Laurien Berenson

Laurien Berenson builds mysteries around the specialist world of dogs, best known through her Melanie Travis Canine Mysteries set at Connecticut shows. Her knowledge of competitive showing gives the novels detail, while schoolteacher Melanie provides the amateur investigator's viewpoint. Kensington published Death of a Dog Whisperer in 2014 as the seventeenth Melanie Travis novel. Melanie's former husband Bob asks her to meet self-described dog whisperer Nick Walden and, if impressed, introduce him to canine expert Aunt Peg. Peg soon befriends Nick, but his shooting puts her among the suspects. Nick's sister Claire, who knows Melanie's history of solving crimes, presses her to investigate. Standard Poodles, family routines, and the social world of dog owners keep the inquiry rooted in the series' established setting. Berenson has also written the Senior Sleuths mysteries and received multiple Maxwell Awards from the Dog Writers Association of America. Death of a Dog Whisperer uses breed knowledge and show culture as the network through which Melanie assesses people and motives.