Lois Duncan is best known for her horror and supernatural mystery work that has spawned countless movie adaptations like I Know What You Did Last Summer but after the tragic unsolved murder of her daughter, she pivoted to lighter fare in children’s literature. Most notably, the Hotel for Dogs trilogy, so let’s get ranking.

1. News for Dogs: This one was my favorite (mainly cuz I read it out of order so that may have colored my rankings) as Andi, Bruce, and their friends start up a newspaper for the neighborhood, cycling through news for dogs but end up stumbling into a dognapping mystery. Faster than you can say Scooby Doo, Bruce deducts that it’s the town bully who is desperate for revenge and their dog, Red Rover (whom he still thinks is his even though he’s a horrible dog owner and abuser) and plot a way to expose him. It may have also briefly inspired my dog journalism phase.
2. Movies for Dogs: We all love our canine companions in movies. Here, Duncan exposes the fun and the shady side of animal-trainers in Hollywood when the kids enter a contest and get the chance to put Red Rover onscreen and must contend with the animal abuse of a fellow contestant vicariously chasing success through his “talking dog.” Cute, and a light way of introducing a serious topic.
3. Hotel for Dogs: I guess it’s not a surprise that the intro gets the bottom ranking as its simple premise is predictable with boy wants dog, boy loves dog, said dog is owned by abusive bully, kid finds a way to get the dog while helping all other strays through dog hotel. Okay, maybe not the classic premise but it’s predictably heartwarming.