Meet Petie Why Every Cozy Novel Needs a Dog (Or Something Like One)

One of the core requirements of the cozy mystery genre is a loyal animal companion. Cats are standard. Dogs appear regularly. Rita Mae Brown gave her actual cat co-author credit on every book she published. When I started building the world of The Zara Project, I knew Zara needed a companion, but the setting demanded something different. The result is Petie: a canine security droid who looks and behaves exactly like a St. Bernard, with one exception. He is not biological. And yet, if you read to the end of this book and do not love Petie, I genuinely do not know what to tell you.