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? As Greenwich, Connecticut, slows down during a bitterly cold February, Melanie and her spunky Aunt Peg head to the city that never sleeps for the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden. Aunt Peg can’t … can’t wait to demonstrate her judging chops on national TV, even after being hounded by frustrating mishaps—all seemingly orchestrated by Victor Durbin, an ousted Paugussett Poodle Club member with a bone to pick. But the bright lights of the show ring grow dim when Victor is found murdered, and she’s the one topping the suspect list . . . Driven to solve the crime on her aunt’s behalf, Melanie fetches hair-raising clues about the victim. His own business partner admits to being delighted by news of his death. As Melanie digs up more chilling evidence, she realizes that exonerating Aunt Peg means confronting a murderer who’s in it to win it . . .
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Dollycas’s Thoughts
Aunt Peg gets to fulfill her dream when she is asked to judge for the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden and be on television. She is even hosting a seminar before her judging. But a former member of her poodle club, Victor Durbin is doing his best to ruin her day by planning his own event at the same time as Peg’s. When the man is later found dead Peg finds herself on the shortlist of suspects. New York is taking its own sweet time with their investigation so Melanie dives into her investigation to clear her Aunt Peg’s name while putting herself in jeopardy.
Visiting the Travis family is always a good time. With a husband, 2 sons, 5 Standard Poodles, 1 spotted mutt, and Aunt Peg, there is never a dull moment. Going with them to the biggest dog show was a real treat. We get a behind the scenes look and see Aunt Peg’s judging techniques in full force. All the human and canine characters really shine within this story. This is the 25th book in this series and the characters all continue to evolve and remain fresh. The dialogues and all interactions are believable and ring true.
In addition to some awesome subplots, the mystery was very well written. The victim truly had his share of enemies and I really enjoyed tailing along with Melanie as she worked her way through all of them. The author’s descriptive writing style takes her readers right into the moments of her characters in a way that keeps the pages rapidly turning. A major event takes place and that was truly my favorite part of the story.
Game of Dog Bones is an excellent addition to this long-running series. Each story reads well as a stand-alone too. It is fun and entertaining and leaves readers panting for the next book.
Game of Dog Bones
Melanie Travis, Book #25
Laurien Berenson
5 Stars
Synopsis:
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?
As Greenwich, Connecticut, slows down during a bitterly cold February, Melanie and her spunky Aunt Peg head to the city that never sleeps for the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden. Aunt Peg can’t wait to demonstrate her judging chops on national TV, even after being hounded by frustrating mishaps—all seemingly orchestrated by Victor Durbin, an ousted Paugussett Poodle Club member with a bone to pick. But the bright lights of the show ring grow dim when Victor is found murdered, and she’s the one topping the suspect list . . .
Driven to solve the crime on her aunt’s behalf, Melanie fetches hair-raising clues about the victim. Victor didn’t score many friends with his unethical breeding practices, sketchy puppy café, and penchant for mercilessly scamming others to get ahead. He burned so many bridges that his own business partner admits to being delighted by news of his death. It appears Victor finally toyed with the wrong person, and as Melanie digs up more chilling evidence, she realizes that exonerating Aunt Peg means confronting a murderer who’s in it to win it . . . (Goodreads)
Review:
The characters are well rounded and well developed. I really enjoy the fact that Melanie has a family, you get to see her as a mom and all of the things that go into being a mother and wife. Aunt Peg finally gets to be a judge at the Westminster Dog Show. I really enjoyed getting to learn more about the Granddaddy of all dog shows, that was very interesting.
The writing style flows smoothly and it defines the characters very clearly by their actions and words. The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and these descriptions helped me to feel like I was right there at the dog show, watching all of the action taking place.
The mystery was well plotted and there were enough clues to sift through and suspects to consider. I thought I knew who the culprit was but I was wrong (which happens a lot).
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Kensington Books, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.
Game of Dog Bones by Laurien Berenson is the 25th A Melanie Travis Mystery. I have enjoyed following Melanie Travis as she has solved mysteries since A Pedigree to Die For. Melanie has a happy home life with her husband, Sam and her two children, Davey and Kevin. Their household also has five poodles and one mixed breed who wreaks more havoc than all the poodles combined. I just love Faith, Melanie’s favorite poodle. It is delightful the way Melanie talks to Faith and how the poodle responds. This series contains great characters from Melanie down to little Kevin. I like that the characters continue to develop as the series progresses. Melanie received some advice from her sister-in-law, Bertie and I hope she acts upon it. In Melanie’s household, things are never dull which provides readers with laugh-out-louds moments. We get to visit the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in Game of Dog Bones. I had no clue so much went into dogs shows. All the work that goes into preparing a poodle for the ring is fascinating. Laurien Berenson explains the judging in an easy to understand manner which I appreciate. Laurien Berenson has a lovely writing style that makes each book a joy to read. Her books have a smooth flow, good dialogue, relatable and well-rounded characters, and descriptive sentences that makes the reader feel they are right there in the book. The mystery was thought it with a just the right number of suspects and misdirection. The clues were present, but not obvious. The way the crime was carried out was clever. I liked the reveal which included some unexpected action. Crawford and Terry get married on Valentine’s Day. Terry (who is sporting purple hair) is planning the nuptials. I was surprised that Crawford left it up to the flamboyant Terry. I love how the book ended. Game of Dog Bones can be read as a standalone for those new to A Melanie Travis Mystery series. I am looking forward to reading Howloween when it comes out. Game of Dogs Bones is an entertaining cozy mystery with precious poodles, a wonderful wedding, dog club drama, a vile victim, a clever crime, and an autocratic aunt.
I love mysteries with all the blood and guts but sometimes I just want something easy to read. Game of Dog Bones is just that, an easy mystery. I have read everyone of these stories and fell in love with the characters. I got to know them and can relate to them. I am a dog owner and competed at dog shows with my dogs so I can easily relate to some of the situations Melanie Travis encounters although I have never known someone to be murdered at any of the shows I attended. But that is beside the point. The point is that this is a wonderful and sometimes funny mystery. It is an easy read and even if you figure out who did it before the end of the book, you’ll want to keep reading to find out how it ends. You will love the characters. After a while they become old friends.
A delightful book! I always enjoy reading the adventures of Melanie Travis and her family with their group of poodles. It’s fun to learn the different ins and outs of the dog show world and this book featured one of the biggest dog shows, Westminster. Aunt Peg is a judge and runs into an old adversary while in the city. When the man, Victor, turns up dead after the second night of the show, Aunt Peg becomes a suspect. To help her aunt out, Melanie investigates the many people who disliked Victor with the help of her faithful poodle, Faith. This series is light-hearted and a treat to read. I highly recommend the series if you are a dog or animal lover! I look forward to seeing what Melanie, Peg, Melanie’s family, and the poodles are up to next!
Dog Show Based Cozy
I love dogs and I love cozy mysteries so I thought that this would be a great fit for me. I was absolutely right. There are more than a few dogs in the story as well as an inside look at dogs in the show ring. The mystery part was just excellent. The author kept me on pins and needles as she figured it all out. I will be looking to read more of this author’s books. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I don’t know how she does it but Laurien Berenson always writes an entertaining, humorous, “poodleful” book! Her characters are like old friends to me since I’ve read all of her books. The passion portrayed in Laurien’s writing shows as she writes about the poodles, Melanie, Sam, Aunt Peg, Kevin, and Davey. This book will give you laughs and an adventure in murder. I highly recommend this book. Enjoy!
To begin with there is not one book in this series I haven’t liked. I have not read every book, but I have read and reviewed a lot of them. When you talk dogs and dog shows and Westminster, you already have me turning the pages. I will also say I have learned a lot about the workings of dog shows from these books. Sort of a behind the scenes view. Sounds all serious but what makes it fun is it’s a cozy too.
Berenson just keeps her characters growing and growing, maturing as they should in a series of 25 stories. She even keeps the dogs growing and aging. As you can imagine there is as much jealousy and politics in dog shows as there is in a beauty pageant. People would almost sneak in fleas to get the other dogs itching and twitching during their time in the ring. Anything to win that prized ribbon. This time Aunt Peg is judging at the BIG show.
Speaking of “this time”, Berenson’s focus on characters was a little different. I didn’t feel we saw or heard from Aunt Peg as much. If you’ve read any of these books, you’ll know Aunt Peg, though loved much, is a pretty commanding presence. I missed her a little but the jokes and asides about her somewhat overbearing, yet loving personality were still there, and Melanie had a new sidekick. Bernie, her sister-in-law. Expanding the family a little brought in a new interest or two, and it all seemed to fit quite well. This time Berenson covered a broad spectrum of life and personalities. It was great. Made the story even more full.
To put it concisely, these are just fun. There’s a new plot every time, and I’ll be glad when Book 26 comes out.