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Nine Golden Retriever Mysteries
Nine fun full-length cozy mysteries set in the small town of Stewart's Crossing in charming Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Join semi-reformed computer hacker Steve Levitan and his clue-sniffing golden retriever, Rochester, as they go nose to the ground to collar criminals.
"The Golden Retriever Mysteries are Barking Good" - Sparkle Abbey, author of the Desperate Housedogs series.
"The Golden Retriever Mysteries are Barking Good" - Sparkle Abbey, author of the Desperate Housedogs series.
2927 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 23, 2020
311 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Neil S. Plakcy
238 books650 followersI 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.
Quick note: sign up for my newsletter at plakcy.substack.com to get free prologues, epilogues and short stories.
I began writing seriously in high school after an inspiring assignment with A Separate Peace by John Knowles. I didn't know I was gay then, but I knew I was longing for an emotional connection with a best friend. That desire shows up across my writing, from romance to mystery to adventure. I am lucky to have found my special person, and I want to inspire readers to make those connections, to one person or a found family.
It took getting an MFA in creative writing to kick-start my career. That's where I honed my technical skills and began to understand what kind of storyteller I am.
I remember reading Freddie the Detective about a very smart pig inspired by Sherlock Holmes. I’ve always believed that dogs make the best detectives. They notice what humans miss — a faint scent, a subtle shift in body language, the hidden treat in your pocket. That belief inspired my Golden Retriever Mysteries, where Rochester helps his human, Steve Levitan, nose out the truth.
My passion is telling stories where community, loyalty, and sometimes love solve problems just as much as clues do. Whether it’s a cozy mystery in Bucks County, a thriller on the streets of Miami, or a romance unfolding under the Mediterranean sun, I want readers to feel the heartbeat of the place and the people.
I write because stories helped me feel less alone growing up, and now I want to give readers that same feeling: a companion, a puzzle, and maybe a laugh.
When I’m not writing, I’m probably walking one of my own goldens, teaching writing, or daydreaming about my next story.
Since then I've written dozens of books, won a couple of treasured awards, and enjoyed the support of readers.
Every place I’ve lived has made its way into my fiction: the rolling hills of Bucks County, the neon heat of Miami, the beaches of Hawaii, the cobbled streets of Europe. I love exploring how communities work — from a café where dogs guide healing, to a fraternity house in South Beach, to a police unit in Honolulu.
My goal is simple: to write stories that feel grounded in real people and real places, but with enough twists, romance, or danger to keep you turning pages late into the night.
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.
Quick note: sign up for my newsletter at plakcy.substack.com to get free prologues, epilogues and short stories.
I began writing seriously in high school after an inspiring assignment with A Separate Peace by John Knowles. I didn't know I was gay then, but I knew I was longing for an emotional connection with a best friend. That desire shows up across my writing, from romance to mystery to adventure. I am lucky to have found my special person, and I want to inspire readers to make those connections, to one person or a found family.
It took getting an MFA in creative writing to kick-start my career. That's where I honed my technical skills and began to understand what kind of storyteller I am.
I remember reading Freddie the Detective about a very smart pig inspired by Sherlock Holmes. I’ve always believed that dogs make the best detectives. They notice what humans miss — a faint scent, a subtle shift in body language, the hidden treat in your pocket. That belief inspired my Golden Retriever Mysteries, where Rochester helps his human, Steve Levitan, nose out the truth.
My passion is telling stories where community, loyalty, and sometimes love solve problems just as much as clues do. Whether it’s a cozy mystery in Bucks County, a thriller on the streets of Miami, or a romance unfolding under the Mediterranean sun, I want readers to feel the heartbeat of the place and the people.
I write because stories helped me feel less alone growing up, and now I want to give readers that same feeling: a companion, a puzzle, and maybe a laugh.
When I’m not writing, I’m probably walking one of my own goldens, teaching writing, or daydreaming about my next story.
Since then I've written dozens of books, won a couple of treasured awards, and enjoyed the support of readers.
Every place I’ve lived has made its way into my fiction: the rolling hills of Bucks County, the neon heat of Miami, the beaches of Hawaii, the cobbled streets of Europe. I love exploring how communities work — from a café where dogs guide healing, to a fraternity house in South Beach, to a police unit in Honolulu.
My goal is simple: to write stories that feel grounded in real people and real places, but with enough twists, romance, or danger to keep you turning pages late into the night.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 2, 2021
A Rollercoaster Read
I enjoyed these books because they were funny and intriguing. Rochester is a real character and helps Steve to solve murders: the trouble is that he usually finds the bodies! Each of the nine books could be read as a stand alone book, but I liked being able to read them as a series.
I enjoyed these books because they were funny and intriguing. Rochester is a real character and helps Steve to solve murders: the trouble is that he usually finds the bodies! Each of the nine books could be read as a stand alone book, but I liked being able to read them as a series.
November 30, 2020
Mixed feelings
Both positives and negatives in this set. The basic mysteries themselves are mostly decent, although six and eight especially get slow on the pacing (the early ones had solid pacing but these get distracted by personal life and have less suspense and less focus on the mystery). Reading them back to back has disadvantages as it makes inconsistencies from one to the next more apparent, although these are somewhat trivial details usually, but annoy me. I felt definitely like the later books were less refined and polished than the earlier ones and had more internal flaws, such as setting up an opportunity multiple times in different ways or ignoring a "clue" like it never came up.
I appreciated the PA references. I grew up in Upper Bucks myself.
Both positives and negatives in this set. The basic mysteries themselves are mostly decent, although six and eight especially get slow on the pacing (the early ones had solid pacing but these get distracted by personal life and have less suspense and less focus on the mystery). Reading them back to back has disadvantages as it makes inconsistencies from one to the next more apparent, although these are somewhat trivial details usually, but annoy me. I felt definitely like the later books were less refined and polished than the earlier ones and had more internal flaws, such as setting up an opportunity multiple times in different ways or ignoring a "clue" like it never came up.
I appreciated the PA references. I grew up in Upper Bucks myself.
March 14, 2022
Full disclosure: I got this anthology as a freebie, one of those that is intended to entice you into following the entire series. For the most part I did enjoy it, because the plots were interesting and the characterization well composed. More about the "for the most part" in a moment.
Basically you could think of these books as a canine version of the "Cat Who" series, since the protagonist's golden retriever keeps giving him hints that help his investigations along, by spilling papers onto the floor or rooting out buried items or chewing on a business card . . . . The other thing you need to know about the narrator is that he is a computer-savvy individual who was tempted into some computer hacking that put him in prison for a while. I will not give away the reasons.
This leads, however, to the reason why I only gave this set 4 stars out of 5. For a supposedly savvy person to fail to identify (in book 9) a set of 9-digit numbers as SS numbers until his dog gave him a hint stretches credulity.
Basically you could think of these books as a canine version of the "Cat Who" series, since the protagonist's golden retriever keeps giving him hints that help his investigations along, by spilling papers onto the floor or rooting out buried items or chewing on a business card . . . . The other thing you need to know about the narrator is that he is a computer-savvy individual who was tempted into some computer hacking that put him in prison for a while. I will not give away the reasons.
This leads, however, to the reason why I only gave this set 4 stars out of 5. For a supposedly savvy person to fail to identify (in book 9) a set of 9-digit numbers as SS numbers until his dog gave him a hint stretches credulity.
March 14, 2021
They were fine. A bit sappy in places and a large bit unbelievable in others, but they were fine. I love Rochester, but sometimes the things he did were just too far out there. And the Steve story was a little far-fetched. From being in prison to an adjunct professor to running part of the college in just a few years? Nope, don't think so.
One big problem is all the editing issues. From grammar to spelling to formatting (don't get me started on book 9's formatting problems). Did no one read these books before publishing them? If not, they should have. I wanted to go through each book and correct all the editing and then re-publish them.
As far as detective stories go, Steve had to be an idiot to keep putting himself in situations like he did. And the police used information gained by a hacker because the detective on the case (Rick) is too stupid or lax or whatever to do his own work......that part just irritated me. Steve & Rochester the "death dog" made Rick look like an idiot on each case.
One big problem is all the editing issues. From grammar to spelling to formatting (don't get me started on book 9's formatting problems). Did no one read these books before publishing them? If not, they should have. I wanted to go through each book and correct all the editing and then re-publish them.
As far as detective stories go, Steve had to be an idiot to keep putting himself in situations like he did. And the police used information gained by a hacker because the detective on the case (Rick) is too stupid or lax or whatever to do his own work......that part just irritated me. Steve & Rochester the "death dog" made Rick look like an idiot on each case.
May 23, 2021
Nine times more great reads!
Only complaint: can't write a review for each book!from 1st to last book a love fest of Rochester, Steve and Lili - with ever widening circles of important characters adding to the charm of the books. Steve's constant struggles with hacking always a background theme, becoming more and more aware of what he could lose, weighing in on his need-to-know addiction. I love the day to day pattern of the stories giving one a real sense of participation. The author tackling issues such as present day homelessness, schizophrenia, and even glimpses into the effects of the Holocaust in some of the crime solving was very welcome adjunct to the mysteries. All in all, super enjoyable series. I wish I had a lovely dog like Rochester!
Only complaint: can't write a review for each book!from 1st to last book a love fest of Rochester, Steve and Lili - with ever widening circles of important characters adding to the charm of the books. Steve's constant struggles with hacking always a background theme, becoming more and more aware of what he could lose, weighing in on his need-to-know addiction. I love the day to day pattern of the stories giving one a real sense of participation. The author tackling issues such as present day homelessness, schizophrenia, and even glimpses into the effects of the Holocaust in some of the crime solving was very welcome adjunct to the mysteries. All in all, super enjoyable series. I wish I had a lovely dog like Rochester!
May 25, 2021
I really tried to get through this box set because I had read Whom Dog Hath Joined and while it was slow and dragging in places it was enjoyable because of the dog . Then I find this set and couldn't get through 1 chapter of 1st book because of the guy keeping on how much he hated the dog , Rochester . Oh and he wished he'd tried a relationship with Rochester's human before she got murdered . Not to mention it was slow and dragging . So I quit and deleted it because it was nearly driving me to drink .
April 16, 2021
Fun reading!
If you like dogs, family predicaments and a little PG romance, this series is for you!
I have to comment, however, that some of the middle books in this collection of nine has some sloppy editing. Words duplicated, or inverted most often. Book 9 was better, except for when a character was mentioned as being dead a chapter or two before his death!
If you like dogs, family predicaments and a little PG romance, this series is for you!
I have to comment, however, that some of the middle books in this collection of nine has some sloppy editing. Words duplicated, or inverted most often. Book 9 was better, except for when a character was mentioned as being dead a chapter or two before his death!
June 8, 2023
Great series
I picked up this set because I love reading books with dog characters but I really enjoyed this set and how the main character, Steve, grew and developed as a person. I will definitely be reading the next books in the series. An engaging mystery series that is clean and not too gory.
I picked up this set because I love reading books with dog characters but I really enjoyed this set and how the main character, Steve, grew and developed as a person. I will definitely be reading the next books in the series. An engaging mystery series that is clean and not too gory.
December 12, 2023
These mysteries are all amusing and intelligent. The plots don't repeat. My favorites were the 2nd to last, Where Placsy explores his Jewish background in the Trenton area and deals with murders both current and 60 years in the past, and the last one, which may presage a change of venue and/or career for Steve (but not, of course, for Rochester the Golden Retriever.
November 18, 2020
Nine golden retriever mysteries
A great mystery stories with a man and his golden retriever as his side kick fighting all the wrongs in his world he wasn't A superstar just a guy with a past
A great mystery stories with a man and his golden retriever as his side kick fighting all the wrongs in his world he wasn't A superstar just a guy with a past
November 10, 2020
Almost a Golden Overload
I 've read all the books and if God love dogs especially smart ones,, you will love this series. Enjoy!!!
I 've read all the books and if God love dogs especially smart ones,, you will love this series. Enjoy!!!
November 15, 2020
Awesome Cozy Mysteries
Loved all 9 books and following Super Sleuths Rochester and Steve. Couldn't put the books down. Highly recommend and you won't be disappointed.
Loved all 9 books and following Super Sleuths Rochester and Steve. Couldn't put the books down. Highly recommend and you won't be disappointed.
November 28, 2020
So-so
The book started out not too bad. However, before chapter nine I was tired of the Christian slamming. Too bad.
The book started out not too bad. However, before chapter nine I was tired of the Christian slamming. Too bad.
December 5, 2020
Read all 12 in the series. Thoroughly enjoyable for any dog lover. Great stories.
January 14, 2021
Love this series!
April 26, 2021
Very entertaining.
Got me hooked right from beginning and had to read them all. Great fun reads and very educational about hacking.
Got me hooked right from beginning and had to read them all. Great fun reads and very educational about hacking.
December 20, 2021
Really enjoyed this series, the dog is adorable
February 26, 2022
If you love dogs and a good mystery with a few twists and turns, you have to read this series. I loved it and can't wait to read the rest of the series.
January 5, 2021
This was a good read the books featured Steve and his wonderful dog Rochester' There were two of the books in this series that I didn't like as much as the others. I would recommend this to anyone that likes books about friends and animals
August 17, 2023
Thought that it was pretty good
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews