David Mottram – illustratör

The first in a young middle grade animal series in which an anxious Boston Terrier and an exuberant potbellied pig team up to solve crimes in their barnyard—from debut author PJ Gardner, with illustrations by David Mottram.

Perfect for fans of the Mercy Watson series, The Trouble with Chickens, and A Boy Called Bat.

Horace Homer Higgins III despises dirt. And the outdoors. And ducks. But when his person, Ellie, moves to a farm called the Homestead, the anxious Boston Terrier is forced to adapt. As if that isn’t enough to strain his nerves, Ellie adopts a perpetually cheerful potbellied pig named Bunwinkle to be his baby sister.

Bunwinkle is delighted to be on the farm despite the stuffiness of her new canine brother. She’s sure she’ll crack his shell eventually—no one can resist her cuteness for long—especially once they bond over watching a TV pet-tective show.

When the duo discovers that some neighborhood animals have been disappearing, they decide to use their new detective skills to team up to solve this barnyard mystery. Is it a mountain lion? Or their suspiciously shot-loving veterinarians? Only one thing seems certain: if they don’t figure it out soon, one of them might be next.

The second book in a young middle grade mystery-adventure series about Horace, an anxious Boston Terrier, and Bunwinkle, an exuberant potbellied pig, who team up to solve crimes in their barnyard and local neighborhood—perfect for fans of Mercy Watson, The Trouble with Chickens, and A Boy Called Bat.

Horace is flying high after solving the pet-tectives'' first mystery. But Bunwinkle just hasn’t been herself—she’s scared all the time and is too embarrassed to tell anyone.

Before they can work on getting Bunwinkle’s confidence back, a new case lands in their laps—well, actually their trash cans—when Shoo the raccoon asks for help. The neighborhood humans think he’s behind a series of garbage upheavals and home break-ins—but he swears he’s innocent. Just because people call him a trash bandit doesn’t mean he is one.

To make matters worse, while the pet-tectives are trying to clear Shoo’s name, they learn that Eleanor is having money problems. She hopes to solve them by starting a community Farmer’s Market in the back field. The neighbors seem excited to help at first but then, one by one, they suddenly drop out.

With time running out, can the pet-tectives solve the mysteries and save Shoo and the Homestead?