Barkside of the Moon Books in Order

Barkside of the Moon is a paranormal cozy mystery series set in Moonrise, Missouri, where Lily Mason is trying very hard to build a normal life. That would be easier if she were not a werecougar, if the town were not packed with secrets, and if dead bodies would stop showing up whenever she starts to get comfortable. Add a beloved pit bull sidekick and you have the basic recipe.

Quiet does not last long in Moonrise.

The series opens with Lily arriving in town for a fresh start and to find the last family she has left. Instead, she gets pulled into murder investigations that keep tangling with the hidden shifter life of the community. That is one of the main hooks across the books. Lily is not just trying to catch killers. She is also trying to protect the therianthrope world from exposure, which gives even the cozier entries a little extra tension.

The dog side of the series matters too. Smooshie is not just there for a cute cover moment, and later books keep that same affection for pit bulls and rescue dogs close to the center. George clearly loves writing about animals, and these books make room for that without losing the mystery plot. If you like mysteries where the pets feel important, not decorative, this series does that well.

As the books go on, Moonrise starts to feel like a real ongoing community. Lily's circle grows. Family ties get messier. Her relationship with Parker Knowles adds romance without taking over the whole story. The supporting cast helps give the series a lived-in feel, so each book can deliver its own murder case while still moving Lily's personal life forward.

The tone stays friendly and readable. These are not hardboiled thrillers. They are cozy mysteries with paranormal bones, dog love, and just enough danger to keep things moving. There is humor, small-town nosiness, and a lot of heart, but George does not make the stakes fake. Lily can get hurt, people she cares about can be blamed, and the wrong clue can put the whole town at risk.

Start with Pit Perfect Murder and read in order if you can. The individual cases stand on their own, but Lily's family story, love life, and place in Moonrise keep changing. Later entries also brush up against the world of Witchin' Impossible, which is a nice bonus if you enjoy shared paranormal towns. At heart, though, Barkside is its own thing, a cozy series about loyalty, found family, and a heroine who keeps choosing compassion, even when the town hands her one more corpse and expects her to manage.