The Twelve Dogs of Christmas: A Novel

Susan Wiggs

Oct 2023 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

"Don't miss this charming Christmas tale of thawing hearts, escaping dogs, and finding home. I couldn't help digging into this book with both paws." --Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Must Love Flowers

The ultimate holiday gift from New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs: a delightful novel about a Christmas transport of rescue puppies that’s guaranteed to warm readers’ hearts.

Brenda Malloy wants nothing to do with Christmas ever again. Last year, Brenda and her husband rushed their beloved dog Tim to the emergency vet on Christmas eve. The good news: Tim survived after the vet cleared the obstruction--a pair of women’s lace undies. The bad news: the undies were not Brenda’s.

A year after the breakup, Brenda has put her life back together. She’s trained for a marathon, is writing a children’s novel, and she’s found purpose and healing as a volunteer with a dog rescue organization in Houston, Texas. The rescue partners with a program in Avalon, New York--a small, snowy town deep in the Catskills. Now Brenda is arranging the transport of rescued dogs from Houston to Avalon—just in time for a merry Christmas with their forever families. Brenda’s friends worry about her driving a van two thousand miles with twelve dogs in crates, but she shrugs off their concern. How hard can it be? She knows the way, and she’s just looking to escape the Christmas overload for a while.

But a blinding snowstorm, an escaped mutt, and a life-saving encounter with Adam Bellamy—a single dad and paramedic—means Brenda has to stay in Avalon longer than she planned. As she drops off each precious pup at their new homes, some of the comfort and joy of the season begins to creep up on Brenda despite her determination to avoid the holidays. Perhaps you can bring Christmas into your heart after all...if you have the right furry friends to guide the way.

Ratings and reviews

The first books I read by Susan Wiggs were The Lakeshore Chronicles series , delightful tales of emerging love in the small town of Avalon, New York, and of all the trials to get to lasting love. Twelve Dogs of Christmas begins in Houston and takes the reader to charming Avalon, all decked out for Christmas and alive with Christmas spirit. When Brenda is coerced to help bring dogs from Houston to Avalon for their forever families, diehard, no thank you to Christmas Brenda is in for it. The transport van for the dogs gets into a wreck and Brenda meets the handsome and charming Adam. He and his little boy Will love all things Christmas and Adam sets out to transform Brenda to a lover of Christmas, too. All along they are falling for each other but distance between their homes and Brenda’s determination to not fall for anyone brings times of love and anxiety, of love and fear, and of love and maybes. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions

heartwarming book.

About the author

Susan Wiggs is the author of more than fifty novels, including the beloved Lakeshore Chronicles series and the recent New York Times bestsellers The Lost and Found Bookshop, The Oysterville Sewing Circle, and Family Tree. Her award-winning books have been translated into two dozen languages. She lives with her husband on an island in Washington State’s Puget Sound.