With help from his Uncle Harold, who wrote books about Bunnicula, Howie the wire-haired dachshund writes a story in which he saves the world from a science experiment gone awry.


Under a deadline from his editor, Howie the wire-haired dachshund creates a story featuring a superhero whose ability to stink enables him and his sidekick, a sparrow named Little D, to fight crime in Central City.

Bud Barkin, Private Eye

by James Howe

Published 1 May 2003
Dear Reader,
The guy who usually writes these letters asked me to do it instead. Maybe he was having a bad writing day. Maybe he wanted me to play the sap for him. Or maybe he ran into Trouble with a capital T.
Well, Trouble's my business. I'm a dog. I'm a detective. The name's Bud Barkin. And this book is about a case I had involving a dame named Delilah Gorbish, whom I would call Trouble with a capital T except I've used that metaphor already, and a clown named Crusty Carmady whose calling card is a teakettle that he heaves through windows. Nice pair of birds. The mystery deepens with another character called the Big Fish, who isn't really a fish and who's addicted to the Home Shopping Network.
Hey, I don't write 'em -- I just solve 'em. If you're interested you might want to come along for the ride, which is wilder than a bunch of English teachers at a grammar fair. Just remember: I do all the similes.
Yours truly, Bud Barkin, P.E.

Dear possible reader of this book,
I wasn't sure I'd be able to write a book ever again after Canine Quarterly reviewed my series, Tales from the House of Bunnicula. They said I would never win the Newbony Award. Was I depressed! And I didn't even know what a Newbony was! Luckily Delilah's read a lot of Newbony books, so she helped me write this one. It's about a poor (but very cute) orphan dachshund puppy named Howie Monroe, who lives on the prairie and yearns for a chicken bone. (I know. Trust me.) Things really get exciting when Howie and his best friend, the smart and well-read Delilah, find a time machine and travel back to ancient Egypt where they uncover...the mystery of the Pharaoh's tomb!!!
Your friend, Howie