Here Comes Santa Paws
As Melanie attempts to deck the halls in a house overrun by pampered Poodles, her event planner friend, Claire, is busy playing Santa—beard, and belly not included—for the wealthiest clientele on Connecticut’s Gold Coast. A personal shopper gig in the affluent town of New Canaan seems like business as usual. Except Claire’s stylish stint comes at a higher price than she bargains for when she stumbles over her newest customer’s dead body on the job. Named a prime suspect for murder, she begs for Melanie’s help, then vanishes like cookies and milk on Christmas Eve.
Determined to track down a killer Claire, Melanie, and her nosy Aunt Peg dash into a dizzying investigation that leads to even more questions. Why was homicide victim Lila Moran, a secretive woman with an untraceable past, permitted to live on a well-known socialite turned recluse’s private estate and is Claire keeping incriminating secrets under wraps? Now, with a grinchy New Canaan detective on their case and disturbing clues piling up like presents beneath the tree, the crime-solving duo must rein in a sinister Kris Kringle before they’re the next ones on someone’s deadly wish list.
Series: A Melanie Travis Canine Mystery – Book 24
Author: Laurien Berenson
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Holiday/Pet
Publisher: Kensington Books
Page Count: 208
Rating: 
A spirt lifting holiday cozy from Kensington Books https://www.kensingtonbooks.com comes the newest addition to the “A Melanie Travis Canine Mystery” series, Here Comes Santa Paws. The cozies in this series are worth sinking your canines into!
Melanie is having a very odd holiday season. She is extremely busy even though she is off from work. When her friend and almost sister, Claire calls and needs her help, Melanie doesn’t hesitate to run to her aid. But when she finds out someone has been murdered, and Claire is acting strange, she begins to worry and decides to find answers quickly. Cozies with characters like Melanie will always keep readers turning the page and looking forward to the next installment in a series.
All cozies should have an ex (spouse, lover, friend) like Melanie. Claire is her ex-husband’s wife and her best friend. Melanie would do anything to help her friend, including placing herself in danger if it means keeping Claire out of it. Aunt Peg is also trying to help, even if it does seem more like she is just butting in. It doesn’t take too many questions for Melanie to find out that the victim was not who she seemed. Or that there are a few people who may have had a motive to kill her. Add in a famous recluse who hasn’t been seen in public for forty years, and she has a real mystery on her hands. Before long she finds herself in the middle of a police investigation and in the crosshairs of a killer who thinks that Melanie knows more than she should.
This is a very well written book. Ms. Berenson writes delightful cozies that make readers happy. The descriptions of her home, family, friends, and of course, her pets all combine to give you a sense of home, comfort, and joy. Here Comes Santa Paws will keep readers smiling and filled with the pleasure of the holiday season to come even while the heat of summer is still hanging around. I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one in this series.
Readers who enjoy holiday and pet based cozies may want to check out the “Lucky Paws Petsitting Mystery” series https://www.thecozyreview.com/a-midwinters-tail/ by Bethany Blake http://www.bethanyblakeauthor.com/ or Miranda James’s http://catinthestacks.com/ series “Cat in the Stacks Mystery” https://www.thecozyreview.com/six-cats-a-slayin/.
About the Author:
Laurien Berenson is the bestselling author of the Melanie Travis canine mystery series. Her books revolve around the world of dog shows, a milieu she knows well as her family has been involved in the sport of dogs for three generations.
Laurien is a four-time winner of the Maxwell Award for Fiction from the Dog Writers Assoc. of America and a winner of the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award. She is also an Agatha and Macavity nominee. Her work has appeared in The New York Times as well as numerous magazines. She is a graduate of Vassar College. She and her husband live on a farm in Kentucky, surrounded by horses and dogs.
Contact Laurien: http://www.laurienberenson.com/contact-laurien/
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