Killer Cupid (A Melanie Travis Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
29th in Series
Setting – Characters travel to Massachusetts
Kensington Cozies (December 27, 2022)
Hardcover : 208 pages
ISBN-10 : 149674103X
ISBN-13 : 978-1496741035
Kindle ASIN : B09YKNJQ3C
Melanie Travis is taking a much-needed break from the dog show circuit for a romantic Valentine’s trip with her husband Sam, but when someone at their cozy Berkshires inn has an unexpected date with death, Melanie must slip into something sleuthier for the weekend . . .
Melanie is delighted at the prospect of three uninterrupted days alone with Sam (and, of course, her prize-winning Standard Poodle, Faith). They’re booked at the White Birch Inn, a picturesque New England resort nestled at the foot of a snow-covered mountain. The inn has a full slate of couples activities planned for the busy Valentine’s weekend—date nights, sleigh rides, tobogganing, ice skating, and pop-up shops in the inn’s ballroom —from the bubbly to the bubble bath, the resort is a perfect match for Melanie and Sam’s vacation. But the first night of festivities feature an event that isn’t on the program: murder.
The sheriff quickly launches an investigation, but at the inn keeper’s urging—and because she suddenly finds herself a person of interest in the case—Melanie tries to sneak a little detective work into her romantic getaway. But with the resort nearly sold out for the holiday weekend, there’s no shortage of suspects, and Melanie’s secret sleuthing is already attracting the wrong kind of attention. Her Valentine’s trip is heating up faster than the chocolate fondue . . . just not in the way Melanie hoped. But if she doesn’t catch the cold-hearted killer soon, another innocent victim will get the kiss of death . . .
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Thanks to their sons and Aunt Peg’s gift Melanie, Sam, and Faith, their Standard Poodle, along with Melanie’s brother Frank and his wife Bertie are enjoying a Valentine’s Getaway at the White Birch Inn in the Berkshires. The resort has all kinds of events planned for the holiday weekend. Murder though was not on the schedule. Someone went rogue and killed the events coordinator.
The inn is full of suspects and while the local sheriff appears to have the investigation under control the owner of the inn asks Melanie to do a little sleuthing. With Bertie acting as her Watson, Sherlock Melanie starts looking into the crime. But if they’re not careful their Valentine’s vacay could end very badly.
This is the 29th book in the series and it is still going strong. Melanie and Sam deserved a break and some alone time and I loved that Faith was allowed to tag along. She even made a new friend at the inn, a beautiful Samoyed named Sammy, the resident canine at the inn. Frank and Bertie also came along. It was funny though, all the events were set up for couples and sometimes that meant Frank and Sam going to the event, not the couples the inn had in mind, while Melanie, Bertie, and sometimes Faith did their snooping. They did all go tobogganing together and to the hayride followed by a bonfire. Both sounded like a lot of fun.
The mystery is pretty complicated but Melanie does her thing, ticked off a couple of people but kept digging like a dog after a bone. She finds an important clue that sets up quite a showdown with Melanie and Bertie in a precarious situation driving the suspense level to a nice pitch as everything plays out.
Killer Cupid is a well-plotted humorous Valentine’s mystery. Being novella length it was a quick entertaining read that I enjoyed this story very much. I am looking forward to visiting these characters, both human and canine again soon.
Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent
About This Author
Laurien Berenson is an Agatha and Macavity Nominee, winner of the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, and four-time winner of the Maxwell Award, presented by the Dog Writers Association of America. She and her husband live on a farm in Kentucky surrounded by dogs and horses. Her latest book Killer Cupid was released on December 22, 2022.
Find out more about her and her books on her webpage here. Find her on Facebook here and on Twitter here.

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