I have long been a fan of Melanie Travis mysteries and recommend them highly. They follow Melanie's life as a single mother who has one son Davey. She is now happily married with two sons and 5 dogs. The information on dog problems and shows are outstanding. While there is a mystery in each book, the series isn't really a cozy. Melanie solved the mystery by herself without the help of the police. There is no sex or graphic violence.
This opens with Melanie and Davy seeing someone dropped off a dog pin the road. They rescue the dog. Melanie has been asked to help at a Puppy Fest, an event to showcase adopting puppies. She meets the Brody family there. Melanie finds the Father dead in his study with a woman standing over his body. The police rule the death as an accident. One of his daughters disagree and hired Melanie to find out what happened.Was Leo Brody murdered or are the police correct? I highly recommend the book and series, especially for dog lovers.

Disclosure: I received a free copy from Kensington Books through NetGalley for an honest review. I would like to thank them for this opportunity to read and review the book. The opinions expressed are my own.

Murder at the Puppy Fest is the 20th book in Laurien Berenson’s Melanie Travis Mystery series. The author provides great background information and the characters’ histories and relationships are easy to understand. The storyline is well plotted and flows at a steady relaxed pace, and the well-developed characters are relatable. I find Ms. Berenson’s writing style to be smooth and calming, with witty statements and she sends a strong message of caring and compassion in her books. There is no lack of suspects in this whodunit.

Melanie Travis lives in Stamford, Connecticut with her husband, Sam, and two sons, Davey and Kevin, and five Standard Poodles. While running errands with Davey, he sees a car stop and toss out a dog, so they stop and rescue him. Melanie’s friend, Claire Travis, who is married to Melanie’s ex-husband, Bob, asks her to help at Puppy Fest, an annual fundraiser that benefits a local dog rescue organization, the Puppy Posse Foundation, which Leo Brody, a wealthy philanthropist, was sponsoring at his Belle Haven mansion. Leo wanted to be present at the live show and when he hadn’t made an appearance during the first half, Claire asked Melanie to look for him. Melanie finds him in his home office but he won’t be attending his event. Leo was extremely allergic to peanuts and local authorities discovered a plate of cookies with ground-up peanuts as one of the ingredients sitting on his desk. The death is ruled accidental but one of Leo’s nine children, Libby, isn’t happy with the investigation and Melanie’s Aunt Peg suggests she ask Melanie to look into what really happened to her father.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

This latest book in the Melanie Travis Canine series does not disappoint. As I do show dogs, this is the one series that I've found that explains and truly understands AKC dog shows.

As I've come to expect from Ms. Berenson, the characters are well-developed and continue to 'grow' throughout the series. This is an easy-reading book that I didn't want to put down until I finished. Nice descriptions that do not interfere with the flow of the book. I enjoyed my 'visit' with Melanie and her family and friends.

It was a pleasure to read and review and thank you for the opportunity to do so.

I didn't love this one as much as the others. I'm not quit sure why other than her family not involved as much with humor. If you had never read her before I'm not sure you would know much about the dogs' personalities

Melanie Travis is a very busy woman. She is a wife, a mother, a teacher and the owner of five large Poodles. Yet, with the urging of her bossy Aunt Peg, she always finds the time to get involved in any activity which will benefit dogs, and when getting herself involved in these activities murder and mayhem seem to follow her around. This series is always a pleasure to read, it's very much like visiting an old friend for an hour or two and catching up on what is new in their lives. The plots are fast paced and interesting, but it is the charming characters that make this series a cut above most other cozy mysteries.