Oh so good! Love this series that has dogs AND smart writing, smart sense of humor all while having an interesting plot
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this arc

This book was entertaining and fun to read. The mystery in the book kept you wanting to turn the page to get to the a bottom of things!!!!

This book is the perfect feel good holiday read. You know how the story is going to end up, but enjoy the ride! I enjoy these heartfelt books during the holidays and this one was extremely well written.

Here Comes Santa Paws
Melanie Travis, Book #24
Laurien Berenson
5 Stars

Synopsis:

It’s the most wonderful time of the year in Connecticut, but Melanie Travis finds surviving this December may take a real Christmas miracle when a yuletide murderer comes to town . . .

As Melanie attempts to deck the halls in a house overrun by pampered Poodles, her event planner friend, Claire, is busy playing Santa—beard and belly not included—for the wealthiest clientele on Connecticut’s Gold Coast. A personal shopper gig in the affluent town of New Canaan seems like business as usual. Except Claire’s stylish stint comes at a higher price than she bargains for when she stumbles over her newest customer’s dead body on the job. Named a prime suspect for murder, she begs for Melanie’s help, then vanishes like cookies and milk on Christmas Eve . . .

Determined to track down Claire, Melanie and her nosy Aunt Peg dash into a dizzying investigation that leads to even more questions. Why was homicide victim Lila Moran, a secretive woman with an untraceable past, permitted to live on a well-known socialite-turned-recluse’s private estate, and is Claire keeping her own incriminating secrets under wraps? Now, with a grinchy New Canaan detective on their case and disturbing clues piling up like presents beneath the tree, the crime-solving duo must rein in a sinister Kris Kringle before they’re the next ones on someone’s deadly wish list . . .
(Goodreads)


Review:

The characters are well developed, well rounded and three dimensional. They all seem very realistic to me, like they could be your next-door neighbor. Melanie is a great wife, mom, friend and crime solver. I really like the fact that Melanie has a family, that makes her seem more down-to-earth to me. And all of the dogs are adorable just like the one on the cover.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is a quick easy read. The descriptions pulled me into the story right from the very beginning and pulled me along at a nice pace. The mystery was well plotted and not easily solved. Melanie figured out the culprit before I did, which is not unusual.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. I am already looking forward to the next book in this series.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Kensington Books, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

"Here Comes Santa Paws" by Laurien Berenson is the 24th Melanie Travis Mystery. I always look forward each year to the latest Melanie Travis Christmas story to add to the enjoyment of the season . This is a fun engaging series that is always a enjoyable read. I have read the entire series along with my Mother and we both enjoy each new book immensely.
Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinion is my own.

The indomitable Aunt Peg is calling Melanie to announce she found three puppies in a decorative stocking at the end of her driveway . She is well known dog lover and has a large kennel of show Poodles and several indoor retired show dogs of her own. Melanie immediately goes over to visit with the dogs as she loves puppies. While Melanie and Aunt Peg are discussing names and loving the puppies Melanie gets a call from the wife of her ex husband who found a dead client .

Aunt Peg knows the reclusive owner of the estate where the victim lived in the gatekeeper’s cottage. Melanie Travis has a lot going on for the season but she never turns down a chance to investigate a murder for a friend. She is a well known amateur detective throughout their area. For those that are new to the series, Melanie is a special needs teacher,, a Mom and a wife. She also raises and shows Poodles and they have six dogs including one rescue and 5 poodles of their own to take care of. She investigates and solves murders in between dogs shows, her job and juggling being a wife and Mother. She supervises her son showing his own Poodle and she has grooming duties for all the poodles as well. Melanie has "busy" as her middle name.
However her Aunt Peg insist that they get busy solving this murder and soon Melanie and Aunt Peg are on the case putting together clues, suspects and witnesses. They are a fun team and I love the witty repartee and how exasperating Aunt Peg can be as a formidable voice of reason to Melanie's doubts.

Here Comes Santa Paws is a delightful Christmas cozy mystery and the perfect return to this beloved series. I loved the sleuth, the regular characters that are written to perfection and the wonderful Christmas theme. Thank you to the author for carrying on this series. I look forward to the next in series.

I very much enjoyed this book.
It is such a cute cozy mystery that I find a lot of you will enjoy.

It kept me reading and since I have never read any of Laurien Berenson's books before I now want to read more.

I do highly recommend.

It’s almost Christmas in Connecticut and Melanie Travis is busy – kids, Poodles, shopping, getting ready for the big day – then her friend Claire calls with the worst of news. Claire’s thriving business as a personal shopper for the well-heeled in New Canaan has run into a major obstacle.

Claire was delivering purchases to a client’s home when she discovered said client dead. And she’s now a prime suspect in her murder.

Claire begs for Melanie’s help, given her reputation for solving murders, and Melanie is more than glad to assist. But her investigation leads to more questions without answers. Who is the victim Lila and where did she come from? Why was Lila living on the estate of a wealthy former socialite turned recluse? What secrets was she keeping? Did they get her killed? What’s with the litter of rescue puppies dropped off at Aunt Peg’s? And when is Melanie going to get her Christmas prep done in the midst of helping Claire get out from under suspicion of murder?

Don’t miss this latest Melanie Travis adventure. It has all the elements we’ve come to appreciate from author Laurien Berenson. This is a great gift for yourself or a fave reader on your list for the upcoming holidays. Curl up with a warm throw and a Melanie Travis mystery to brighten up any dreary snow day!

Here Comes Santa Paws by Laurien Berenson is the 24th book in the Melanie Travis mystery series, and another great addition. Reading this book made me feel like I was visiting good friends, and catching up on their latest adventure. Melanie receives an emergency call from her friend Claire, asking her to come now, she just found a body. Melanie and her aunt Peg can't help but get involve in the investigation. I love this series, and this book! I love the well developed characters and plot of this story. Melanie is very likable, with a fun sense of humor and funny how she deals with her Aunt Peg. This book kept my interest, and was fast paced and all round fun, and full of Christmas cheer. I strongly recommend this book and this whole series, for people who love cozy mystery book, dogs, and show dogs.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington Publishing. Thank you.

Here Comes Santa Paws by Laurien Berenson is the 24th A Melanie Travis Mystery. I always look forward each year to the latest Melanie Travis Christmas story. They are always cute and humorous. Here Comes Santa Paws did not disappoint. I picked up this book around 8 p.m. and did not put it down until I finished it. It is a well-written and features Laurien Berenson’s engaging writing. It starts with Aunt Peg calling Melanie to announce she found three puppies in a decorative stocking at the end of her driveway (the poor little things). Whoever left them at Aunt Peg’s, though, knew they she would take good care of them. I had to laugh at the names Aunt Peg bestowed on these cuties (No, I am not going to tell you and spoil it for you). When Melanie gets a frantic call from Claire Travis (married to Melanie’s ex-husband), she reluctantly stops playing with the puppies. Claire has ventured into personal shopping and she stumbled upon her dead client while dropping off packages. Aunt Peg is eager to delve into the mystery and she happens to know the reclusive owner of the estate where the victim lived in the gatekeeper’s cottage. Melanie Travis has little time for investigating with Christmas approaching, but she is not going to let down Claire. I like that Melanie is a realistic character. Melanie is a special needs teacher, wife, mother of two active boys, and owns six dogs (five poodles and Bud). Sam is the perfect husband for Melanie. I thought it was funny when Sam asked if he should gather bail money when Melanie departed the house on a dubious mission. Aunt Peg is her indomitable self as well as intelligent with good connections. Melanie and Aunt Peg are perfect sleuthing partners. I enjoy how Melanie converses with Faith and Faith’s responses to her queries. The mystery suited the length of the book. There are a couple of suspects with good clues to aid readers in solving the whodunit before the reveal. You do not want to miss out on Melanie’s latest adventure in Here Comes Santa Paws. I am not sure how Melanie will get everything accomplished before Christmas—she should engage Claire’s services. Here Comes Santa Paws is a delightful Christmas cozy mystery with precious puppies, pushy Aunt Peg, a concerned Claire, saintly Sam, a motivated Melanie and Christmas cheer.

Great cozy mystery. I always love reading one of the books in this series. This can be read as a stand-alone.

A very cute book to get you in the holiday spirit. The mystery was a little weak, but I’ll have to read more from this author.

Here Comes Santa Paws is the first book by Laurien Berenson that I have read; not realizing at first that this latest release is a continuation of a series about Melanie Travis. However, that did not take away at all from this novel and I did not feel behind or like I needed to catch up. It is a cute (for a murder mystery) Christmas story with some twists and turns, set along the backdrop of the holidays.

Melanie is a teacher on break for the holidays and has a knack for getting involved with local mysteries. When her friend stumbles across a dead client she calls Melanie right away and the two end up in the mystery-solving business again. You can tell Laurien Berenson has both experience with and affection for dogs and they add some comic relief and an adorable-factor to the story. If you're looking for a quick holiday story with a slight twist-pick this one up! I will definitely start reading some of the earlier books as my interest has been piqued.

Puppies and Christmas, it doesn't get much better than this.
Aunt Peg is livid! Okay, maybe reading about all of her escapades over the years this is not so shocking. This time I am 100% behind her. Some cretin left a letter of 3 innocent puppies in her outdoor Christmas stocking! Fortunately for the abandoned Australian Shepard puppies they were left with a fierce animal advocate that will make sure they are safe and well taken care of. Peg aka Margaret Turnbull is a longtime breeder of world class standard poodles and a revered judge at dog shows.
Melanie Travis is Peg's niece who juggles many roles. While visiting the puppies she gets a frantic call from her dearest friend Claire who has just come across a very deceased client. Claire is a personal shopper and was delivering gifts for for said client when she made the grisly discovery. Murder just won't take a break for the holidays and always seems to find Melanie on the sleuthing side of things.
Plenty of suspects and some interesting events from the past make this mystery very satisfying. If you love mysteries that keep you guessing with a few adorable pooches thrown in the mix you will definitely find this a fun read. I highly recommend this book and hope you take the time to visit with this delightful and quirky family.

Here comes Santa Paws
I enjoyed this book as much as the last . Christmas theme and dogs what’s not to love !
When Melanie and Auntie get together especially trying to solve the murder keep me highly entertained.
Enjoyable storyline also plenty of suspects kept me guessing.
Thanks to Kensington and NetGalley for advance copy for my honest review.
Definitely recommend this book and series.

Here Comes Santa Paws was a fun Christmas-themed cosy mystery with a well developed plot and characters. Dogs made it even more fun.

Christmas,dogs,and murder what more could you ask for from Santa? Great characters and storyline. Well written and well developed.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. "In my life, there's almost always a story. And this one was a doozy." That quote pretty much sums up Melanie's life in a nut shell! Lauren Berenson always writes a fantastic and, usually, hilarious mystery. Her books are extremely well written and easy to read. Melanie et al are fun, interesting, and funny along with the "herd" of poodles. Enjoy! 📚

I love this series with its warm, family atmosphere and its adorable poodles. Melanie Travis, our intrepid heroine, receives an excited phone call from her friend Claire (who is also the new wife of Melanie's ex-husband) saying she has just found the dead body of one of Lila, her personal shopping clients. Melanie rushes to help her, and in doing so finds herself in hot water with the local police. But that doesn't stop Melanie from trying to figure out who killed Lila and why. This plot had plenty of twists and turns, which along with its wonderful characters, makes it an excellent addition to this series,

This is a series that I always have very high expectations of each new book. "Here Comes Santa Paws' did not disappoint. Ms. Berenson understands the true world of AKC dog shows and writes accordingly. Aunt Peg is written perfectly for a judge.

The characters are like long-term friends that I'd love to meet for dessert. I enjoy a good cake as much as Aunt Peg. The story was well-written and kept my interest from the first few pages. Nice twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end.

I'm just sad that it's going to be a while before the next book is available.

Here Comes Santa Paws
Laurien Berenson
September 27, 2019

Laurien Berenson gives us her 24th episode in Melanie Travis’s life in her next book, Here Comes Santa Paws. Melanie is out of school for the holidays trying to manage decorating, shopping for gifts, and managing the boys as well as all five of her dogs. Her plans are thrown awry when Claire called. Claire, now married to Melanie’s ex-husband Bob, (and Davey’s step mother) is one of Melanie’s best friends. Her voice sounded frightened, she was whispering so it was difficult to hear anything she said. When at last Claire spoke up, she told Melanie how horrible it was, she had just found a dead body at the home of a client she was visiting. She had dialed 911 but wanted the assurance of Melanie’s company.
From that introduction to the plot, we find the usual chaos with discovering who was dead and how the deed happened, as well as the many questions to follow. With each character that was brought into the story line more query followed and by the time the police were involved much bedlam ensued.
I enjoy Berenson’s books but in this case the plot became a bit hard to follow. The disposed was a woman who changed her identity. The owner of the property where she was killed was an eccentric woman who never left her home due to a degenerative condition. All facts came clear by the conclusion but the reader needed to keep up. It actually had humorous trend considering the foul play in the plot.
Here Comes Santa Paws by Laurien Berenson will be published by Kensington Books on September 27, 2019. It is a fun holiday read, one that should be enjoyed with the holidays approaching.