• Age: 7 to 10
• Grade: 2 to 5

Jennie Levinsky can hear what her neighbors' sheepdog, Sam, is thinking -- and the junk-food-loving dog detective is thinking up more misadventures in this fast-paced, funny mystery. Sam: Dog Detective thinks there's a mystery brewing right next door! Three very odd women have moved in with a house full of caged animals. What's more, a scary-looking man comes and goes at odd hours. Sam is convinced the new neighbors are witches. After all, those animals look so wretched they must be under a spell. Curiously, Sam isn't feeling well, either. Have the witches put a hex on her, too? Can Sam, together with Jennie and her best friend, Beth, discover the truth before it's too late?

Mary Labatt is an editor and writer. She is the author of the Dog Detective Sam mystery series, the Sam and Friends graphic mystery novels, the Puppy Sam level one early readers and a novel called A Puppy is for Loving. With all these dog books you can guess what Mary does on her Clear Creek, Ontario farm. She breeds and raises Rough Collies and Welsh Springer Spaniels. In the picture you can see Mary with two of her collie mothers, Annabel and Chloe.

Mary Labatt's profile page

• Short-listed, Diamond Willow Award, Saskatchewan’s Young Readers’ Choice

Children who love detective fiction will relish the absurd premise and the surprise ending.

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