Hair of the Dog: A Melanie Travis Mystery [Paperback]

Laurien Berenson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1998

The dog days of summer have just begun, and Melanie Travis is looking forward to savoring each lazy afternoon. Even her rambunctious standard poodle is taking a break from the show ring. But Melanie's quiet summer reverie is shattered when star poodle handler and ladykiller Barry Turk is shot dead in his own driveway. Mystery Guild Selection.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Series star Melanie Travis of the dog show circuit uses her many connections to track down the murderer of a famous poodle handler known for cutting a swath among the women. A good choice for dog aficionados?and others?from the author of Dog Eat Dog.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

A third time on the Westchester/Connecticut dog-show circuit with Melanie Travis (Dog Eat Dog, 1996, etc.), divorced teacher, mother of five-year-old Davey, and lover of rugged computer designer Sam Driver. A little-liked trainer-handler, Barry Turk, has been shot and killed in the driveway of the house he shared with Alicia Devane, who had left her show-judge husband Bill for Turk. Pregnant, distraught, and under police suspicion, Alicia now asks Melanie to help her find the killer. A sympathetic Melanie starts asking questions, encouraged as usual by her bossy Aunt Peg, a breeder of Standard Poodles. Melanie's interest focuses on Viv and Ron Pullman--the two abruptly shifted their prize Chow from Turk's management to handler Crawford Langley and have been bad-mouthed by Turk ever since--and she also digs up several victims of Turk's sexual harassment, plus a spate of illicit affairs in unexpected places. It's going nowhere--slowly- -until a second killing and a magazine gossip item lead Melanie (the police have vanished) to an off-the-wall solution. Only for those obsessed with show dogs (their grooming, hair problems, and ingratiating personalities). All else here is absurdly contrived and unconvincing. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Kensington; Melanie Travis Mystery edition (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575663562
• ISBN-13: 978-1575663562
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #561,197 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #87 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Series

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you like dogs and mystery you will like this book!, June 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hair of the Dog: A Melanie Travis Mystery (Paperback)

When I read this author for the first time I was looking for a writer who writes like the Cat Who series. In Laurien Berenson, I found a writer who is more serious, better prepared, and knows the show dog world. I think she is getting better with each book.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Plodding plot and not sparks, March 4, 2008

By 

Naor Wallach (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hair Of The Dog (Melanie Travis Mysteries) (Paperback)

Melanie, Melanie, Melanie,

What is going on here? You are on your summer vacation, and instead of enjoying life at the beach with your son and your paramour, you actually manage to get asked by a murder suspect to help in finding the murderer. You try to beg off, but Alicia insists and you are such a sucker that you take over for the police (speaking of which, were are they in this story?) and start asking questions at each dog show that you attend over the coming weeks. This leads directly to another murder and then you solve the mystery after being threatened yourself. What a way to spend a summer vacation, eh?

This story line plods along. There is no excitement and nothing seems to happen except for descriptions of dog shows and what happens at them plus a few descriptions of some unusual dog breeds plus a lot of conversations with people who are part of the dog show scene. There are some red herrings that the sleuth falls into chasing and some mildly interesting twists in terms of how sexually active the professional dog handlers appear to be (everyone is having affairs with people who are NOT their spouses).

The mystery, when it is eventually solved, involves someone who is determined to get his way and develops this really strange and really weird method of getting the people he is interested in to convert to his way of thinking. To my way of thinking, this was a very weak point for this book as it was so convoluted and unbelievable!

In other Melanie Travis books there was always some humor and some interesting twists in her virtual life that raised the overall book score. This one is totally bereft of anything like that. Too bad.

I am hoping that this is a momentary aberation and that future volumes will be better.

5.0 out of 5 stars dog lovers mystery, January 10, 2009

By 

A. Orozco "Cozy lover" (N. CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hair Of The Dog (Melanie Travis Mysteries) (Paperback)

Loved this whole series of books. The heroine is a single Mom who is pushed into the world of dog shows by a loveable dog obsessed Aunt. Set on the East Coast, each book continues to expand Melanie's relationships with her son, romantic interest, friends, relatives, and other dog lovers. Nothing objectionable in the books, and lots of humorous observations about dog owners.