A Pedigree To Die For

School's out for the summer, and single mother and teacher Melanie Travis is not enjoying the easy summer days.

Her boyfriend has dumped her for a chorus girl, her summer job as a camp counselor has fallen through, and her Uncle Max has died suddenly of a heart attack. All that would be bad enough.

But then her Aunt Peg, Max's wife, calls with the news that one of her and Max's prize poodles, Beau, has been stolen. She wants Melanie to help her convince her brother Frank to help track him down. This can only go one way, and it does: Frank is completely dismissive of the importance Peg places on this dog, believes she's making it up about the dog's dollar value, and refuses to become involved.

So Peg settles for Melanie instead, and Melanie show more can't say no. Suddenly she's embarked on a crash course in dogs, genetics, and the politics of dog shows. It's even kind of fun, until she discovers a dead body.

Melanie is thoroughly likable, and maddening as she can be, Peg grows on you, too. Melanie's four-year-old son, Davey, is a normal troublesome four-year-old, not an overdone joke or improbable angel.

And the portrayal of the dog show world is delightfully realistic--the obsessions, the love of dogs, the politics, the friendships, the common values grounded in what's good for the dogs even when people have not much else in common. It's all too common to simply ridicule the dog fancy and the people involved in it, but this is a realistic and loving look at the dog world.

Oh, and it's a good mystery, too. :)

Recommended.

I bought this book. show less

Single mom and special ed teacher Melanie Travis has unexpected time on her hands when her summer job falls through. When her Aunt Peg tries to recruit Melanie's brother, Frank, to recover the prize poodle that disappeared the night Peg's husband, Max, died, it's Melanie who ends up offering to help in the search. Peg also suspects that Max didn't die of natural causes, so Melanie will be looking for a murderer as well as a thief. Melanie gets a crash course in the world of dog shows and dog breeding, and she proves to be a quick learner.

My only other experience with this series was a Christmas short story that also served as a prequel to the series. Although I didn't like the characters and the story wasn't really a mystery, I decided show more to give the series another chance. I'm glad I did. I found the characters much more likeable in this series debut. The mystery itself wasn't well-paced and had elements that didn't fit together well, but I can overlook that in a series with appealing characters and a strong sense of place. show less

It's been over 10 years since I read A Pedigree to Die For, so I'd forgotten the killer and motive. Seven of the eleven dogs my family has had since I was eight were poodles, so naturally the poodle on the cover attracted me the first time. Was the book worth a second reading? Yes, even though I can't help thinking a little trip to the vet would have prevented the worst of the mess.

Melanie Turnbull Travis is a divorced Special Education teacher with a four-year-old son named Davey. Given that it's mentioned in the first paragraph, it's no spoiler that Max Turnbull, older brother of Melanie's late father, has died. The day was already bad (Melanie's beau, Bradley Watermain, has not only dumped her, he just married someone else.)

Max and show more his equally-stubborn wife, Peg, have been breeding prize-winning standard black poodles for years. One of those poodles, Beau, has disappeared. Aunt Peg wants Melanie and her younger brother, Frank, to find Beau. Frank, the less-responsible sibling, opts out.

During the course of her amateur sleuthing, Melanie learns about poodles, dog shows, and the money to be made in the business. Aunt Peg suspects her husband's younger sister, Aunt Rose (also known as Sister Anne Marie) of the crime. Melanie is equally suspicious of the gorgeous Sam Driver, a breeder who'd offered a lot of money for Beau.

There are family secrets revealed. Keeping secrets seems to be a Turnbull trait. Melanie should have let Frank and Aunt Peg know how precarious her own finances are since her summer job fell through. Instead, she gives Frank twenty dollars she can ill afford when he asks her for money. I shudder to think about the stress on Melanie's aging car and the cost of the gasoline for all the traveling she does. Aunt Peg could easily afford to reimburse Melanie for gas and mileage, not to mention house-and-dog sitting. (Why, yes, I am annoyed with Melanie over that.)

Although Melanie prefers to think of her Catholic faith as expired, and two staunch Catholic characters were guilty of really failing Jesus' command to treat others as they would wish to be treated, not to mention judging not lest they be judged, this Catholic reader wasn't made too uncomfortable by the portrayal of her Faith, not even by the description of Aunt Rose's convent. After all, Melanie didn't see the sisters' cells.

During the search for Beau, whether Uncle Max died or murdered becomes a question. A later death is definitely murder.

Notes:

Chapter one is where we learn that Rose Turnbull is Sister Anne Marie of the Order of the Sisters of Divine Mercy.

It's in chapter 2 that Melanie explains why it's better to cajole her brother than make a demand.

Aunt Peg's house is described in chapter 3.

Chapter 4 is where Peg describes why poodles are given the Continental Clip.

Chapter five: 'Father Knows Best' and 'Marcus Welby, M. D.' were both real TV shows starring the late Robert Young.

See chapter 6 for a description of Aunt Rose.

See the end of chapter 8 for a description of Sam Driver.

Chapter 10 has:

a. a description of genetic diseases affecting poodles.
b. PAR (People for Animal Rights) and WOAF (Welfare of Animals First) are first mentioned. They're going so far as to consider pets to be slaves. Please! As long as they aren't being abused or starved by their humans, aren't cats and dogs better off as beloved pets?
c. Emily Grace of Graceland summer camp is described.
d. Melanie thinks about her late parents.

Chapter 12 has an explanation about sharing points at a dog show. It also has Aunt Peg explaining how a white poodle can sire black puppies.

Chapter 13 is where Melanie learns a family secret.

See chapter 14 for why Frank let Davey taste beer. Our Dad let me and my younger siblings have a sip of beer when we were kids. YUCK!

See chapter 15 for Davey's full name.

The Ted Bundy mentioned in chapter 19 was a real-life serial killer.

See chapter 20 for the only way to get a poodle's coat to get a thick, plush look.

Chapter 22 is where Sam Driver mentions his two married younger brothers, one in San Fransico and the other in Atlanta, and his three young nephews.

Chapter 24 is where we finally find out why Melanie's Aunts Peg and Rose dislike each other so much.

The characters are engaging. I enjoyed the scrapes little Davey got into. It's easy to see why this series has long since reached double digits and is still going.

Cat lovers are out of luck, but dog lovers, especially poodle fans, should be very happy.

The author photo shows her with 'one of her prize-winning poodles' (standard, white), so she probably knows what she's talking about. show less

When Melanie’s uncle Max dies of an apparent heart attack, her aunt suspects it was really foul play. Beau, their prize-winning Poodle, went missing on the night of Max’s death. Melanie poses as a Poodle breeder to help her aunt search for Beau and get answers as to what really happened.

A PEDIGREE TO DIE FOR was a great cozy mystery. The plot moved at a pretty quick pace and was immersive in the world of dog show competitions and breeding. The characters were interesting. The whole book kept me turning pages right up until the end, not knowing who the killer was. I love when I don’t guess any twists early on, so this book was especially enjoyable as the mystery lasted throughout.

A PEDIGREE TO DIE FOR is book one of Laurien show more Berenson’s Melanie Travis series. I’d recommend it to cozy mystery lovers. This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I look forward to continuing the series. show less

I finished A Pedigree to Die For for the Overdrive global book read, and it was better than I thought it would be. I can't imagine why they picked a book with such specific focus on dog shows, breeding and grooming, but I did learn lots about those things. There was also a realistic main character who was a single mother and had to constantly find child care for her 4 year old son as she went about solving the mystery. Unlike real life, such care was almost always available. I liked the emphasis on female friendships and the fact that though there was a movie star gorgeous love interest, he didn't take center stage. The family members are imperfect and prickly and the main character has to find a way to exist in the family with them, show more and there's a fine twist in the plot. All in all, not bad, though not great literature show less

Melanie' Travis's life is going to the dogs. With school out for the summer, a stint as a camp counselor falling through, and her sometime boyfriend dumping her for a Las Vegas chorus girl, the thirty-something Connecticut teacher and single mother figures that things can't get any worse.

She figures wrong...

Everyone knew that Melanie's Uncle Max had a weak heart. When Aunt Peg finds him dead on the cold floor of their championship kennel, surrounded by eleven whining, prize-winning Standard poodles, she isn't shocked...and doesn't panic. But Melanie is surprised when, three days after the funeral, Peg shows up seeking her help. One of her prize pooches is missing -- and it's beginning to look like Max's sudden demise is more a matter show more of... murder.

With her four-year-old son Davey happily ensconced in day camp, Melanie manages to maneuver herself into Connecticut's elite canine circles. Posing as a poodle breeder in search of the perfect stud, she mingles with sophisticated exhibitors and professional handlers...and soon starts feeling a little out of her clas. Until she meets Sam Driver. Although the irresistibly attractive breeder is soon wooing her with seductive candle lit dinners, Melanie resolves to be wary.

Then the killer strikes again, and Melanie realizes that she has been barking up the wrong tree. As events -- mysterious and romantic -- culminate in the celebrated Westminster Dog Show, she suddenly finds herself on a long leash of intrigue and greed...hot on the scent of a chilling secret to die for. show less

This book was recently available on Amazon as a free kindle download. I had read it before, but decided it would be fun to read it again. Plus you can't beat the price.

This book still holds up the second time around. For me, it is an interesting look into the dog show world. I have never been to a dog show, and enjoyed learning about them. Although dogs figure heavily in the plot, it is not like a dog is "helping" to solve the crime. It is just that most of the people in the book are dog enthusiasts.

I would really like to read the whole series. Unfortunately my local library does not carry them all, and I can't afford to purchase them all. But I will definitely keep my eye out for more.