Death of a Dog Whisperer (A Melanie Travis Mystery) Hardcover – August 26, 2014

Melanie Travis lives with her husband and twosons. They are a dog family with six StandardPoodles named Faith, Eve, Casey, Tar, Ravenand puppy, Augie.Her Aunt Margaret Turnbull is a long time breederof Standard Poodles. She has several StandardPoodles.Melanie’s ex-husband Bob ( he owns a chocolatepoint Siamese cat) introduces Melanie and AuntMargaret to Nick Walden. Nick owns a Rottweilermix, Thor and a little terrier, Jojo. Nick is knownas the “Dog Whisperer”.Aunt Margaret and Nick hit it off right away. Sheis going to help Nick become known in the Dogcommunity.Then Nick is found dead. Who and why wouldanyone want to murder the “Dog Whisperer” ashe was so well liked?Nick sister, Clair is introduced to Melanie by herex-husband. They want Melanie to help discoverwho murdered Nick.A fast pace, well plotted murder mystery withwell defined, colorful, interesting characters tokeep the reader’s attention from the first word tothe last.This is book # 17 in the Melanie Travis series.It can be read as a stand alone as the authormixes the past with the present effortlessly.

I loved this book! I really enjoy this mystery series! This book would be great for you if you love animal cozy mysteries, especially dogs. Melanie lives with her husband and two boys, ages 2 and 11. And they have six poodles that live with them. Melanie ends up in the middle of a murder investigation once again and gets to meet many different interesting people who could be the murderer and some new dogs. The book is full of adventures with her kids, the rest of the family, and her close friends. There are also many dog antics and some professional dog show information. There is a big surprise in store for Melanie in this book. Laurien Berenson has succeeded in writing another interesting and fun mystery to read!

Lauren Berenson's Melanie Travis mysteries are always a pleasure to read. In this, the 17th in the series, Melanie finds herself taking time from her family (both human and canine) to discover why a new acquaintance, a talented dog trainer, has been murdered. The search leads her to family secrets and new friends.I think the reason I like these books so much is twofold: One, I like dogs and like learning about dog shows (and if I ever get drawn into them in real life, will try very hard to find a breed a little less high-maintenance than a Poodle). Second, Melanie is a genuinely nice person, as are her husband and sons, and even her ex-husband. Aunt Peg can be a bit much at times, but she's very consistent, at least. They are a very comfortable read, lacking gore and unnecessary angst, and that's a nice change from a lot of mysteries these days. I love these books and look forward to the next one.

I absolutely love all the dog books that Laurien Berenson writes. I can't put them down. I have read all of them in the last 4 weeks and have even pre-ordered a couple. I then ordered 3 of them to send to my sister who owns and shows dogs. The characters are likeable, there is mild humor throughout, and I learned a lot about dogs and showing dogs. I always like books where I learn something new. My only sadness is that there aren't more of her books available. I know they take months to write and only take me a couple of days to read, but I am longing for more.

Berenson is one of my favorite writers. I don't believe it necessary to use vulgar language, explicit sexual or violent detail to make a point. She is able to tell a story without any of that. For that, I am quite grateful. This, like her other novels, are interesting and humorous. All her stories are a quick read. She writes with a flair that makes you want to get to know her characters better; she makes them quite familiar. I have read the entire series, and look forward to the next one to come.

I've enjoyed all Laurien Berenson's books This is no exception. All have well plotted stories and great characters. I've enjoyed getting to know some of them better as I've read the books. Since I like dogs, I've enjoyed reading about the standard poodles, who are a major part of the books, though, unlike literary cats, these dogs don't solve the crime. It's also fun to see inside dog shows, which often play a role in the story. These are fairly light books, but well written. You don't have to read them in order, but, after the first one, I did, because I liked seeing how the characters changed and grew. Oh, and I don't think you have to like dogs to enjoy them either. They are good reads no matter.

The Melanie Travis series never disappoints. This book had a nice, convincing mystery blending all the familiar characters plus some new, interesting ones. Neatly woven plot keeps pages flying by. Only distraction were the many proofing errors not caught. Editor needs to tighten it up in future books.

Another fun read in this series. I do have one complaint, and that is that the author pretty much ignores cats in favor of all the dogs. While I love dogs, I love cats more. I was disturbed by her breezy assurance that an adult cat will accept a dog, Cats are more complex than dogs, even more so when it comes to accepting new pets. Whereas dogs evolved as pack animals, cats did not. And when her previous neighbor, the "cat lady" moves, nothing is said about what happened to all the cats. She just ignores cats. Very irritating. Either don't write about them at all or give them the respect they deserve.

Another good read in this enjoyable series.

Good read. Not finished yet but enjoying it so far.