The Secret Laundry Monster Files is the 39th book in the Hank the Cowdog series.
Drover wakes Hank up in the middle of the night, claiming to have heard strange noises. An investigation of the unidentified sounds leads to a hair-raising encounter with a rare laundry monster and a reunion with Eddy the Rac. However, Eddy isn't the only raccoon near the ranch, and a confrontation with his kinfolks as they raid the feed barn nearly spells disaster.
The book features the love ballad "Trudy, Trudy, What a Beauty!"
This book includes examples of the following tropes:
- Affectionate Nickname: After falling for Drover, Trudy calls him "Drovie."
- Ambiguous Syntax: Hank and Drover get into an argument about a visitor who calls his footwear "ostrich boots". Hank initially thinks that Drover is saying the man is an ostrich (because ropers wear roping boots, so ostriches must wear ostrich boots). Drover actually meant the leather was made of ostrich hide.
- Animal Jingoism: Hank dislikes cats so much that he goes into a Heroic BSoD when his Theory on Cats (that they always lie and anything they say is therefore false) gets disproven.
- Bait-and-Switch Sentiment: After Eddy saves him from drowning, Hank goes into an emotional thank-you speech. Eddy interrupts as he's saying that he doesn't know why the coon did it, pointing out that Hank's body would have polluted the water hole. Hank isn't very amused.
- Bedsheet Ghost: Eddy scares Drover (and eventually Hank) by hiding under one of Sally May's sheets and moaning like a ghost. This makes Hank conclude there's a laundry monster running loose.
- Cassandra Truth: Pete tells Hank that a raccoon is in the yard, playing with Sally May's sheets. This is true, but Hank doesn't believe him until he sees Eddy for himself, because he insists all cats are liars.
- Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: Defied. When some unknown being starts pulling Hank out of the water by his ear, he notes that it hurts, but he's not going to give his rescuer any grief about it.
- Continuity Nod: When Eddy tries to talk Hank into pulling a "garbage job" with him, Hank retorts that he doesn't have fond memories of what happened the last time Eddy talked him into a garbage job.
- Drowning Pit: After Hank pounces on one of the raccoons, the raccoon just walks down to the creek and dumps them both in the water. Then he gloats a bit and climbs on top of Hank's head, pushing him under.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Hank wakes up Loper sounding the alarm about the Laundry Monster. When the cowboy scolds him and literally kicks him out of the yard, Hank sulks, saying that he was trying to protect the family and next time, he won't bother.
- Living Crashpad: Drover ends up on top of Hank after they jump the yard fence. Hank glares at him, telling him that landing on the head of one's commander lowers morale.
- Now You Tell Me: Eddy the Rac rescues Hank from an attempted drowning at the hands of his cousin Bubba. He then tells Hank that Bubba hates dogs and he should never tangle with him in the water.Hank [with a stern glare]: That's great advice, Eddy. Too bad you weren't around ten minutes ago when it might have done some good.
- Opinion Flip Flop: Hank and Drover switch opinions about Trudy, a female dog who comes with the feed trader, in the space of a few minutes. Hank initially thinks she's a lovely Cocker Spaniel and Drover believes she's an ugly Pekingese. They swap perspectives after she turns down Hank's advances and falls for Drover instead.
- Throat-Slitting Gesture: Eddy draws a finger across his neck with a "Zzzt!" when he agrees with Hank that it would be bad if the cowboys found him in the barn with a half-eaten sack of sweet feed.
- Toxic Friend Influence: Eddy the Rac tricks Hank into eating part of the last sack of sweet feed with him by claiming it's a bag of candy one of the cowboys lost. As much trouble as Hank tends to get himself into, he knows stealing feed is Serious Business and wouldn't have done it normally.
