Customer Reviews

Hush Puppy: A Melanie Travis Mystery

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
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I have read all of Ms. Berenson's books and they are all great fun, but "Hush Puppy" is her best effort yet. I love each and every one of the characters, and have enjoyed seeing her style evolve and develop. She has become a master at plotting and character development and doesn't cheat the reader by withholding information or parts of the solution.

If you love dogs, you'll love this. If you love a good mystery, you'll love this one.

The nice things about Berenson's "Melanie Travis Mystery Series" is that no reader is left out. You can start with any of the books and fall right in.

I set a record with the reading of HUSH PUPPY...never left my den and even missed dinner!

Berenson leaves you wanting more...the next installment should bring even more fun.

Berenson weaves modern relationship trials and tribulations into this story...making it a realistic read. The single-mom school teacher, Melanie, is such a "deep" character. No KNIGHTS on horseback to save this damsel...she does it all on her own.

Now...when is the next installment????!!!!

Melanie Travis feels everything is perfect. Her six-year old son Davey is a normal, precocious lad. Her pet poodle Faith is on the verge of winning a dog show championship. She loves her husband-to-be Sam Dreyer, who seems to cherish every moment with her. Melanie even enjoys her job as a tutor at the prestigious Howard Academy.

Life spins a bit downward when Sam's ex-wife appears at the dog show. Melanie is a bit concerned and irritated because she never knew Sam was previously married and the former Ms. Dreyer wants him back. At the school, a child who is not a student seems to appear and disappear until finally the unknown child finds the murdered corpse of the custodian. Melanie vows not to become involved in this murder investigation, but fate decrees otherwise. Someone sets fire to a room where Melanie and Faith are looking at some papers in an attempt to kill her. Melanie feels a link between the murder and the arson exists and she plans to identify it and subsequently the killer before a second attempt on her life occurs.

Beneath the facade of an elite school resides a boiling pot filled with drug deals, blackmail, and murder that rivals anything the other less elite schools have to offer. That concept serves as the focus of HUSH PUPPY. Melanie's relationships with her lover, her son, and her dog add a humanistic feel to the who-done-it. Laurien Berenson has written an amateur sleuth tale that is a delightful addition to a fine animal mystery series.

Harriet Klausner

If you are a dog and mystery lover than this is the book for you. I loved this book so much that I couldn't put it down until I finished it. This is definately a book to curl up in a quiet corner with a nice cup of tea and a plan to spend the entire day or night reading. Laurien Berenson has created another masterpiece in the world of writing. I greatly recommend this and any of her other dog mystery books. They are wonderful.

Having read every book of the Melanie Travis Mystery Series I was quite eager to open this book up and start reading. Once again it proved that Laurien Berenson can write. This book is so interesting and it honestly will keep you guessing up until the very end. I know my jaw must have dropped at least ten times throughout it. It will keep you on your toes whether you are a dog person or not. Melanie Travis is so real and so much like your nextdoor neighbor. I can't even explain how good this and all the other books in the series are. If you are new to this series though I would suggest that you start reading with the first book "A Pedigree to Die For" It too proved to be very interesting.

Melanie Travis is living life grandly. She has the perfect job at the Howard Academy, her son is developing wonderfully; her romance with Sam Driver is thriving (he is now her fiancee); and her dog is winning championship points in the dog show circuit! Life is grand!

One day she notices the Academy janitor arguing with a kid. Next thing she knows, the janitor is murdered, the kids disappears, her fiancee's ex-wife shows up in her town, someone tries to burn her up, her dog loses her show hair during this fire, and the police are chasing drug dealers and murderers that seem to be swirling around her. What's a girl to do? Well, in the case of these books, the girl will roll up her sleeves and use her skills in solving the crime and arresting the perpetrator!

This book is rollicking good fun. The pace is good, the characters believable, the plot rolls along in a good way, and you never feel that you are being cheated by having someone figure something out that you could not. One thing I like to do is put the book down about midway though it and attempt to figure out the whodunit. In this case, I had a pretty good idea of how the major points of the plot interacted, but the author managed to fool me on a couple of major items. That is a good thing. Especially when you consider that the twists that she put in between what I believed would happen and what actually did were completely believable. There were no red herrings that were disturbing.

So, I rate this as a fun book to read and recommend it highly.

Laurien Berenson has hit her stride and I hope the rest of the series is at least as good as this one!

Having read every book of the Melanie Travis Mystery Series I was quite eager to open this book up and start reading. Once again it proved that Laurien Berenson can write. This book is so interesting and it honestly will keep you guessing up until the very end. I know my jaw must have dropped at least ten times throughout it. It will keep you on your toes whether you are a dog person or not. Melanie Travis is so real and so much like your nextdoor neighbor. I can't even explain how good this and all the other books in the series are. If you are new to this series though I would suggest that you start reading with the first book "Hair of the Dog" It too proved to be very interesting.

"Hush Puppy" is my first in the Melanie Travis and it is one that will have me coming back for another visit. Laurien Berenson keeps the reader guessing with one jump to another. Her relationship with the police is not caustic, which is a device I'm becoming bored with seeing so frequently in regards to amateur sleuths.
Aunt Peg is a favorite character with loads of spunk, a formidable lady who sets her mind on a goal and it remains there. Sam, the friend, does manage to make it past dense. A sound story for avid page turners who enjoy their mysteries light.
Yes, this is a series I will read again.
Nash Black, author of "Sins of the Fathers" and "Travelers."

As someone who normally reads cat mysteries, I was hesitant to read this series. However, Berenson weaves the dogs into the mystery and the overall plot, unlike so many which seem contrived - "the mystery was soved by the pet" The realism and Berenson's background, intense knowledge of her subject, and honesty of characters make this series a standout. Save them for an afternoon/evening when you don't have much to do, because you won't want to put it down!