to investigate. He and his golden retriever, Rochester, go nose to the ground to dig up clues, including a bloody knife and some curious photographs. But will Steve’s curiosity and Rochester’s savvy save them when the killer comes calling? It’s almost time for graduation in book three, DOG HELPS THOSE, and Eastern College is in trouble. A prominent alumna is dead, and a faulty computer program is jeopardizing student records and financial aid. It’s up to Steve and Rochester to dig into the situation and retrieve the culprits! Rita Gaines wasn’t a nice person—but she did love her dogs, and most of her clients respected her financial acumen and her talent in training dogs for agility trials. When she’s found dead, there’s a long line of potential suspects from Wall Street whiz kids to doting doggie daddies—including one of Steve’s former students. Felae is an art prodigy now studying with Steve’s girlfriend, Lili, chair of Eastern’s Fine Arts department, and Rita hated his controversial senior project. When she tried to have his scholarship cancelled, he threatened to kill her. But is he the villain behind her death? In between helping Steve’s high school friend Rick track the killer, Rochester practices darting around weave poles and jumping over limbo poles while Steve helps shepherd the college toward the completion of another academic year. It’s spring in Stewart’s Crossing, and old friends – and their dogs—gather together to investigate and eventually, to celebrate.

Avg Rating
4.50
Number of Ratings
615
5 STARS
62%
4 STARS
27%
3 STARS
10%
2 STARS
1%
1 STARS
0%
goodreads

Author

Neil S. Plakcy
Neil S. Plakcy
Author · 88 books

I have been a voracious reader all my life, mostly in mystery, romance, and science fiction/fantasy, though a college degree in English did push a lot of literary works into my list of favorites. I began writing seriously in high school after an inspiring assignment with A Separate Peace by John Knowles. But it took getting an MFA in creative writing to kick-start my career. Since then I've written dozens of books, won a couple of treasured awards, and enjoyed the support of readers. I hope you'll visit my website, where you can sign up for my occasional newsletter, and also follow my author page on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/neil.plakcy. I love writing cozy mysteries as well as gay mysteries, M/M romance and gay erotica. My golden retriever mysteries were inspired by my own goldens, Samwise, Brody and Griffin, who continually give me ideas for new books.

548 Market St PMB 65688, San Francisco California 94104-5401 USA
© 2025 Paratext Inc. All rights reserved