Cartoon of the Day: Ground Hog Day

Every Day is Ground Hog Day when you have a cat! Thanks, Simon's Cat.

Dog Show Mysteries: WESTMINSTER DOG SHOW

The 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show starts tonight and continues through February 3 in New York City, The Show featuries thousands of dogs, agility, and obedience competitions to celebrate its milestone anniversary. It will be live-streaming. 

In honor of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, and keeping in mind how important dogs can be to mysteries and in our lives, I am posting a list of Mysteries set at Dog Shows. 

You might want to check out Mystery Readers Journal Animals in Mysteries issue. Available as a PDF. 

As always, let me know any titles/authors I missed.

MYSTERIES SET AT DOG SHOWS

Game of Dog Bones and other books in the Melanie Travis series by Laurien Berenson
Death at the Dog Show by Peter Boland

The Boxcar Children: The Mystery at the Dog Show by Gertrude Chandler
The Case of the Deadly Dog Show by Catherine Coles

Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles by Elizabeth Crowens

Fashion Goes to the Dogs by Peggy Gaffney
Final Entry and others (Murder at the Dog Show series) by Karen Harbert
Death and the Dog Show by Susan Harper 
Murder at Ring 5; Judged To Death by LF Hembree

Death by Dog Show by Arlene Kay
Nancy Drew Diaries by Carolyn Keene

The Deadly Dog Show by Jerold Last

Buried to the Brim by Jenn McKinlay

Death & Dog Shows by Tammy Tyree

The Kennel Club Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine

James Sallis: R.I.P.

Sad news. Mystery author James Sallis: R.I.P.. My love and sympathy go out to Jim's wife Karyn, his family, and friends. Rest in peace, Jim!

Soho Press wrote: 

Soho Press is grieved to announce the death of author James Sallis, who passed away on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, peacefully, with his wife, Karyn, by his side, after a long illness. No funeral is planned. If you feel moved to donate in his memory, the family suggests the ACLU or the Humane Society as worthy charities that Jim valued. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother (the philosopher John Sallis), and his son, Dylan. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Karyn. 

In many ways Jim was the platonic ideal of what a writer can be, though he probably would not like it put thus. As an artist the work was everything to Jim, and he worked without boundaries or careerism. Perhaps best known for his existentialist crime fiction and neo-noirs like Drive, which was adapted by Nicolas Winding Refn into the Ryan Gosling-led film of the same name, Jim was also a poet, musicologist, literary historian, critic, editor and teacher.

His career began writing science fiction for publications edited by the likes of Damon Knight and Harlan Ellison, who was an ardent fan of Sallis and championed his work in the 1960s and ’70s. At this time Jim helped edit the influential New Worlds publication under the direction of Michael Moorcock.

As a reader and appreciator of culture, Jim was as curious and uninhibited as he was as a writer. It was a joy to talk about art in all forms with him, but his grand view of literature matched his personal approach to craft. To Jim it didn’t matter where or how good work came into existence, or how it was shelved. His groundbreaking collection of short biographical work on Jim Thompson, David Goodis and Chester Himes, collected as Difficult Lives Hitching Rides, had no critical precedent and helped usher in a new era of appraisal for now legendary writers who at the time were nearly or totally out of print. He collected and played with alacrity an impressive number of string instruments and his love of the blues and jazz was lifelong.

Jim wrote without cynicism about the strength of the human spirit and invested dignity into all his characters, no matter how far on the edge of society they live—characters like P.I. Lew Griffin, Sheriff Sarah Jane and a man known simply as “Driver.” He knew that good fiction was to be set against the faults of society but also serves to remind us that salvation is the realm of the individual.

We mourn his passing deeply but find joy in the notion that his work will be read for as long as there are books.

***

Bibliography

LEFT COAST CRIME DOUBLE DAY PASSES: San Francisco February 26-March 1, 2026

Unable to attend the entire program of Left Coast Crime, San Francisco Schemin', February 26-March 1, 2026? Well, never fear, Double Day Passes are now available. That's 2 full days of programming for $100: Thursday-Friday and Saturday-Sunday/$100 for each Double Day Pass. 

Day Passes enable attendance at panels and interviews and other events, but do NOT include any food events, such as the Opening Reception, Lefty Awards Banquet, or breakfast buffets. It's a great deal! 

And it's not too late to register for the entire convention!

Here's the schedule for Left Coast Crime, February 26-March 1, 2026. 

Register Here: https://www.eventbee.com/v/lcc2026#/tickets

THE PUZZLE LADY: Masterpiece, PBS

Finally news about The Puzzle Lady, a new series based on Parnell Hall's Puzzle Lady mystery series. Parnell wrote 20 in his series from 1999 to 2019. 

The first episode of the new show will air on February 19, 2026, on PBS, in the U.S.. I'll check to see if PBS Passport airs all 6 episodes at that time for PBS Passport holders and Prime Masterpiece. Although the Puzzle Lady in the books is an American, this is a British production, with British actors and setting. The show stars Phyllis Logan and Charlotte Hope. There will be many guest stars.

Who wouldn't love a crossword-solving amateur sleuth? I'm looking forward to this new series.

AGATHA AWARD NOMINEES: Malice Domestic 38

The Agatha Award nominees: Malice Domestic. Awards will be announced at Malice Domestic 38, April 24-26, 2026 in Bethesda, MD. Congratulations to all.