Books like Without a Word by Carol Lea Benjamin

When ten‑year‑old Opal arrives in Naomi, Florida, she discovers friendship, community, and the healing power of a big ugly dog named Winn‑Dixie during her first summer in town.

A devoted dog reflects on life, love, and racing while watching his owner, a race car driver, navigate family trials and professional ambition.

After being rescued from an abandoned building, a puppy named Bella becomes Lucas Ray’s loyal companion, but when animal‑control laws in Denver force her into a foster home, she embarks on a perilous 400‑mile trek through Colorado’s wilderness to return home.

When his village modernizes, 12‑year‑old Russell Susskit struggles to find his place. Guided by the shaman Oogruk and a dream of his ancestor, he takes a pack of sled dogs on a perilous journey of self‑discovery across Arctic tundra.

Finalists in a contest to become the "spokesdog" for a new dog food, Melanie Travis and her standard poodle Faith watch in horror as the competition turns deadly when the handler of a Yorkshire terrier is murdered.

PI Rachel Alexander tackles a hit‑and‑run in New York’s Greenwich Village, with her intuition‑sharp pit bull Dash as her aid. The victim: a gay painter; suspects include art thieves and dog‑fancying rivals.

In a small Michigan community, a series of mysteries— a dead scientist, missing Alzheimer’s patient, and suspicious fish deaths—threaten a search‑and‑rescue team led by Bree Nicholls and her loyal dog Samson, as faith and love are tested.

The story of a family in the making and the wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in life. Is it possible for humans to discover the key to happiness through a bigger-than-life, bad-boy dog? Just ask the Grogans. John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they brought home Marley, a wriggly yellow furball of a puppy. Life would never be the same. Marley quickly grew into a barreling, ninety-seven-pound streamroller of a Labrador retriever. He crashed through screen doors, gouged through drywall, and stole women's undergarments. Obedience school did no good--Marley was expelled. And yet his heart was pure. Just as Marley joyfully refused any limits on his behavior, his love and loyalty were boundless, too. A dog like no other, Marley remained steadfast, a model of devotion, even when his family was at its wit's end. Unconditional love, they would learn, comes in many forms.

A teacher with epilepsy struggles without her service dog Blanche, but a cloning scheme goes awry, leading to a mysterious disappearance and a deadly investigation led by private investigator Rachel Alexander and her pit‑bull partner Dash.

When therapy dog Lady vanishes and the owner of Harbor View is killed, pit bull detective Dash and her owner Rachel Alexander team up to uncover a sinister crime and protect the vulnerable residents of the Greenwich Village home.

Rachel Alexander, a seasoned New York private investigator, takes on the murder of wealthy businessman Gardner Redstone and must disguise herself as a homeless woman to uncover the truth among the city’s most marginalized.