Disclaimer: I received a free e-copy through Netgalley. No spoilers involved.

I adore Peg from the Melanie Travis series, and I adore her in this new series of Melanie's aunts Peg and Rose. As always, poodles play a part in the novel, and we're introduced to a few new characters, human and animal.

Usually, I can solve the murder from the first hundred pages, but this one had me stumped for quite a bit longer as Berenson let out more and more tidbits of information slower than in the Melanie Travis books.

My only issue with the novel is the title. Although most of the Melanie Travis books are about murder, having it so plainly out there that the two leads solve it is a bit off-putting.

Final verdict: Highly recommend this cozy mystery.

I really like when a story is told through another character point of view. Peg and Rose team up to solve a murder while Melanie is on vacation with her family. The book is a fun story with lots of dogs. overall a fun and fast mystery,
#PegandRoseSolveaMurder #NetGalley

Peg is a professional dog breeder and dog show judge. Rose, her sister-in-law, used to be a nun and now runs a home for victims of domestic violence. Both are smart and feisty, and their relationship is interesting and complex.

Their decision to team up and join a bridge club surprises them as much as it does their friends and family, but the bridge club turns out not to be what it seems on the surface.

The novel is neatly plotted and well written.

Ms. Berenson’s cozy with a pair of mature aged sisters-in law is nicely crafted. Peg and Rose never got along when Rose’s brother/ Peg’s husband was alive. Rose decides to make amends because it was mostly her fault they never bonded. Her idea to join a bridge club together was met guardedly by Peg, but she agreed. One of the players are murdered and Peg is in her snoopy zone, dragging Rose along in the beginning. Rose comes alive with the thrill of the hunt and the pair stumble across the carefully concealed answers the police need. It picks up as the book progresses and it an interesting intrigue. I recommend for cozy lovers, especially those with an affinity for the older sleuths.
I requested and received a Net Galley ARC gratis and offer my opinion in the same.

Although she would be the last to admit it, Peg Turnbull is feeling a bit lonely. Her niece Melanie and husband and sons are on a month long trip and while Peg has her dog shows she misses having family around. So when her sister-in-law Rose Donovan invites Peg to partner with her at a local bridge club, Peg agrees even though the two have clashed for years. The two still clash but both Peg and Rose find themselves slowly begin to enjoy each other’s company. They have barely gotten started though when one of the players is killed in his own home. Both Peg and Rose have helped Melanie solve crimes in the past so they team up to solve this one but neither one realizes how much danger they could be in.

When I heard that Laurien Berenson was doing a spin-off series from her Melanie Travis mysteries featuring Peg and Rose I couldn’t wait to read it and “Peg and Rose Solve a Murder” did not disappoint – I loved this book! Having Peg and Rose team up was an inspired idea! I’ve read most, if not all, of the Melanie Travis books, and while it did take time for me to like Peg as a character, she’s now one of my favorites (although I don’t think I’d want to know her in real life!). She can be cantankerous, outspoken, and unlikable at times but she deeply cares for the people in her life (not just her dogs!). Rose is also an interesting character – a former nun now married to a former priest, she can be a bit prickly herself, a bit naïve, but she too deeply cares for the people in her life. I loved reading as their friendship grew over the course of the book – they will always clash a bit but that’s what makes them such a great time and the book so interesting to read. The mystery is well done – the murder does take some time to happen as Berenson sets up the relationship between Peg and Rose – but is very well done with just the right amount of suspects, surprises, and twists and turns to keep the reader guessing as to whodunit. I enjoyed this book so much that I was sorry when it ended and look forward to future books featuring Peg and Rose and their adventures.

“Peg and Rose Solve a Murder” is a great start to what looks to be an enjoyable series.

I admit I was a little disappointed with the last Melanie Travis mystery, so I was thrilled to see that this mystery, featuring Melanie's Aunt Peg and Aunt Rose had everything I loved about the Travis series and more! Peg is back to "being curious" about people, back to showing her new Poodle pup, Joker, and back to judging at the dog shows. Rose is trying hard to become friends with Peg after 40+ years of animosity.. The characters are wonderful, the dogs are outstanding, and the mystery was fun and not too complicated. A great read and highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

i have always been a fan of the author's long running Melanie Travis series. Here we have a departure from that series focusing on the cantankerous Aunt Peg and her long lost sister . Rose and Peg are trying to repair the damage Rose did to Peg years prior. Rose has left her seminary and is no longer a nun. She is very judgemental and mean, a charcters I heartily disliked. She harbors intense dislike and jealously of Peg and the success she built as a dog show judge. I found nothing to like about Rose. Aunt Peg as always is a delight and she carried this book. I love the way that Peg did not trust Rose but was the better person allowing Rose back in her life. Peg in this book is more vulnerable and under the tough exterior we find she has a big heart. I liked that they attempted to play bridge together even though neither wants to spend time together. If this relationship can be repaired Rose has a lot of growth to do ,

The mystery as always was well crafted and fun to read. I found this a mystery I would read cover to cover .
Thank you to Net Galley and the Publisher.

Peg and Rose don’t get along but decide to take up bridge together. When a friend is murdered the two decide to help solve the mystery. There’s a lot of bridge, dog show stuff and CT references along the way. This is a cozy mystery that I found just ok for me but I think people who like Cody mysteries will appreciate this read more than me.

While Melanie is on vacation with her family, her aunt Peg gets to solve a mystery without Melanie. This time she is assisted by her sister-in-law Rose. They make a good team. Laurien Berenson does a great job with her latest book. While I did miss having Melanie in the book, it was great seeing how Peg worked with someone else. Poodle lovers will especially enjoy this book too.

I've never been one to binge read a series (unless you count the Sweet Valley High books I devoured in my early teens), but for the Melanie Travis series I couldn't help myself. Though this book diverges from that series a bit in characters, it grabbed me just as tight. While Melanie and her family travel the country in a rented RV, her aunts Peg and Rose find themselves knee-deep in a murder case back home in Connecticut.

Fans of Berenson's Melanie Travis series will be very familiar with Melanie's aunt Peg, a woman who popped up in Melanie's life after her uncle Max died unexpectedly and one of their prize poodles disappeared. Peg is brash and abrupt but she's also a devout dog lover and (in her own way) a loving aunt. We're introduced to Melanie's aunt Rose much later in the series and she's about as different from Peg as a woman can be. Needless to say, the two women don't exactly get along.

With her niece out of town, Rose decides she wants to extend an olive branch to her sister-in-law Peg. Unbeknownst to the readers until now, there was some bad blood between the women in the past, which Rose hopes to rectify. She does so by inviting to Peg to join her as Rose's partner in a bridge club. Of course things go sideways in a hurry when one of the players is shot to death in his home. As the newest members of a club that's been meeting for many years, Peg and Rose are considered prime suspects. Without Melanie there to help them solve the crime, they tackle the investigation together.

I started the Melanie Travis series in May 2017 and binge read most of it (books 3-20) between July and September. I (obviously) quickly fell in love with Melanie and Davey and Faith and, yes, Peg too. In this book, Peg and Rose do their own sleuthing, using their disparate personalities to approach their suspects in the way best-suited for drawing out the most information from each person... and there's a lot of information to be had. Each member of their new bridge club has their own secrets and Peg and Rose discover that they make a great sleuthing team.

For anyone who enjoys the Melanie Travis series, this book is a must read. For fans of cozy mysteries, if you haven't read Berenson's books yet put them at the top of your list!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Kensington Books and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I truly appreciate a good cozy and this new series by Lauren Berenson is terrific. It’s a
wonderful spin-off from her established Canine series. Such a wonderful read.

Peg and Rose are two interesting characters. Inquisitive Peg, in her early 70s, is a dog show judge, and meek, yet opinionated Rose, a former nun, is Peg's sister-in-law. Although the two have never been friends, they team up to play bridge at the local community center. It is the perfect opportunity for Peg to observe new people. When a member of the bridge club is murdered, Peg and Rose jump in to investigate. Among all the interviews with club members and dust-ups between Peg and Rose, readers also learn a lot about dog training. This first book in the Senior Sleuths mystery series is a fun read.

Will Peg and Rose survive each other as they work together to solve who murdered Stan? For me, it was as much fun watching them sort out their long-time fractious relationship as it was watching them figure out who did it. Who knew a simple invitation to play bridge together could put them in danger?

Peg, a no-nonsense, take no prisoners type, immediately sets out to see what she, er, they can find out themselves. Rose, an ex-nun now married to a former priest, is initially reluctant but secretly delighted to find that she's not only enjoying the process but that she is rather good at it. Will it put them in danger? Definitely.

If you're a fan of Berenson's Melanie Travis series, you will immediately feel at home with "Peg and Rose Solve a Mystery". It works beautifully as a standalone as much of the background is naturally shared as Peg and Rose tentatively share information about their past and present, which includes mentions of not just Melanie, who sends a post card from vacation, but Crawford and Terry. Both Peg and Rose, despite their differences, are likeable and care, even if it takes them awhile to come to the realization that this includes about each other. I mean, Rose doesn't even like dogs. Dogs have been Peg's world ever since she married Rose's late brother Max. I highly recommend this book to both dog and cozy mystery lovers. It's a winner.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #KensingtonBooks for inviting me to play bridge and hang out with Peg and Rose. Having those lovely dogs about was a bonus.

Great characters and a fun storyline make Peg and Rose Solve a Murder a must-read!

Rose Donovan looks for the good in everyone. Her sister-in-law, Peg, well that's another story. After forty years of bickering, they’re attempting to start over, partnering up to join the local bridge club.

Peg and Rose barely have a chance to celebrate their first win before one of the club’s most accomplished players is killed in his home. As the newest members, the sisters-in-law come under scrutiny and decide to start some digging of their own. Bridge is typically seen as a wholesome pastime, yet this group of senior citizens harbors a wealth of vices, including gambling, cheating, and adultery…

Loved it.

Peg and Rose Solve a Murder by Laurien Berenson is a great cozy mystery that is the first book in a new series: Peg and Rose. I just loved this!

What can I say except for this is what a cozy mystery should be. The main characters: upper/middle-aged Rose and Peg are perfect together. Prickly, yet sweet underneath, can honestly describe both to be honest. Both are formerly related sisters in law brought together again after years apart with a cloud of misunderstanding and regret as a bridge duo, and the beginnings of friendship forged again when then finding themselves solving a murder mystery.

I loved the small thread that had a serious undertone of regret, forgiveness, family, friendship, and second chances present with the major traditional theme of a murder/mystery. The author did a fantastic job balancing that out nicely and creating such vibrant, real, raw, imperfect, but yet perfect, characters. The side characters, backstories, and surroundings were perfectly described.

The pacing was great, the murder/mystery was as well, and the dialogue, wit, and interactions were spot on.

I can’t wait for the next book!

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Kensington Books for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 8/30/22.

Peg and Rose are finally trying to get along and make their relationship work. As a first step they team up to play bridge and end up being suspects in a murder. Can they work together to solve the case or will they be going to the big house together?

I never read the Melanie Travis Mysteries, so this was my introduction to Laurien Berenson…and I’m hooked! I love the dynamics between Peg and Rose and their heartfelt efforts to become closer…and if a murder doesn’t make you closer, I don’t know what will. I’m looking forward to more in this series as well as checking out the Melanie Travis books. A good read all around!

Peg and Rose Rule!!!! I love all of Laurien’s books in the Melanie Travis series and I just couldn’t Wait to see what she had in store for this new series with Peg and Rose. It was more than I could have hoped for. I loved the interaction between the two sister in-laws and the setting of the bridge club was perfect. I can’t wait to read more in this new series. I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves cozy mysteries, dogs, and playing bridge.

I’ve been an avid fan of Laurien Berenson’s Melanie Travis series since the beginning, and Peg and Rose Solve a Murder was an unexpected delight. Melanie and family are out of town, leaving Aunt Peg and her poodles to their own devices. In between judging and showing at dog shows Peg is bored. Rose (Melanie’s aunt, who has been a thorn in Peg’s side for decades) extends an olive branch - the chance to join a bridge club. When one of the club members is murdered the women set out to solve it themselves, and the true adventure begins! I hope this series continues (along with Melanie’s). Long live the Turnbull women!

This is one of those rare cozy mysteries with real heart and emotional impact, featuring two very different senior sleuths.
Peg is a widowed poodle breeder and dog show judge, while her estranged sister-in-law Rose is a former nun married to a defrocked priest. Rose has not been kind to Peg in the past but is trying to make amends by inviting her to join a bridge club.
When one of the players is shot dead Peg cannot resist trying to discover who killed him in this small community.
The two lead characters are well defined, although Rose is a little too sickly sweet to be credible.
Perfect for anyone who loves dogs, bridge and small town secrets and lies.

It's no mystery that I'm a huge fan of Laurien Berenson and her Melanie Travis mysteries. When I saw that Aunt Peg has her own series, I couldn't wait to read it.
Peg is a owner/breeder of standard poodles, as has recently become a judge for dog competitions. Normally we find Aunt Peg involved in her niece's life, but in this first in a new series, we find Peg and her sister in law Rose, working together to solve a murder.
Peg and Rose have a tumultuous relationship at best, so when Rose reaches out to Peg, I was wondering where this was going to lead. Rose invited Peg to be her partner in a bridge club, and from there events spin out of control.
I loved seeing this bit of a softer side from Peg, and her love for poodles shines through when she helps a rescue get acclimated to her new family.
This is a great start to a new series and I enjoyed the back story about Rose and Peg. I'm looking forward to seeing what other shenanigans these ladies will be up to.
I recommend this book to all types of readers.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.
#PegandRoseSolveaMurder #NetGalley