Customer Reviews

Jingle Bell Bark: A Melanie Travis Mystery

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ho, hum. Another unmarried female amateur detective with a hobby or job I'm going to
hear all about and a kid I can watch grow up because it's a series mystery. Well,
it's better than I expected.

I came in at number 11 of the series, but it was good enough that I'll hunt down
earlier volumes and perhaps read the whole series. It was good enough for two or three
more per year, but not good enough to tackle them one right after another. The mystery
part was fairly weak, but the characters were interesting. I found myself not wondering
"who dunit?" but rather "what will so-and-so do next?"

The dog and dog show portion of the story was also interesting. I like dogs but not dog
shows and I found the dog show and preparation scenes interesting. When the investigator
is a cook, I try some of the recipes, but I can not tell you if the dog tips are good or not.

There is a fair amount of humor here; not the laugh out loud kind, but rather the smile or
chuckle kind. The humor is about the interactions of the characters and the business or
busyness of living. I expect there will be similar smiles in the other books of the series,
rather than the same jokes repeated each time.

PB/mystery: I needed something to get me in the holiday mood; why not murder? This is book 11 in the Melanie Travis series and my first read of the story. I did not have a problem understanding the who, what, where. I will start by telling you that I am not only a dog person, but a believer in animal shelter dogs. I think breeding dogs for pets is ridiculous.
That being said, I really liked the book. I like the heroine; she is a bit of a slacker mom who believes in spending time with her kid over cleaning the house. The whole mystery probably would have taken only 50 pages to tell, but the author mixes family and business in with the mystery. Two thumbs up.

The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a time when normal people are getting ready for the holidays; decorate their houses; bring in the tree; do their shopping; and in general engage in all kinds of fun activities. In the case of Melanie Travis and her world, this is also a time to solve murder mysteries!

In this case, it is really not her fault. First of all, all she notices is that her son's school bus driver is replaced with a surly teenager and then she finds out that he died. It's only later that she discovers that he was murdered. And even then, she is not really involved until her Aunt Peg gets her deeply involved in investigating the murder. Would it surprise anyone who reads this series to learn that the bus driver is a dog lover and that Melanie's involvement owes as much to the dogs as anything else?

In addition to the murder mystery, there is the normal advancement of the Travis story with developments in her relationship with Sam Driver (now, again, her fiancée); her ex-husband, Bob; her aunt; and her sister in law - Bertie - and their brand new baby girl. We also follow her dog show participation as she gets closer to having Faith established as a champion.

All those are fun and good reasons for reading the mystery, but how good was they mystery? Well, I can tell you that I was not sure of whom the murderer was until they revealed themselves. And only then did I realize that the author left a great, big, juicy, clue right there in plain sight that I should have picked up on immediately. In other words, this was a very enjoyable book and one that makes for great beach or airplane reading. Recommended!

The book came so dang fast. It was nice to receive somethign in just a few days.

Single-parent Melanie Travis wants nothing but to spend a simple, traditional, relaxing Christmas with her eight-year-old son, Davey, and her fiance Sam. But preparing for the holidays can be a major pain when you're attempting to keep a Standard Poodle's fur intact for her upcoming show; racing back and forth between the fancy prep school where you work, your sons elementary school, and Christmas play rehearsals. Throw in holding down the fort, and dealing with your over-bearing, yet kind-natured Aunt Peg, and there seems like there's never enough time in the day. But when Davey's bus driver, Henry Pruitt, disappears without notice, and a surly, despondent, pierced teenager arrives in his place, Melanie is overcome with concern for the kindly old man, and decides to check up on him. However, upon arriving on his front stoop, Melanie learns that Henry died two days earlier, and there's an investigation being conducted, because suspicious circumstances surround the untimely death. Melanie instantly knows that she has to get involved, especially when she discovers that Henry's beloved Golden Retrievers have not only lost their owner, but their home, as well. Taking the two friendly fellows to Aunt Peg's for a little R&R, complete with the tale of their sordid predicament, Aunt Peg decides to do the only thing she possibly can...take the dogs in for the holidays and stick her nose where it doesn't belong, enlisting Melanie's help to do some snooping into the suspicious death of Henry. But just as the two amateur sleuths begin to dig up some incriminating info, they realize that they could be next on the lunatics list, and that they're in for quite a slay ride.

I have looked over Laurien Berenson's novels for years, but have never actually delved into one. However, when I noticed that she had penned a holiday mystery, complete with two puppies and a Christmas tree on the cover, I found myself unable to resist the purchase. While I do not own a dog of my own, I am a dog lover, and found the information regarding various breeds, and the special care they deserve - as well as Melanie and Aunt Peg's true love for each and every furry friend they meet - to be quite enchanting. The parts regarding dog shows, and the preparations (which there isn't much of) were somewhat tedious, and not as interesting - especially if you're not into dog shows. However, these parts did not overshadow the rest of the story, and lent a hand in building up the character's personalities, and interests. Melanie is a delightful character, whose determination to please everyone surrounding her - be it her son, her fiance, or her pregnant sister-in-law - is admirable, and quite enjoyable to discover more about; but it's her Aunt Peg who steals the show with her nutty as a fruitcake ways, and utterly crazy ideas. A delightful, cozy mystery that will leave you howling for more of Melanie, and her misadventures.

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer