The Dr. Kate Turner Reading Order
If you love cozy mysteries filled with small-town charm, authentic veterinary details, and plenty of furry companions, Eileen Brady’s Dr. Kate Turner series is a must-read. Written by a real-life veterinarian with over 20 years of clinical experience, these books follow the adventures of Kate Turner, a DVM based in the fictional Hudson Valley town of Oak Falls, New York, who frequently finds herself sleuthing to protect her patients and their owners.
How the Series is Structured
Although online listings and retailers sometimes split this series into two separate groupings—the original Kate Turner, DVM books and the newer Dr. Kate Vet Mysteries—they are a single, continuous story. The division was primarily a marketing pivot when Poisoned Pen Press was acquired by Sourcebooks, which rebranded the fifth book, Saddled with Murder, as a "fresh start" or the beginning of a new subseries. In reality, the characters, timeline, and Hudson Valley setting carry over directly from the very first book. For the best reading experience, you should read them in chronological order.
Recommended Reading Order (Chronological & Publication Order)
Because the chronological order aligns perfectly with the publication order, following the series from the beginning is straightforward. Here is the recommended reading path:
- Muzzled (2014): Introducing Dr. Kate Turner. During a routine veterinary house call at a local estate, Kate stumbles upon a grisly crime scene. The owners—respected breeders of champion Cavalier King Charles spaniels—are dead, and their prize dog is missing. Suspecting murder rather than the police's theory of murder-suicide, Kate begins to dig into Oak Falls' secrets.
- Unleashed (2015): When a client and local artist, Claire, is found dead in an apparent suicide, Kate refuses to believe it. Her suspicion is triggered by Claire's Cairn terrier, Toto, whom Claire adored and would never have abandoned. Kate is determined to find the truth behind the staged suicide.
- Chained (2017): A routine walk turns dark when one of Kate’s canine patients unearths a human bone. The bone is identified as belonging to a local young man who vanished a decade earlier. The family asks Kate to quietly investigate, forcing her to untangle a web of secrets among his old friends.
- Penned (2018): A resident at a local assisted living facility confides in Kate about an "evil" presence, pulling her into a mystery involving a notorious fugitive who has evaded the FBI for decades.
- Saddled with Murder (2020): Marking the transition to the "Dr. Kate Vet Mysteries" branding, this Christmas-themed installment finds Kate dealing with holiday chaos, an adopted wild horse, difficult clients, and a viral social media video that puts her professional reputation on the line.
- Last But Not Leashed (2022): Eager for a peaceful New Year, Kate’s hopes are dashed when a professional organizer is murdered after giving a local lecture. When the organizer's assistant is also killed, Kate teams up with an analytical coder to crack the case.
- Murders of a Feather (2023): During a freezing Hudson Valley winter, Kate discovers a young engaged couple frozen in a lake. When her temporary receptionist is fatally poisoned using clinic sedatives, Kate must connect the cases while caring for an injured crow and navigating a potential romance with Dr. Mike, a handsome large-animal vet.
What to Know Before You Start
Eileen Brady’s background as a practicing veterinarian shines through in every chapter. The books are packed with realistic animal behavior, medical details, and the daily trials of running a veterinary practice—from standard hamster checkups to dog show rivalries. While each mystery is self-contained and solves its primary crime by the final page, the overarching character development, Kate's romantic life, and her relationships with the townspeople evolve over the course of the series. Reading the books out of order may spoil minor character milestones or relationship statuses.