Melanie Travis mysteries

Author:
Berenson, Laurien
 
Showing 1 - 30 of 30
Book cover for "A pedigree to die for".
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Series Volume:
1.
Average Rating:
3.7 stars
Description:
Melanie' Travis's life is going to the dogs. With school out for the summer, a stint as a camp counselor falling through, and her sometime boyfriend dumping her for a Las Vegas chorus girl, the thirty-something Connecticut teacher and single mother figures that things can't get any worse. She figures wrong... Everyone knew that Melanie's Uncle Max had a weak heart. When Aunt Peg finds him dead on the cold floor of their championship kennel, surrounded...
Book cover for "Underdog".
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Series Volume:
2.
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
A dog handler's death unleashes a mystery: "Laurien Berenson just keeps getting better and better."—Harlan Coben
When Melanie Travis's education in breed-handling at Connecticut's classiest obedience school is cut short by sudden death, she smells a murder. So, with her rambunctious poodle puppy, five-year-old son, and sexy fellow breeder Sam Driver in tow, she hits the championship circuit. In this dog-eat-dog world where winning...
Book cover for "Dog eat dog".
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Series Volume:
3.
Average Rating:
3.3 stars
Description:
The world of Connecticut's dog shows is rocked by the murder of a dog owner. As she investigates, Melanie Travis discovers financial fraud and cruelty to animals, the probe complicated by the return of her ex-husband, seeking to take their son to Texas.
Book cover for "Hair of the dog".
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Series Volume:
4.
Description:
A doghandler is murdered in his home in Connecticut. The victim had many enemies, other doghandlers on the dog show circuit and men whose wives he seduced. Sleuth Melanie Travis investigates.
Book cover for "Watchdog".
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Series Volume:
5.
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
"Fresh, lively writing, a tough mystery, light humor, and insight into the peculiarities of human and canine behavior."
Booklist
It's autumn in Connecticut. Melanie Travis has just started a new job, and with the added excitement of showing her Standard Poodle, Faith, in the fall shows, the last thing she wants is to become embroiled in yet another of her brother Frank's moneymaking schemes. His current brainstorm—remaking...
Book cover for "Hush puppy".
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Series Volume:
6.
Description:
There's a corpse on campus in this mystery from an Agatha Award finalist who's "a rare breed of writer" (The Plain Dealer).

Melanie Travis loves her teaching job at Connecticut's elite Howard Academy, where plans are underway for a Spring Pageant to honor the school's fiftieth anniversary. Immersed in the preparations, Melanie is hurrying to retrieve a painting of one of the illustrious co-founders when she comes upon a...
Book cover for "Unleashed".
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Series Volume:
7.
Description:
Someone's dishing the dirt on the dog-show world, until she's muzzled for good: "[A] winning cozy...the ending is a surprise."—Publishers Weekly
Summer means two things to Melanie Travis: a break from her teaching duties at Connecticut's elite Howard Academy and a chance to plan the perfect wedding to her fiancé, Sam. She certainly doesn't need the unwelcome arrival of a dinner invitation "peace offering" from Sam's...
Book cover for "Once Bitten".
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Series Volume:
8.
Description:
A dog handler disappears in this "entertaining mystery" by the Agatha and Macavity Award finalist (Publishers Weekly).
With her former fiancé off finding himself, Melanie Travis figures the only ring she'll be seeing in the near future is one where she's showing her prized poodles. But love is still in the air for her brother Frank, who is about to tie the knot with his sweetheart, Bertie Kennedy. With scant knowledge...
Book cover for "Hot dog".
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Series Volume:
9.
Description:
While a mysterious stalker terrorizes her life, Melanie Travis also deals with the amorous advances of both her ex-husband and ex-fiance, and sets out to find a missing Dachshund puppy, the victim of a divorced couple's tug-of-war.
Book cover for "Best In Show".
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Series Volume:
10.
Description:
A sleuth must find a killer amid a plethora of poodles in this "charming" cozy mystery by an Agatha Award finalist (Publishers Weekly).

There are dog shows. And then there's The Poodle Club of America National Specialty Dog Show. For poodle purists, it's the pinnacle of the season, drawing competitors and spectators from all over the world.

Once in Maryland, Melanie Travis is put to work selling raffle tickets...
Book cover for "Jingle Bell Bark".
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Series Volume:
11.
Description:
It's Christmas again, and Melanie Travis barely has time to pencil in some holiday festivities. Especially once she finds herself making a list of murder suspects--and checking it twice. . .

This year, all Melanie wants for Christmas is a dull moment. Between her son Davey, her teaching job, and showing her Standard Poodle puppy, Eve, there just aren't enough hours in the day. But when Davey's usual bus driver, Henry Pruitt, disappears and...
Book cover for "Raining Cats & Dogs".
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Series Volume:
12.
Average Rating:
3 stars
Description:
With her trusty poodle at her side, a sleuth tries to bring a killer to heel in this mystery by the Agatha Award finalist.
Melanie Travis has added a husband and three more dogs to her already cramped home. At least she's getting a welcome respite from the stress of house-hunting by taking her dog Faith for advanced training at The South Avenue Obedience Club.

There are enough sexual and political undercurrents in the group...
Book cover for "Chow Down".
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Series Volume:
13.
Description:
A canine competition in New York turns criminal: "Enjoyable...plenty of twists and turns... a tight suspenseful package."—Publishers Weekly

If Melanie Travis was planning on a quiet family summer with her Standard Poodle Faith, son Davey, and new husband Sam, her plans are about to turn upside down. When she receives a letter from the Champions Dog Food Company informing her that Faith has been selected as a...
Book cover for "Hounded to Death".
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Series Volume:
14.
Description:
As the dog days of summer turn to the playful nip of autumn's chill, Melanie Travis is ready for a little relaxation. Her Aunt Peg has the perfect solution--a five-day symposium for dog show judges in Pennsylvania's idyllic Pocono Mountains. While Peg and Melanie's sister-in-law Bertie welcome the opportunity to socialize with the dog world's elite, the very pregnant Melanie embraces the chance to simply unwind.

But when renowned judge Charles...
Book cover for "Doggie Day Care Murder".
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Series Volume:
15.
Description:
"A pleasant mystery and a loving tribute to poodles. Fetching in every way."—Booklist
Melanie Travis thought her sleuthing days were behind her. She has a new baby to take care of—not to mention five Standard Poodles. These days, the closest Melanie gets to detective work is scoping out the scene at the local doggie day care center for her friend Alice Brickman.

As Melanie learns, it's a dog's life at the...
Book cover for "Gone with the woof".
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Series Volume:
16.
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
A "wonderful" murder mystery that's "even better if you read it with a dog on your lap" (Suspense Magazine).
Despite a toddler and a house full of Standard Poodles, Melanie Travis can't pass up an opportunity to help legendary dog breeder Edward March pen his life story. But her enthusiasm flags when the breeder's angry son, Andrew, demands she stop working on the book. The question of why becomes imperative once Andrew...
Book cover for "Death of a dog whisperer".
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Series Volume:
17.
Description:
When her aunt's dog-whispering protégé is found dead, Melanie Travis must help sort through the growing list of suspects to find the killer, all while juggling motherhood, marriage, and her six beloved poodles.
Book cover for "The bark before Christmas".
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Series Volume:
18.
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
Melanie Travis has her hands full with her two young sons, a part-time job, and a half dozen Poodles to her name. But even with the busy holiday season approaching, she still has time to sniff out a Christmastime killer...There's nothing lovelier than Christmas in Connecticut, but Melanie can scarcely find a moment to enjoy the festivities. With her youngest son approaching toddlerhood, she's decided to return to her old job at Howard Academy, a posh...
Book cover for "Live and let growl".
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Series Volume:
19.
Description:
When her Aunt Peg lands a gig as judge at a Kentucky dog show, Melanie Travis welcomes the opportunity for a road trip. Too bad a killer has planned a deadly detour. Within three days of her arrival, Ellie Gates has been found dead. Though the police and the family believe the death to be an accident, Aunt Peg is sure they are wrong. Melanie discovers that Miss Ellie was a woman of many secrets. And she must quickly determine which one was fatal before...
Book cover for "Murder at the puppy fest".
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Series Volume:
20.
Average Rating:
3 stars
Description:
"Frolicking with dogs is Melanie Travis's idea of heaven. So when she's invited to be a puppy wrangler at a benefit for a local dog rescue, the last thing she expects is to be chasing after a tricky killer"--
Book cover for "Wagging through the snow".
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Series Volume:
21.
Average Rating:
3 stars
Description:
Melanie Travis needs a little peace from her busy life this Christmas. But the usual holiday hubbub is a joy compared to the killer surprise she finds tucked underneath the tree ... With a demanding teaching job at Connecticut's elite Howard Academy and five poodles scampering around the house, Melanie barely has energy for the upcoming Christmas rush. But she unwraps an unexpected challenge when her brother and ex-husband, elated by the recent success...
Book cover for "Ruff justice".
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Series Volume:
22.
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
While preparing for the spring dog show, Melanie must investigate a murder after a talented canine portrait artist turns up dead behind her concession booth and her Aunt Peg's longtime dogsitter also disappears on the same day.
Book cover for "Bite club".
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Series Volume:
23.
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
Thanks to Aunt Peg and her enthusiastic pedigree dog show pals, Melanie's aptly named Bite Club reading group has book lovers all over town burying their noses in thrilling murder mysteries. But another pet project surfaces when Melanie reluctantly agrees to train a Bulldog puppy for elusive member Evan Major. Between the unusual bruise on his face and a bizarre run-in with an unknown dog show attendee, introverted Evan can't dodge trouble. It even...
Book cover for "Here comes Santa paws".
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Series Volume:
24.
Average Rating:
3 stars
Book cover for "Game of dog bones".
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Series Volume:
25.
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:
"Standard Poodle owner Melanie Travis is an excellent judge of dogs--and people. But what happens when an unnamed killer emerges at one of the fiercest all-breed competitions ever?"--
Book cover for "Howloween murder".
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Series Volume:
26.
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"With just a few days left before Halloween, everyone at Howard Academy is anticipating the guaranteed sugar high they'll experience from gorging on Harriet Bloom's famous marshmallow puffs. The private school's annual costume party revolves around the headmaster's assistant and her seemingly supernatural batches of gooey goodies. So, it's a shock when Harriet's elderly neighbor is suddenly found dead with the beloved dessert in his hand. In a snap,...
Book cover for "Pup fiction".
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Series Volume:
27.
Average Rating:
2 stars
Description:
"With a new litter of Standard Poodles on the way and her sons enrolled at the Graceland School's summer camp, it's shaping up to be a vibrant July in Greenwich, Connecticut for dog show champ and amateur sleuth Melanie Travis. But Melanie's busy life shows no signs of slowing down for the dog days of summer--especially when the arrival of three rambunctious Dalmatian puppies sets off a series of mysterious events ... While usually protective, Melanie...
Book cover for "Show me the bunny".
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Series Volume:
28.
Average Rating:
2 stars
Description:
When Beatrice Gallagher, the well-respected benefactor of a new women's shelter, is murdered, Melanie Travis discovers that Beatrice wasn't the warm and generous philanthropist she appeared to be and must expose her true nature to identify a vengeful killer.
Book cover for "Killer cupid".
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Series Volume:
29.
Book cover for "Pumpkin spice puppy".
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Series Volume:
30.
Description:
"Between taking care of her family and assorted Standard Poodles, Melanie is also working as a special needs tutor for Howard Academy, a private school in Greenwich, where her younger son attends kindergarten. This year, the headmaster has come up with an idea for a school fundraiser. All students will participate in a town-wide treasure hunt, with grades competing against each other. Tokens shaped like pumpkin spice muffins have been hidden in downtown...