Unleashed (Hardcover)

Sam's ex-wife, Shelia, a pug owner, has invited Melanie and Sam to dinner to announce her partnership in a new dog magazine called Woof! It's going to expose the dirt on the dog breeders and shows. Sam, being a breeder show-person himself has a problem with the magazine, and seeing Shelia back with their old friend Brian, who is owner of the new magazine and a Saint Bernard. While Sam is dealing with Shelia and Brian being back together, Melanie is dealing with Sam's feelings for his ex-wife, driving the soccer car pool for her son, and taking care of her pregnant standard poodle. It's a busy life for these characters and a busy mystery. The following Saturday is a show, and Sam's poodle puppy is showing. While at the show, they receive terrible news of a murder. Sam takes the murder pretty hard and flies off to Illinois to deal with the victim's family. While he is away, Melanie plays intrepid girl sleuth and rounds up a list of suspects for his return. Just when she thinks she figured it out, another murder takes place and leaves her scratching her head.

I have two pure breed dogs, but I know nothing about shows or breeding. And to prove it, I never registered our dogs, the Lhasa carries a poodle cut, and the miniature schnauzer has floppy ears. They were hand-me-downs from families who didn't want them. So, in reading this mystery, I've learned a lot from the drove of dog show information blended into the mystery. It was interesting without being distracting. The mystery itself was pretty good, and although I did have it solved right away, I still enjoyed reading the storyline and enjoyed watching the lead protagonist's personal life take on some changes. Speaking of the of the protagonist, the lead characters of Melanie, Sam, Aunt Peg, and Davy are likable; their relationships are realistic without being silly or over sweet. The sub-characters aren't left out of the action either. Each has an essential part in the mystery, whether it's to add more suspicion or to become a suspect. I sincerely think Laurien Berenson's fans will enjoy the undemanding epic called Unleashed in the Melanie series.

If you enjoy barking up this type of mystery tree, then you may also enjoy some similar canine mysteries by Susan Conant, Melissa Cleary, Carol Lea Benjamin, and Leslie O'Kane.

In this latest installment of the Melanie Travis mysteries, Laurien Berenson unleashes another engrossing story; this time the victim is the co-publisher of a new dog show gossip rag (the kind everybody in the community reads but won't admit to doing so). Melanie's involvement in solving the crime is requested by an unusual source, too -- her fiance Sam, whose opposition to this hobby has been more than vocal in past novels. That his ex-wife's death drives a wedge between the couple is an understatement, but Melanie can only hope the killer does not separate them permanently.

Depending on how attached you are to these characters, you may or may not like the ending of this one, however. I won't give it away, but I will say I was bummed at the outcome (not the mystery, but the personal subplot, you'll know when you get there). Since it will be a while until the next installment in this series, we'll have to wait and see if Melanie will be changing her last name.