Melanie Travis mysteries
Author
Author
Series
Publisher
Kensington Books
Language
English
Formats
Description
A mom goes undercover to locate a purloined poodle—and a killer—in this series debut with "a solution that packs a surprising amount of surprise" (Kirkus Reviews).
The apparent heart attack that killed kennel owner Max Turnbull has left seven pups in mourning, and his wife Peg suspecting foul play. But the only evidence is their missing prize pooch—a pedigreed poodle named Beau.
Enter Melanie Travis....
The apparent heart attack that killed kennel owner Max Turnbull has left seven pups in mourning, and his wife Peg suspecting foul play. But the only evidence is their missing prize pooch—a pedigreed poodle named Beau.
Enter Melanie Travis....
Author
Series
Melanie Travis mysteries volume 2
Publisher
Kensington Pub. Corp
Pub. Date
c1996
Language
English
Description
Being An Underdog Can Be Murder...
Amateur sleuth, single mother, and pedigreed poodle owner Melanie Travis returns to Connecticut's elite canine circles--and unmasks a murderer lurking among the handlers and their prize-winning pets...
When Melanie's education in breed-handling at Connecticut's classiest obedience school is cut short by sudden death, she smells a murder. So, with her rambunctious puppy, five-year-old son, and sexy fellow breeder...
3) Dog eat dog
Author
Series
Melanie Travis mysteries volume 3
Publisher
Kensington Pub. Corp
Pub. Date
c1996
Language
English
Description
Welcome to an elite Connecticut kennel club where shocking secrets gnaw at the best of the breed and competition has a sharp--and deadly--bite.
As if raising her son Davey, training her rambunctious Poodle Faith for the show ring, and grooming fellow handler Sam Driver for romance aren't enough, Melanie Travis's entrée into the exclusive Belle Haven Kennel Club has been met with a grisly murder. Unfortunately, the only witnesses to the crime were...
Author
Series
Melanie Travis mysteries volume 4
Publisher
Kensington Books
Pub. Date
1997
Language
English
Description
The dog days of summer have just begun, and Melanie Travis is looking forward to savoring each lazy afternoon. And where better to enjoy herself than at her Aunt Peg's Fourth of July barbecue? It sounds ideal, until an uninvited guest proves that even the laziest dog day of the year can suddenly turn vicious.
Melanie knew someone should have kept Barry Turk on a short leash. The star poodle handler and ladykiller had a habit of chicanery that bred...
Author
Series
Melanie Travis mysteries volume 5
Publisher
Kensington Books
Pub. Date
c1998
Language
English
Description
It's autumn in Connecticut. Melanie Travis has just started a new job, and with the added excitement of showing her Standard Poodle, Faith, in the fall shows, the last thing she wants is to become embroiled in yet another of her brother Frank's moneymaking schemes. His current brainstorm--remaking an old store in stylish suburban Fairfield County into a trendy coffee bar--already has the neighbors snarling. Worse, wealthy Marcus Rattigan, who's bankrolling...
6) Hush puppy
Author
Series
Publisher
Kensington Books
Language
English
Formats
Description
There's a corpse on campus in this mystery from an Agatha Award finalist who's "a rare breed of writer" (The Plain Dealer).
Melanie Travis loves her teaching job at Connecticut's elite Howard Academy, where plans are underway for a Spring Pageant to honor the school's fiftieth anniversary. Immersed in the preparations, Melanie is hurrying to retrieve a painting of one of the illustrious co-founders when she comes upon a...
Melanie Travis loves her teaching job at Connecticut's elite Howard Academy, where plans are underway for a Spring Pageant to honor the school's fiftieth anniversary. Immersed in the preparations, Melanie is hurrying to retrieve a painting of one of the illustrious co-founders when she comes upon a...
7) Unleashed
Author
Series
Melanie Travis mysteries volume 7
Language
English
Formats
Description
Summer means two things to Melanie Travis: a break from her teaching duties at Connecticut's elite Howard Academy and a chance to plan the perfect wedding to her fiancé, Sam. She certainly doesn't need the unwelcome arrival of a dinner invitation "peace offering" from Sam's ex-wife, Sheila Vaughn. To make matters worse, Sheila announces her temporary stay in town is now permanent: she's accepted a job as co-publisher of Woof!, a new gossip rag for...
8) Once bitten
Author
Series
Melanie Travis mysteries volume 8
Publisher
Kensington Books
Pub. Date
c2001
Language
English
Description
With her former fiancé off finding himself, Melanie Travis figures the only ring she'll be seeing in the near future is one where she's showing her prized poodles. But love is still in the air for her brother Frank, who is about to tie the knot with his sweetheart, Bertie Kennedy. With scant knowledge of tulle, favors, or cocktail hors d'oeuvres, Melanie happily leaves the nuptial arrangements to Sara Bentley, a fellow dog handler moonlighting as...
Author
Series
Melanie Travis mysteries volume 9
Publisher
Kensington Books
Pub. Date
2002.
Language
English
Description
While a mysterious stalker threatens her life, Melanie Travis also deals with the amorous advances of both her ex-husband and ex-fiance, and sets out to find a missing dachschund puppy, the victim of a divorced couple's tug-of-war.
10) Best in show
Author
Series
Melanie Travis mysteries volume 10
Publisher
Kensington Pub
Pub. Date
2003
Language
English
Description
There are dog shows. And then there's The Poodle Club of America National Specialty Dog Show. For poodle purists, it's the pinnacle of the season, drawing competitors and spectators from all over the world.
Once in Maryland, Melanie is put to work selling raffle tickets by the co-chairs of the raffle committee, Betty Jean and Edith Jean Boone. Sixty-ish steel magnolias from the South, the reclusive sisters make few appearances. But this year, they...
11) Jingle bell bark
Author
Series
Melanie Travis mysteries volume 11
Publisher
Kensington
Pub. Date
2004
Language
English
Description
It's Christmas again, and Melanie Travis barely has time to pencil in some holiday festivities. Especially once she finds herself making a list of murder suspects--and checking it twice. . .
This year, all Melanie wants for Christmas is a dull moment. Between her son Davey, her teaching job, and showing her Standard Poodle puppy, Eve, there just aren't enough hours in the day. But when Davey's usual bus driver, Henry Pruitt, disappears and is replaced...
Author
Series
Melanie Travis mysteries volume 12
Publisher
Kensington Publishing
Pub. Date
c2005
Language
English
Description
Melanie Travis has her hands full these days, what with adding a husband and three more dogs to her already cramped home. The advanced obedience training for her dog Faith is a welcome respite from the stresses of house hunting--until murder forces Melanie to the head of the class...
Even amidst the chaos, Melanie somehow manages to eke out a bit of time to get Faith enrolled in "school." The South Avenue Obedience Club looks like fun, even if there...
Author
Language
English
Description
A canine competition in New York turns criminal: "Enjoyable...plenty of twists and turns... a tight suspenseful package."—Publishers Weekly
If Melanie Travis was planning on a quiet family summer with her Standard Poodle Faith, son Davey, and new husband Sam, her plans are about to turn upside down. When she receives a letter from the Champions Dog Food Company informing her that Faith has been selected as a...
If Melanie Travis was planning on a quiet family summer with her Standard Poodle Faith, son Davey, and new husband Sam, her plans are about to turn upside down. When she receives a letter from the Champions Dog Food Company informing her that Faith has been selected as a...
14) Hounded to death
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
A prominent dog-show judge falls victim to a hot-tub homicide in a mystery "absorbing enough to delight even cat lovers" (Publishers Weekly).
As the dog days of summer turn to the playful nip of autumn's chill, Melanie Travis is ready for a little relaxation. Her Aunt Peg has the perfect solution: a five-day symposium for dog show judges in Pennsylvania's idyllic Pocono Mountains. While Peg and Melanie's sister-in-law...
As the dog days of summer turn to the playful nip of autumn's chill, Melanie Travis is ready for a little relaxation. Her Aunt Peg has the perfect solution: a five-day symposium for dog show judges in Pennsylvania's idyllic Pocono Mountains. While Peg and Melanie's sister-in-law...
Author
Series
Language
English
Formats
Description
Pine Ridge Canine Care Center is a place where pampered pooches go to kick back, get primped, and watch a little TV in luxurious individual accommodations. To Melanie Travis, it all seems a bit much-and a most unlikely setting for a murder. But when the day care center's co-owner turns up dead in his office, that's just what she finds.
Author
Series
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
Melanie Travis has her hands full with her two young sons, a part-time job, and a half dozen Poodles to her name. But even with the busy holiday season approaching, she still has time to sniff out a Christmastime killer...There's nothing lovelier than Christmas in Connecticut, but Melanie can scarcely find a moment to enjoy the festivities. With her youngest son approaching toddlerhood, she's decided to return to her old job at Howard Academy, a posh...
Author
Series
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Formats
Description
When her Aunt Peg lands a gig as judge at a Kentucky dog show, Melanie Travis welcomes the opportunity for a road trip. Too bad a killer has planned a deadly detour. Within three days of her arrival, Ellie Gates has been found dead. Though the police and the family believe the death to be an accident, Aunt Peg is sure they are wrong. Melanie discovers that Miss Ellie was a woman of many secrets. And she must quickly determine which one was fatal before...
Author
Series
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Formats
Description
As a busy mom and pedigree Poodle owner, Melanie has little time to spare. Still, she doesn't mind helping out at Puppy Fest, an annual fundraiser to benefit Puppy Posse, a local dog rescue organization. Considering the venue--Belle Haven mansion, owned by wealthy philanthropist Leo Brody--it's shaping up to be the can't-miss charity event of the summer. Unfortunately, when Melanie's breeding background lands her in the doghouse with Jane, Leo's snappy...
Author
Series
Language
English
Formats
Description
Melanie Travis needs a little peace from her busy life this Christmas. But the usual holiday hubbub is a joy compared to the killer surprise she finds tucked underneath the tree ... With a demanding teaching job at Connecticut's elite Howard Academy and five poodles scampering around the house, Melanie barely has energy for the upcoming Christmas rush. But she unwraps an unexpected challenge when her brother and ex-husband, elated by the recent success...
22) Ruff justice
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
As owner of prize-winning Poodles, Melanie Travis knows how to handle fierce competition. But when a conformation show turns deadly, it'll take every trick in the book to outsmart a murderer who refuses to lose . . . With the excitement of the spring dog show season sweeping Connecticut, Melanie is determined to help her son finally lead his Standard Poodle toward a championship title. Aunt Peg even skips the judging panel to exhibit a pup of her...
23) Bite club
Author
Series
Pub. Date
2019
Language
English
Formats
Description
Thanks to Aunt Peg and her enthusiastic pedigree dog show pals, Melanie's aptly named Bite Club reading group has book lovers all over town burying their noses in thrilling murder mysteries. But another pet project surfaces when Melanie reluctantly agrees to train a Bulldog puppy for elusive member Evan Major. Between the unusual bruise on his face and a bizarre run-in with an unknown dog show attendee, introverted Evan can't dodge trouble. It even...
Author
Series
Pub. Date
2019.
Language
English
Formats
Description
Its the most wonderful time of the year in Connecticut, but Melanie Travis finds surviving this December may take a real Christmas miracle when a yuletide murderer comes to town . . . As Melanie attempts to deck the halls in a house overrun by pampered Poodles, her event planner friend, Claire, is busy playing Santabeard and belly not includedfor the wealthiest clientele on Connecticuts Gold Coast. A personal shopper gig in the affluent town of...
Author
Series
Publisher
Kensington Publishing Corp
Pub. Date
2020
Language
English
Description
"As Greenwich, Connecticut, slows down during a bitterly cold February, Melanie and her spunky Aunt Peg head to the city that never sleeps for the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden. Aunt Peg can't wait to demonstrate her judging chops on national TV, even after being hounded by frustrating mishaps - all seemingly orchestrated by Victor Durbin, an ousted Paugussett Poodle Club member with a bone to pick. But the bright lights...
26) Howloween murder
Author
Series
Language
English
Formats
Description
With just a few days left before Halloween, everyone at Howard Academy is anticipating the guaranteed sugar high they'll experience from gorging on Harriet Bloom's famous marshmallow puffs. The private school's annual costume party revolves around the headmaster's assistant and her seemingly supernatural batches of gooey goodies. So, it's a shock when Harriet's elderly neighbor is suddenly found dead with the beloved dessert in his hand. In a snap,...
27) Pup fiction
Author
Series
Publisher
Kensington Books
Pub. Date
[2021]
Language
English
Description
Sending her kids to the Graceland School's summer camp, Melanie discovers that murder is on the schedule when she is thrown into a mystery involving the owner's dead estranged husband and three prize-winning Dalmatians.
Author
Series
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Formats
Description
"Melanie Travis is gifted at raising prize-winning Standard Poodles, not standing in as the Easter Bunny. But when March in Connecticut brings daffodils and dead bodies, she'll need to hop into action - and fast . . . Aunt Rose already has a strike against her for not being too fond of dogs - or Aunt Peg. But Melanie still agrees to organize Easter festivities at Gallagher House, the new women's shelter opened by the stern former nun, even if it takes...
29) Killer Cupid
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
Melanie Travis is taking a much-needed break from the dog show circuit for a romantic Valentine's trip with her husband Sam, but when someone at their cozy Berkshires inn has an unexpected date with death, Melanie must slip into something sleuthier for the weekend... Melanie is delighted at the prospect of three uninterrupted days alone with Sam (and, of course, her prize-winning Standard Poodle, Faith). They're booked at the White Birch Inn, a picturesque...