Description
From Publishers Weekly In her third adventure (after Underdog) in the rarefied world of dog fanciers in Southern Connecticut, Melanie Travis copes with the unexpected reappearance of her ex-husband, Bob. After almost five years of deadbeat dadhood, Bob has decided to become a responsible parent, and if that's not enough, Melanie's unrelenting aunt Peg is nipping at her heels to join the Belle Haven Kennel Club. Still learning how to groom and show her new dog, a standard poodle named Faith, Melanie finds discovers that kennel club members anything but a well-bred lot. Plying her with pictures of their dogs, they quiz her on her own and align themselves into various camps. When the president announces that some cash and checks are missing, the meeting quickly degenerates into accusation and innuendo. A week later club member Monica Freedman is found murdered in a parking lot. Beginning to dig, Melanie soon unearths a few skeletons, which turn out to be the same ones Monica had uncovered and used to taunt her colleagues, including Aunt Peg. It seems the cream of Connecticut society has dabbled in fraud, animal abuse, alcoholism and deception in the ring. All of this is a romp among puppies compared to Melanie's problems with Bob, who wants to take their son, Davey, back to Texas, to live with him and his 20-year-old fiancee. Melanie's easygoing common sense helps her solve both problems in a story as calm and as controlled as a well-behaved dog on a lead. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal Single parent, teacher, and dog-show enthusiast Melanie Travis investigates murder at a prestigious Connecticut kennel club. As she uncovers illegal show practices and fake pedigrees, she closes in on the murderer. Lightweight yet involving stuff from the author of Underdog (LJ 1/96).Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. Laurien Berenson is author of the delightful Melanie Travis canine cozy mystery series, including Jingle Bell Bark and Best in Show . She has a degree in psychology from Vassar College and has been married for almost twenty-five years. She lives in Georgia with her husband, her son, six dogs, and two Welsh ponies. Read more
Features & Highlights
- When money turns up missing from the exclusive Belle Haven Kennel Club and one of the members is found dead in a parking lot, Melanie Travis--teacher, single parent, and proud owner of Faith, a rambunctious Standard Poodle pup--finds herself moving closer to a killer desperate enough to strike again.
