I took a little detour from the Supper Club series I’ve been reading (no worries, I will get right back to it) when my daughter and I ran into town. She wanted to do some writing at the library so I tagged along and brought one of the books I took out a few days ago, which was this book, the 21st book in the Melanie Travis series by Laurien Berenson. I love dogs so it’s no surprise that a Melanie Travis book (Death of a Dog Whisperer, #17 in the series) was one of the first cozy mysteries I had ever read–before I had actually heard of cozy mysteries and knew it was a thing. I finished this quickly so I’ll be getting back to James Henry and friends soon! 😉
My Goodreads review:
Wagging through the Snow by Laurien Berenson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was a really fun and fairly quick read set at Christmastime. I’m not quite as strict with myself in reading this series in order since for one thing, this was only my second I’ve read but I had read the 17th book before I even realized it was a series. Probably the only downside to not starting at the top would be not following the family development in order but it’s easy to pick up on while reading.
Melanie Travis’s brother Frank is Mel’s ex-husband’s (Bob) business partner and when he bought a Christmas tree farm without consulting Bob, Melanie thought he was nuts. When they all went to see it, they ran across the dead body of a homeless guy who people had only known as Pete. Of course Aunt Peg was always up for snooping so they went to where Frank had said Pete must have been staying, a shack on the property. Melanie found a class ring and starting with that, she was able to unravel a lot of things about Pete’s life, some more confusing than others. Contrary to the town he lived in saying he was always a drunk, Pete’s sponsor in sobering up swore that he had changed. Melanie felt the need to continue to prove that Pete was murdered.
I haven’t read enough of these to really have a favorite character except for Aunt Peg. I guess because she’s such a strong character. I kind of remember in the first book I read I wasn’t sure if I liked her or not but she sure saved the day in this book! I had honestly not figured out the killer. The book was quick to read but well-written and plotted out. Sometimes I like to read a book that moves a little bit faster and of course I’m always a sucker for Christmas themes. I saw this at my library on the new shelf and since I’m always in favor of telling libraries I love cozy mysteries, I couldn’t resist getting it. I do want to read more in the series, maybe I will actually start at the beginning who knows!
Cuddle Up With a Cozy Mystery 