Chow Down (Melanie Travis Mysteries) [Kindle Edition]

Laurien Berenson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Berenson's enjoyable 13th dog-themed cozy (after 2005's Raining Cats and Dogs), Melanie Travis's standard poodle, Faith, is a finalist in a contest sponsored by Champions Dog Food company, which is in search of the next "spokesdog" for a new dog food. Though Melanie and her new husband, Sam, have no modeling ambitions for Faith—her nine-year-old son, Davey, entered the pooch without her knowing—the other finalists' competitive owners are lured by the promise of a $100,000 contract. What begins as a matter of grooming and carriage becomes the stuff of life and death when Larry Kim, the handler of a Yorkshire terrier, plunges to his death down a stairwell. Once again, Melanie, a Greenwich, Conn., teacher, sets about carefully piecing together the clues to solve the crime. Berenson creatively combines a multitude of red herrings with plenty of twists and turns for a tight suspenseful package. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Enjoyable... Plenty of twists and turns for a tight suspenseful package." - Publishers Weekly."

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 461 KB
• Publisher: Kensington (August 1, 2007)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B001ODEPGM
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Charming characters make this mystery really enjoyable, November 8, 2006

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Chow Down (Melanie Travis Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Melanie Travers can't quite bear to disappoint her son when he enters her poodle in a pet food competition and she becomes a finalist, but she doesn't really want to win. Which makes her completely unlike the other finalists. Every one of them seems intent on winning at any cost. When one of the contestants (the owner, not the pet) falls to his death on the stairs of the pet food company, Melanie finds herself in the familiar position of having to investigate what might be an accident but certainly looks like--murder.

Investigating crime is far from Melanie's major job, however. Although school may be out for the summer, she's still getting adjusted to her recent marriage, putting up with relatives urging her to start producing more children, showing her standard poodle at dog shows, and jumping through the many hoops that the contest judges have set up.

Author Laurien Berenson continues her Melanie Travis series with another look into the world of dog shows, and the unusual and colorful people who make these shows their life. These characters, especially Melanie, her aunt Peg, and gay groomer Terry bring the story to life and keep the reader interested as Melanie puts herself in dangerous situations to discover exactly what happened to the unpleasant Larry--and whether she just might be the next to fall victim.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars charming who-done-it, September 2, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chow Down (Melanie Travis Mysteries) (Hardcover)

It is summer vacation and Melanie Travis has the season off since she works at a school in Connecticut. She intends to relax and spend time with her husband of four months Sam in their new home that used to belong to her ex-husband. They're trying for a baby which has become news to family and friends and makes Melanie feel pressured. The real pressure comes in the form of a letter stating that her poodle Faith is one of five contestants in the Chow Down contests sponsored by Champions Food Dog Company.

She finds out that her son Davy entered Faith in the contest and by the terms of the contest Melanie can't withdraw Faith. During the first meeting of the contestants, one of them falls down the stairs, his dog, Yoda, a Yorkshire terrier falling into Melanie's arms. She hears yelling on the staircase but nobody is there and the police believe the death was an accident. Melanie is sure it is murder and between events dealing with the competition, she questions the contestants and the company people, hoping to find a clue that will point to the killer.

A Laurien Berenson mystery is always fun to read because the characters add something special to the storyline. This mystery is difficult to solve because nobody has a clear cut motive and Melanie has no idea who was on the steps with the victim. CHOW DOWN is a charming who-done-it and the glimpse into the heroine's personal life is just icing on the cake.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this book!, October 5, 2006

By 

Nancy Hubbard (Hackensack, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chow Down (Melanie Travis Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Everybody needs to laugh and everybody needs to think and this book makes you pee your pants laughing while trying to solve a mystery.
My hats off to Ms Berenson for making me turn the pages of this book faster than the last 4 books that I've recently read.
I highly recommend any of the entertaining Melanie Travis Mysteries.
My sincere hope is that the author is working on the next installment as I type this!