Hounded to Death (Melanie Travis Series #14)(LIBRARY EDITION) Book

Melanie Travis thought her visit to a rustic Pocono Mountains resort would offer some well-earned relaxation, even though it meant leaving her family and beloved poodle Faith behind. That was before she discovered the corpse in the inn's secluded hot tub. Now, she's sniffing out the trail of a killer as frightened guests and the police howl for swift justice...

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 Bertie welcome the opportunity to socialize with the dog world's elite, the very pregnant Melanie embraces the chance to simply unwind. Aunt Peg also plans a little face time with her new online beau Richard Donner, but the rendezvous isn't smooth because Richard never travels without his mother, the redoubtable Florence Donner, who keeps a tiny Chihuahua in her purse and her son on a very short leash.

When renowned judge Charles Evans delivers a keynote address that irritates many of the attendees, the symposium's agenda takes a deadly turn. For later that evening, the judge is found floating face-down in the outdoor hot tub.

With few clues to go on, the police are baffled. Melanie decides to take matters into her own hands, suspecting that a cold-blooded murderer may lurk among her fellow dog-lovers. Now the guests' tongues are wagging, and Melanie must find someone whose bite is actually far worse than their bark.

Publishers Weekly

Dog show enthusiast Melanie Travis, starring in her perky 14th whodunit (after 2006's Chow Down), puts her four-months-pregnant self into the back of a minivan and heads off to a canine judging symposium in the Poconos with her sister-in-law, Bertie, a professional dog handler, and Aunt Peg, a respected judge of poodles. The three expect a relaxing vacation, but a few hours after keynote speaker Charles Evans shocks his audience by announcing that dog shows are unethical, Melanie and Co. discover Evans dead in the hotel hot tub. Was he offed by an angry judge, or did his wife finally decide that his countless affairs were intolerable? Sleuthing isn't the only thing occupying Melanie-she's also busy looking out for her 60-something aunt, who's pursuing romance with a younger man she met over the Internet. Berenson refrains from overloading the mystery with too many dog details, and though a few character development devices never get off the ground, this canine cozy is still absorbing enough to delight even cat lovers. (Sept.)