Neil S. Plakcy · A holiday collection
Season’s Retrievings
Holiday Stories of Mystery and Romance
Nine holiday stories of mystery, romance, and found family, featuring familiar characters from across my books.
Steve and Rochester have trails of trouble to follow. Other friends are finding love, keeping secrets, and making room at the holiday table.
Every year, when the lights go up, these characters gather to celebrate—and sometimes to solve a crime or two before the eggnog is poured.
Visit Pennsylvania and Honolulu, stop for coffee in Brooklyn, and spend the holidays with familiar friends in Berlin, Nice, Victorian London, and 1872 Philadelphia.
Golden Retriever Mysteries
For Dog and Country
When a beloved holiday decoration vanishes from a widower's lawn, Steve Levitan and his golden retriever, Rochester, follow a trail that leads to a far more valuable theft.
The Lock-Keeper’s Heart
A Piece of Home
In 1872 Philadelphia, a Quaker student finds a way to give the Prussian bargeman he loves a Christmas memory from the home he left behind.
Driven Together
Two Sons
Racing journalist Wally Pulaski expects a quiet Christmas in Berlin with Formula 1 driver Jonathan Hirsch. What he gets is a surprise that brings two very different fathers to the same table.
The Big Race
Still Running
A year after their marriage nearly ended, Jeffrey and Ray watch their reality-TV journey air, and discover one more secret Ray has been carrying.
Mahu Investigations
The Price of Giving
Honolulu detective Kimo Kanapa'aka investigates the shooting of a man in a Santa hat and board shorts, days before Christmas.
Smiling Dog Café
A Place at the Christmas Table
A grad student having a terrible day and a widower haunted by memories of the AIDS years find unexpected family at the Smiling Dog Café, where the dogs always know who needs to come in from the cold.
Have Body, Will Guard
The King’s Shepherd
A small nativity figure on Arseny Vishinev's father's mantel may have belonged to the Bourbon kings of Naples, and someone is willing to steal to get it.
Ormond Yard
Secrets Under the Mistletoe
Lord Magnus Dawson and Toby Marsh must hide the truth of their relationship when Toby's mother arrives in Victorian London for Christmas. But they aren't the only ones keeping secrets.
Golden Retriever Mysteries
Dog Forbid
A Christmas getaway in Amish country turns frantic when a friend's golden retriever is stolen, and Rochester's nose leads straight into the dark world of puppy mills.
Whether you’ve followed these characters for years or are meeting them for the first time, there’s good company waiting in Season’s Retrievings. Settle in for a holiday story—ideally with a dog at your feet.