Ellen Riggs Books In Order

Publication Order of Bought-the-Farm Mystery Books

Publication Order of Dog Town Books

with Sandy Rideout

Publication Order of Mystic Mutt Mysteries Books

Ellen Riggs is a bestselling cozy mystery author best known for her “Bought the Farm Mystery” series of novels. She has said that she was inspired to write the popular series from her huge crush on James Herriot during her teenage years. By the time she was twenty years old, she had made a pilgrimage to his English hometown and taken the tour. At first, all she ever dreamed about was growing up to become a veterinarian just like her hero. However, a few years later, she realized that she loved storytelling even more. She therefore decided that she would be better off doing that instead of trying to work on her sketchy science and math skills on the path to becoming a veterinarian.

Having made her decision, Ellen Riggs enrolled into college to study English literature and soon after took another degree in journalism. It is at this time that she began writing stories full of gorgeous animals. Riggs made her fiction writing debut with the publishing of “Ready or Not in Dog Town” that she co-authored with Sandy Rideout. Since then she has written several other novels and made her solo debut with “Dog Catcher in the Rye,” the first novel of the “Bought the Farm Mystery” series. She now lives with several dogs and still has the dream of one day having her very own hobby farm. For the time being, she fulfills her dreams following homesteader and hobby farm pages on social media.

“Dogcatcher in the Rye” by Ellen Riggs is the story of Ivy Galloway who finds turning a hobby farm into something worthwhile a walk in the park as compared to resolving a murder mystery. While she could not have known how to differentiate an Llama from an alpaca, she will not be deterred from following her dream of setting up a farm themed restaurant in Clover Grove, her hometown. She had gone through a lot to rescue her brilliant border collie named Keats and then fled the city and she is going to give everything to achieve her dream. When she stumbles upon a dead man in the daisies in the rye field she was cultivating, her plans of opening her inn in less than a month are foiled. The chief of police will not rush the investigation but it is not clear if he is still holding a grudge he had against her in high school or he thinks she could have something to do with the murder. To clear herself of the charges, she begins digging up clues though she has the advantage of having once worked in interviewing as a former HR executive. She is almost at the end of her tether juggling getting her restaurant ready for launch and sleuthing. Her beloved farm is on the line and she needs to resolve the mystery before the killer comes for her.
Ellen Riggs’ “Dark Side of the Moo” sees the beautiful life on the farm soured by the permanent move of a guest to greener pastures. Ivy had been content putting her old life at a huge corporation in the city in the rear view mirror but now that a recent murder is threatening to destroy the reputation of her new hospitality business, she is no longer so choosy about her guests. As such, when her old teammates from the company she used to work for contacted her asking if she would host them for a retreat at the Runaway Farm and Inn, she cannot help but say yes. But then a guest turns up dead and everyone thinks she was trampled or gored by the cows. But Ivy knows her former colleagues too well and believes there may be some people that could have been involved. This means the killer is still enjoying her hospitality after his despicable actions. She initially agrees not to interfere in the police investigations but then one of her family members becomes a suspect. She immediately decides to join the investigation alongside her border collie Keats and her best friend Jilly. Will they find the culprit before the killer strikes again and gets her inn shut down.

In “A Streak of Bad Cluck” by Ellen Riggs sees Ivy finally feeling like she could make Runaway Farm her home. She even managed to smooth out the ruffle feathers of a feisty neighbor as she knew the perfect gourmet foods to bribe her with. But the sly and nosy neighbor may have some ulterior motive. Meanwhile, she has just received new guests at the inn and she is beginning to forget the chaos of the past few weeks. But then someone chokes on their omelette and dies thickening the plot even further. Once again Ivy is suspected of the murder but suspicious characters are all over the homesteading community. The border collie Keats is ready to put his brain and sharp nose to work to resolve the murder mystery.