From Publishers Weekly
Standard Poodle owner and special education teacher Melanie Travis becomes her brother's watchdog in her fourth outing (following Hair of the Dog, 1997). The latest entrepreneurial pipe dream of brother Frank involves a partnership with local developer Marcus Rattigan to convert an old general store into a trendy coffee shop in Stamford, Conn. After Rattigan is killed by a falling skylight at the site and Frank becomes the most likely suspect, Melanie, urged on by her garrulous Aunt Peg, again tries her hand at detecting. She learns of Rattigan's acrimonious divorce, his spurned lover and the concerned citizens who are fighting the opening of a coffee shop in their family oriented neighborhood. Melanie thinks all are more likely suspects than her brother and pursues their involvement with Rattigan. Meanwhile, she shows her poodle, Faith, in the animal's first season in the adult class and learns from Aunt Peg of Rattigan's previous involvement in the dog world. Together with Aunt Peg and the student, Melanie sorts out the suspects and identifies the culprit. Throughout the proceedings, readers are given a backstage look at the world of American Kennel Club-sanctioned dog shows. As is her wont, Berenson's writing is as warm and fuzzy as the dogs, a tact that should satisfy fans but is unlikely to extend her readership beyond them. Author tour. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
YA-Mel Travis knows she has a lot to be thankful for: a new job she really enjoys; her six-year-old son; her potential champion poodle; and her brother, whom she loves. However, Frank always seems to be in some sort of crisis over one of his money-making schemes, and this time it's worse than usual. Now he is also the primary suspect in the murder of Marcus Rattigan, the financial backer for his latest project. After Frank begs her for help, Mel puts her sleuthing talent to work and puts the bite on the distempered murderer. The characters are aptly described and complete with idiosyncrasies. Kate, Mel's teenaged student, comes across strongly with limited but important appearances in the story. Indeed, the solution of the murder has more to do with what she has done or found out than all of Mel's hours of snooping. Connecticut's beautiful autumn environment complements the settings of professional dog shows, private schools, and quiet neighborhoods. This gentle murder mystery, more the solving of a puzzle than a clearing away of blood, will likely appeal to teens who like Susan Conant's mysteries (Doubleday), which also feature dogs.Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VACopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Series sleuth Melanie Travis (A Hair of the Dog, LJ 9/1/97), who enters her standard poodle in dog shows, "rescues" her entrepreneurial brother when police accuse him of murdering his business partner. A heady mix of canine pulchritude and bloody murder.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Melanie Travis, special-ed teacher, dog trainer, and amateur sleuth, is anticipating a new teaching post, winning prizes with her poodle, Faith, and settling her son, Davey, into first grade. Then one beautiful Connecticut fall morning, her brother Frank drops by, looking for a big loan for his latest get-rich scheme, an upscale coffeehouse. Melanie won't lend Frank the money, but when Frank's partner is murdered, she investigates, hoping to clear her brother of suspicion. This fifth entry in the series offers fresh, lively writing, a tough mystery, light humor, and insight into the peculiarities of human and canine behavior. Although dogs, including a terrier named after the Thin Man's pooch, are key to the mystery and ambience, Berenson has broadened her series' appeal by steering the plot to environmental issues, wills, and the teaching life. Her deft handling of people, plot, pets, and humor will appeal to fans of series featuring dogs such as those by Carole Lea Benjamin, Susan Conant, and Allana Martin. John Rowen


From Kirkus Reviews
Frank Turnbull just can't stay out of scrapes. Even though he lives one town away, he only drops in on Melanie Travis, his sister in Greenwich, to ask for money or emergency help. So it figures that when Frank seems to land a big deal, a partnership with deep-pockets Stamford developer Marcus Rattigan, there's trouble ahead. Neglected by the contractors, the partners proposed coffeehouse languishes and begins to collapse; then, after unlovely revelations of Marcus's slick perfidy and a hot-tempered scene between the two ill-matched partners, part of the building itself collapses on Marcus, and the police get more interested in feckless Frank than they ever were in corner-cutting Marcus. Luckily for Frank, Melanie has enough time to take from her son Davey, her software sweetie Sam Driver, and her lovingly described round of dog shows with Faith, her Standard Poodle, to poke into still another case, this one revealing an eager ex-wife heiress, a jilted secretary, a resentful neighbor, a posse of protesting environmentalists, another more lucrative project the coffeehouse was covering for, and Marcus's long-ago sponsorship of a champion Wire Fox Terrier. ``There isn't a puppy in the world that's that important,'' snaps Melanie's Standard-Poodle-training Aunt Peg, who's obviously forgotten the pedigree of Melanie's first four cases (Hair of the Dog, 1997, etc.). Mild entertainment for friends of man's (and woman's) best friend. The interested canines take a lot of grooming, but at least they don't try to solve the mystery. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

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 the project, is found murdered on the premises, and the police think Frank did it. Faced with her brother's imminent arrest, Melanie, always the family watchdog, has no choice but to take on the investigation. To her surprise, she discovers that Rattigan had once been co-owner of a legendary show dog. Drawing on her connections in the dog world, Melanie is soon successfully unmuzzling the dead man's nearest and dearest, including a bitter ex-wife, a spurned mistress, and an ambitious second in command, all of whom have plenty to say about the man who worked hard, played to win, and lived by his own rules. But Melanie is about to learn that being a watchdog can sometimes be dangerous - especially when every clue she uncovers leads her one step closer to a murderer who is desperate enough to kill again...

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

Series sleuth Melanie Travis (A Hair of the Dog, LJ 9/1/97), who enters her standard poodle in dog shows, "rescues" her entrepreneurial brother when police accuse him of murdering his business partner. A heady mix of canine pulchritude and bloody murder.

School Library Journal

YA-Mel Travis knows she has a lot to be thankful for: a new job she really enjoys; her six-year-old son; her potential champion poodle; and her brother, whom she loves. However, Frank always seems to be in some sort of crisis over one of his money-making schemes, and this time it's worse than usual. Now he is also the primary suspect in the murder of Marcus Rattigan, the financial backer for his latest project. After Frank begs her for help, Mel puts her sleuthing talent to work and puts the bite on the distempered murderer. The characters are aptly described and complete with idiosyncrasies. Kate, Mel's teenaged student, comes across strongly with limited but important appearances in the story. Indeed, the solution of the murder has more to do with what she has done or found out than all of Mel's hours of snooping. Connecticut's beautiful autumn environment complements the settings of professional dog shows, private schools, and quiet neighborhoods. This gentle murder mystery, more the solving of a puzzle than a clearing away of blood, will likely appeal to teens who like Susan Conant's mysteries (Doubleday), which also feature dogs.-Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

Kirkus Reviews

Frank Turnbull just can't stay out of scrapes. Even though he lives one town away, he only drops in on Melanie Travis, his sister in Greenwich, to ask for money or emergency help. So it figures that when Frank seems to land a big deal, a partnership with deep-pockets Stamford developer Marcus Rattigan, there's trouble ahead. Neglected by the contractors, the partners—- proposed coffeehouse languishes and begins to collapse; then, after unlovely revelations of Marcus's slick perfidy and a hot-tempered scene between the two ill-matched partners, part of the building itself collapses on Marcus, and the police get more interested in feckless Frank than they ever were in corner-cutting Marcus. Luckily for Frank, Melanie has enough time to take from her son Davey, her software sweetie Sam Driver, and her lovingly described round of dog shows with Faith, her Standard Poodle, to poke into still another case, this one revealing an eager ex-wife heiress, a jilted secretary, a resentful neighbor, a posse of protesting environmentalists, another more lucrative project the coffeehouse was covering for, and Marcus's long-ago sponsorship of a champion Wire Fox Terrier. "There isn't a puppy in the world that's that important," snaps Melanie's Standard-Poodle-training Aunt Peg, who's obviously forgotten the pedigree of Melanie's first four cases (Hair of the Dog, 1997, etc.).