Murder’s on the ticket when intrepid poodle breeder
Melanie Travis travels to Maryland for a world-famous dog
show where the competition isn’t the only thing that’s
cutthroat....
There are dog shows. And then there’s the PCA: The Poodle
Club of America National Specialty Dog Show. For poodle
purists, it’s the pinnacle of the show season, drawing
thousands of competitors and spectators from all over the
world. And though she has her own Standard poodle puppy,
Eve, to show, Melanie gets leashed into helping out on the
raffle committee by her formidable aunt. Selling tickets
and sprucing Eve up for competition won’t leave much time
for Melanie to spend with her almost-fiancé Sam on their
first trip together without their usual chaperone,
Melanie’s seven-year-old son, Davey.
Once in Maryland, Melanie is put to work selling raffle
tickets by the co-chairs of the raffle committee, Betty
Jean and Edith Jean Boone. Sixty-ish steel magnolias from
the South, the reclusive sisters make few appearances. But
this year, they have a silver Toy puppy that has already
caused quite a buzz on the show circuit.
Even though the poodles remain well behaved, it’s their
owners and handlers who start acting up. And then murder
takes center stage. Betty Jean is found dead at the host
hotel. But this is the PCA -- and the show must go on. As
Edith Jean staunchly resumes her raffle duties, Melanie
instinctively starts searching for clues, and comes up
with a compelling cast of suspects: a rival owner whose
bite may be just as bad as his bark, a handler with a
nasty reputation, and a possibly fraudulent pet psychic.
With all the attention riveted on the ring, someone out in
the crowd is about to get away with murder. Scraps of
conversations and suspicious goings-on have Melanie
looking for a suspect—and getting ever closer to the
killer. Soon she’s shocked to discover that in the dog-eat-
dog world of showing, a life can be as easily lost as a
blue ribbon. And unlike cats, dogs -- and their owners --
have only one to risk....
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