Laurie Herlich
Author
Waylaid on
Whidbey Island
A Big Black Dog Cozy Mystery
Book One
Merry Irving is an itinerant pet-sitter, whose job is to go where the pets are, and their owners aren’t.
Looking for a haven from events in her recent past, Merry accepts a new position on Whidbey Island. She thought the most demanding part of looking after her friends’ three dogs would be riding herd on their rambunctious hundred-pound puppy.
That is, until the dogs wake her in the middle of the night, and she discovers a Port-a-Potty at the construction site next door fully engulfed in flames. Local authorities arrive, including Dave Brady, a semi-retired police detective. The flames die down and a dead body is found.
When bodies begin to pile up like cordwood, Dave uncovers certain aspects of Merry’s past. He informs her that not only is she a material witness, but also a possible suspect. As their rapport grows, Merry, determined to prove her innocence, instead finds herself in the crosshairs of a killer.
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Reader Reviews
Laurie's writing style and subject matter are at once delightful. I dare you to close the book at your regular bedtime! After reading Waylaid on Whidbey Island the reader will be anxiously awaiting Book Two to learn what awaits the intrepid and amusing Meryl Irving.
"Herlich's first novel is a hit!” The Rouse-House Book Review
A reel review of Waylaid on Whidbey Island from Candace Yates.
Upcoming Appearances
Saturday, April 18th, 2026 11am - 4pm
Book Signing
Authors Rock Roanoke
Holiday Inn Airport Conference Center
3315 Ordway Drive NW
Roanoke, VA
SATURDAY, April 25th, 2026
Book Signing
Tusculum Old Oak Festival
Tusculum University Campus
Greeneville, TN
Monday, April 27th, 2026 7:00PM
StoryTown Radio Show
The McKinney Center
Jonesborough, TN
Tickets available at the door.
Friday & Saturday, May 2 & 3, 2026
Book Signing
Knoxville Book Festival
Knoxville Convention Center
701 Henley Street
Knoxville, TN
About Laurie Herlich
Laurie Herlich spent the better part of a decade working her way up and down the West Coast as a pet-sitter, looking after dogs, cats, sheep, goats, horses, reptiles, chickens, exotic fish, and three not-so-little pigs. She fell in love with each animal character along the
way and entertained her friends with stories of their antics.
The Meryl Irving cozy mystery series is loosely based on some of her real-life adventures in pet-sitting.
Laurie followed the Lord’s leading across the country to the ‘promised land’ of rural Northeast Tennessee, where Story is everything. She writes cozy mysteries in a converted garden hut situated in her back yard.
Laurie is a regular contributor to www.christiandevotions.us. She is a Selah award winner in the online devotions category, and a Foundation award first prize winner for her novella, Waylaid on Whidbey . Laurie is also a contributor to Jonesborough, Tennessee’s StoryTown NPR Radio Show and Podcast and a storyteller with the Jonesborough Storytelling Guild.
She is hoping to have a dog of her very own someday soon.