If you liked this post, check out some more Bookish Bites:
In this post, we’ll check out 14 books on my current TBR stack, that feature animals in the title!
Whether you’re a fan of crime thrillers, young adult adventures, or even non-fiction explorations of nature, there’s something magical about a novel with animals in the title.
From fierce dinosaurs to loyal dogs, each book offers its own unique blend of adventure, mystery, or deep reflection.
In this list of 14 novels, you’ll find creatures of all kinds (but mostly dogs) – both real and mythical – bringing their own quirks to the stories they inhabit.
So saddle up, take a leap, or spread your wings as we dive into a literary menagerie that’s sure to intrigue, entertain, and maybe even inspire you to adopt a new animal friend (fictional or otherwise).
Happy Reading, friends!
Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"Dinosaur Summer" Book Blurb:
Peter Belzoni is dreading summer in Manhattan. Then his father, photojournalist Anthony Belzoni, offers the youth a job, a byline in National Geographic…and a trip to South America. For the Lothar Gluck Circus, once the world’s foremost dinosaur attraction, has gone bankrupt. Left behind is a menagerie of avisaurs, centrosaurs, and ankylosaurs, as well as one large predatory raptor named Dagger. And now two filmmakers and the circus trainer plan to return the giants to the wild – with Peter and his dad chronicling the odyssey for Geographic. The task seems impossible. Many have died trying to bring beasts out of the Lost World, the plateau of El Grande in Venezuela, but nobody has ever attempted to transport nearly a dozen full grown, multi-ton prehistoric creatures across continents, down rivers, through jungles, and up a mountain that has been isolated for 70,000,000 years… The trek will strain the technologies of trains, cargo ships, barges, trucks…en route lurk robbers and hostile, trigger-happy soldiers…and each mile toward freedom excites Dagger toward an unstoppable, primal killing frenzy. When the unthinkable threatens to strand Peter and the rest of the crew in an uncharted realm, four modern Americans will face all the unknown dangers, mysteries, and terrors of El Grande.
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"Bird Cottage" Book Blurb:
Len Howard was forty years old when she decided to leave her London life and loves behind, retire to the English countryside and devote the rest of her days to her one true passion: birds. Moving to a small cottage in Sussex, she wrote two bestselling books, astonishing the world with her observations on the tits, robins, sparrows and other birds that lived nearby, flew freely in and out of her windows, and would even perch on her shoulder as she typed. This moving novel imagines the story of this remarkable woman’s decision to defy society’s expectations, and the joy she drew from her extraordinary relationship with the natural world.
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone? :
This is Book One in the ‘Chauntecleer the Rooster’ series.
"The Book of the Duncow" Book Blurb:
In a time when the sun revolved around the Earth, and the animals could speak, Chauntecleer the Rooster rules justly over his kingdom. But while peace reigns for Chauntecleer, evil is brewing across the river, as the monstrous Cockatrice pillages his own lands and people, preparing for the return of Wyrm. Imprisoned within the Earth to contain this ancient evil, Wyrm is determined to return, with the help of Cockatrice. Keeping Wyrm in his prison is a task too great for any individual animal, so it is up to Chantecleer to rally all of the animals, great and small, to work together to keep the Earth safe once again.
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"Owls of the Eastern Ice" Book Blurb:
Primorye, a remote forested region near to where Russia, China and North Korea meet in a tangle of barbed wire, is the only place where brown bears, tigers and leopards co-exist. It is also home to one of nature’s rarest birds, the Blakiston’s fish owl. A chance encounter with this huge, strange bird was to change wildlife researcher Jonathan C. Slaght’s life beyond measure. This is the story of Slaght’s quest to safeguard the elusive owl from extinction. During months-long journeys covering thousands of miles, he has pursued it through its forbidding territory. He has spent time with the Russians who struggle on in the harsh conditions of the taiga forest. And he has observed how Russia’s logging interests and evolving fortunes present new threats to the owl’s survival. Preserving its habitats will secure the forest for future generations, both animal and human – but can this battle be won?
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"The Plague Dogs" Book Blurb:
Rowf, a shaggy black mongrel, and Snitter, a black-and-white fox terrier, are among dozens of animals being cruelly held in a testing facility in North West England. When one of the handlers fails to close Rowf’s cage properly, the two dogs make a daring escape into the English countryside, where they befriend a red fox who helps them survive in the wild. But as rumours circulate that the dogs may have been the test subjects for biological weapons and could be carrying a terrible plague, they soon find themselves targets of a great dog hunt. Local farmers, politicians, scientists, and even the military join in the search to track them down.
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone? :
This is Book One in the ‘Chet and Bernie Mystery‘ series.
"Dog On It" Book Blurb:
Chet, the wise and loveable canine narrator of Dog on It, and Bernie, a down-on-his-luck private investigator, are quick to take a new case involving a frantic mother searching for her teenage daughter. This well-behaved and gifted student may or may not have been kidnapped, but she has definitely gotten mixed up with some very unsavoury characters. With Chet’s highly trained nose leading the way, their hunt for clues takes them into the desert to biker bars and other exotic locales–until the bad guys try to turn the tables and the resourceful duo lands in the paws of peril.
Grab yourself a copy: 
Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"Horseman" Book Blurb:
Everyone in Sleepy Hollow knows about the Horseman, but no one really believes in him. Not even Ben Van Brunt’s grandfather, Brom Bones, who was there when it was said the Horseman chased the upstart Crane out of town. Brom says that’s just legend, the village gossips talking. Twenty years after those storied events, the village is a quiet place. Fourteen-year-old Ben loves to play “Sleepy Hollow boys,” re-enacting the events Brom once lived through. But then Ben and a friend stumble across the headless body of a child in the woods near the village, and the sinister discovery makes Ben question everything the adults in Sleepy Hollow have ever said. Could the Horseman be real after all? Or does something even more sinister stalk the woods?
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone? :
This is Book One in the ‘Bronze Horseman‘ trilogy.
"The Bronze Horseman" Book Blurb:
The golden skies, the translucent twilight, the white nights, all hold the promise of youth, of love, of eternal renewal. The war has not yet touched this city of fallen grandeur, or the lives of two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha Metanova, who share a single room in a cramped apartment with their brother and parents. Their world is turned upside down when Hitler’s armies attack Russia and begin their unstoppable blitz to Leningrad. Yet there is light in the darkness. Tatiana meets Alexander, a brave young officer in the Red Army. Strong and self-confident, yet guarding a mysterious and troubled past, he is drawn to Tatiana—and she to him. Starvation, desperation, and fear soon grip their city during the terrible winter of the merciless German siege. Tatiana and Alexander’s impossible love threatens to tear the Metanova family apart and expose the dangerous secret Alexander so carefully protects—a secret as devastating as the war itself—as the lovers are swept up in the brutal tides that will change the world and their lives forever.
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone? :
This is Book 3 in the ‘Assassins‘ series.
"The Mantis" Book Blurb:
Kabuto is an ordinary guy; stressed with work, hassled by his wife and disrespected by his teenage son. No wonder he visits his doctor so often. Except the ‘Doctor’ is actually his handler, and Kabuto is a hired assassin. Because although he may seem like a small man at home, Kabuto is really good at killing people. But Kabuto is worn out with the business of murder. So he’s trying to pay his way out with a few last jobs. But when the final assignment puts his unsuspecting family in danger, Kabuto realises he is going to need every deadly skill he knows to keep them alive.
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"Cycle of the Werewolf" Book Blurb:
The first scream came from the snowbound railwayman who felt the werewolf’s fangs ripping at his throat. The next month there was a scream of ecstatic agony from the woman attacked in her cozy bedroom. Now scenes of unbelievable horror unfold each time the full moon shines on the isolated Maine town of Tarker’s Mills. No one knows who will be attacked next. But one thing is sure. When the full moon rises, a paralysing fear sweeps through Tarker’s Mills. For snarls that sound like human words can be heard whining through the wind. And all around are the footprints of a monster whose hunger cannot be sated.
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"Honeybee" Book Blurb:
Late in the night, fourteen-year-old Sam Watson steps onto a quiet overpass, climbs over the rail and looks down at the road far below. At the other end of the same bridge, an old man, Vic, smokes his last cigarette. The two see each other across the void. A fateful connection is made, and an unlikely friendship blooms. Slowly, we learn what led Sam and Vic to the bridge that night. Bonded by their suffering, each privately commits to the impossible task of saving the other. Honeybee is a heartbreaking, life-affirming novel that throws us headlong into a world of petty thefts, extortion plots, botched bank robberies, daring dog rescues and one spectacular drag show. At the heart of Honeybee is Sam: a solitary, resilient young person battling to navigate the world as their true self; ensnared by loyalty to a troubled mother, scarred by the volatility of a domineering stepfather, and confounded by the kindness of new alliances.
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone? :
This is Book One in the ‘Leo & Serendipity‘ series.
"Sleeping Dog" Book Blurb:
Serendipity Dahlquist is a headstrong roller-blading teenager living in LA who has lost her dog. She asks private investigator Leo Bloodworth to help her find the missing pet. In what proves to have been a moment of madness, Bloodworth agrees to take on the case, unleashing an appalling–but also extremely entertaining–series of extremely homicidal events. Sleeping Dog remains, almost 40 years after its publication, one of the most wonderful crime debuts- by turns charming, hilarious and pathological, Lochte’s novel is a great celebration of everything that is most deplorable and hair-raising about California in the 1980s.
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone? :
This is Book 15 in the ‘Inspector Appleby Mysteries‘.
"Hare Sitting Up" Book Blurb:
At the height of the Cold War, one of Britain’s top-secret scientists is missing. Prof. Howard Juniper was last seen leaving his lab where he conducted research on biological warfare. What’s even more troubling is he may have a virulent, deadly sample with him. He must be found as quickly—and with as little publicity—as possible. Under direct order from the prime minister, Sir John Appleby, the head of Scotland Yard, is taking up the search. First, he must buy some time. Appleby persuades Howard’s twin, Miles, a boarding school headmaster, to impersonate his brother. Next, Appleby must follow up on his three frightening leads: either Howard has been kidnapped, he has defected to the Soviets, or he has gone mad.
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"The Spider and her Demons" Book Blurb:
Between surviving high school and working at her aunt’s dumpling shop, all Zhi wants is to find time for her friends . . . and make sure no one finds out she’s half spider-demon. But when she accidentally kills and eats a man in front of the most popular girl in school, she discovers she might not be the scariest thing in the shadows. Moving and funny by turns, this is a story about what it takes to make peace with your demons – literal or otherwise. An urban fantasy spin on growing up as a second-generation immigrant, struggling under the overwhelming pressure to make others proud, while feeling trapped inside your own body.
Grab yourself a copy:
If you liked this post, check out some more Bookish Bites:
