Author Laurien Berenson swept me away to the hectic world of mom, Melanie Travis, and her beloved family, with short, fast chapters that flowed to perfection. This twenty-seventh installment was a delight to read, and my favorite story now, in the series.

Protagonist Melanie Travis’s entire family is involved in showing champion Standard Poodles at dog competitions. Her oldest son, Davey, is a junior counselor at Graceland Nursery School summer camp; and youngest son, Kevin, will be attending camp, too! To Melanie’s surprise, Emily, the school owner, has three precious, yet rambunctious Dalmatian puppies running loose the first day of camp. I enjoyed the mysterious plot explaining how Emily wound up with Posie, Poppy, and Pansy; and how the author wove them into the murder mystery storyline was creative.

I’ve never read a Melanie Travis Mystery I didn’t like, and this story is no exception. Aunt Peg is a treasure, and has a fairly prominent role in this story as an amateur sleuth.
The action is non-stop. The mystery is top-notch, and, of course, people are never who they seem to be on the surface. There are tender moments, funny moments, sad moments, and ecstatic moments! This is a fun, relaxing cozy to sit and enjoy reading. It’s a fantastic series for dog lover’s and mystery enthusiasts.

I honestly reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington Publishing. All opinions are my own. Thank you.

Pup Fiction is the latest book in the Melanie Travis series by Laurien Berenson. This series has become my favorite cozy mystery series and I look forward to each new novel!

It is summer and Melanie’s sons are off to daycamp at the Graceland School. Kevin, her 5-year-old, is a camper while her teenage son, Davy, is a camp counselor. The owner of the school, Emily, who is normally organized and in control of everything, is acting strangely. Something is definitely bothering her. When asked what was wrong, Emily confides in Melanie: her ex-husband recently dropped off three Dalmatian puppies who are running amuck; her recently deceased landlord’s heirs want to raise her rent; and the neighbors want the school closed down. Soon, strange happenings start occurring at the school: a runaway truck, a fire, and then a dead body in the woods behind the school. The dead body is Emily’s ex-husband and Emily is the prime suspect. Melanie needs to help her friend clear her name by solving the mystery. And of course, since there are purebred dogs involved, Aunt Peg inserts herself into the investigation.

I thoroughly enjoyed this latest installment. The novel is easy to read and it moves at a good pace. I love the characters and their dogs. I enjoy the dog shows that often appear in the series and I’m learning about the dog show world. I highly recommend this series to dog-lovers and cozy mystery readers.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

It's summer vacation and Melanie is dropping her boys off at the local day camp at Graceland Nursery School. Davey, her 15-year-old is a camp counselor and Kevin, her five-year-old is a camper. She stops in to visit the school’s owner and a friend before heading home and discovers that all is not well in Emily's world. Her ex-husband gave her three rambunctious Dalmatian puppies that are driving her mad. Her landlord recently died and his heirs are looking to raise her rent, her neighbors are desperate to get the school shut down. Soon after several mishaps occur ending with someone finding Emily's ex-husband dead near the school.
Melanie, of course, has to help her friend and find out who killed the evil ex. I enjoyed just about everything with this book. My only little nit-pick is the conversations Melanie has with her dog Faith. I don't recall them happening in previous books. If they did they weren't as extensive and less noticeable. I often talk to my dogs, but they don't use words to talk back. The mystery is well done, the information about the dog shows was fantastic. The characters are likable and fun to read about.

3.5 stars

Melanie Travis is a wife, mother, teacher and amateur sleuth whose nosing around has occasionally helped the police solve crimes. Melanie, her husband Sam, their sons Davey (14) and Kev (5), and the family's six dogs (five standard poodles and a rescue pup) live in a big sprawling house in Stamford, Connecticut.

Summer break has just started, and Davey and Kev will spend their days at Graceland Nursery School Summer Camp, where Davey will be a counselor and Kev will be a camper. Melanie has known the school's proprietor, Emily Grace, for more than a decade, and the women are friends. On the first day of camp, Melanie drops the boys off and stops at Emily's office to say hello. Emily is frazzled and confides that her trio of Dalmatian puppies - which she'd received as a gift - escaped from their pen, ran into the road, and had to be rounded up.

That's just the beginning of trouble at the nursery school, which suffers from repeated mishaps over the next few days. Melanie and Emily suspect sabotage, but a motive seems elusive. Then the dead body of Emily's conman ex-husband, Will Grace, is found in the woods behind the school, and the police suspect Emily murdered him.

Emily asks Melanie to help clear her name, and Melanie immediately gets on the job. She speaks to the victim's brother, friends, and acquaintances, and also interviews people who might have wanted to cause trouble for Emily. This includes property developers who want to build on Emily's land and a Home Owner Association head who's been trying to get Emily to close the school for years - citing noise and traffic.

Emily has other troubles as well. The fee to lease the school property is going up, and she can't afford to pay. Melanie consults her go-getter Aunt Peg about Emily' s financial problems, and Aunt Peg - who raises dogs, shows dogs, and judges dog shows - organizes a canine-related fundraiser to help raise money.

Melanie is a prudent investigator, and when she discovers clues to Will Grace's killer, she relays them to Police Detective Sturgill, whom she's assisted in the past. This turns out to be a good move when Melanie finally confronts the perpetrator.

In between sleuthing, Melanie accompanies her family to two dog shows, where Aunt Peg's standard poodle Coral is competing. Melanie's fourteen-year-old son Davey is Coral's handler, and the poodle - who's accumulated 10 points in the show ring - needs two major wins to get a championship. The author describes Coral's grooming and comportment - as well as how dogs are judged - all of which adds an interesting and informative element to the story.

The human characters in the book are engaging, but dog lovers will savor the endearing canines, especially Melanie's black poodle Faith - who has 'conversations' with her owner.

This book is a good choice for fans of dog shows and cozy mysteries.

Thanks to Netgalley, Laurien Berenson, and Kensington Books for a review copy.

Fun, interesting and logical. I knew who the murderer was fairly quickly but it was still a romp with the dals and Aunt Peg always brings spice. Coral got her major and all is right with the world
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

Adding a twenty-seventh book to cozy mystery series that remains fresh, entertaining, informative is an accomplishment worth mentioning. The cast remains the same, but the plot is different. If you like dogs, and a bit of mystery this book is for you..

As a huge fan of this series and author, I was really happy to see Pup Fiction by Laurien Berenson show up on NetGalley.
Melanie Travis and her Aunt Peg are my favorite pair of sleuthing duos.
While Aunt Peg is well known for her breeding and showing of Standard Poodles, as well as making the rounds on the judging circuit, she’s also known for her acerbic tongue, which always makes me laugh.
Melanie is sending her two sons off to day camp, and the last thing she needs is to get caught up in another murder investigation. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happens and Melanie needs to work fast to put the clues together.
I loved the trio of dalmation puppies, they brought a few laughs into the story.
I’m looking forward to reading more in this series.