Melanie' Travis's life is going to the dogs. With school
out for the summer, a stint as a camp counselor falling
through, and her sometime boyfriend dumping her for a Las
Vegas chorus girl, the thirty-something Connecticut
teacher and single mother figures that things can't get
any worse.
She figures wrong...
Everyone knew that Melanie's Uncle Max had a weak heart.
When Aunt Peg finds him dead on the cold floor of their
championship kennel, surrounded by eleven whining, prize-
winning Standard poodles, she isn't shocked...and doesn't
panic. But Melanie is surprised when, three days after the
funeral, Peg shows up seeking her help. One of her prize
pooches is missing -- and it's beginning to look like
Max's sudden demise is more a matter of... murder.
With her four-year-old son Davey happily ensconced in day
camp, Melanie manages to maneuver herself into
Connecticut's elite canine circles. Posing as a poodle
breeder in search of the perfect stud, she mingles with
sophisticated exhibitors and professional handlers...and
soon starts feeling a little out of her clas. Until she
meets Sam Driver. Although the irresistibly attractive
breeder is soon wooing her with seductive candle lit
dinners, Melanie resolves to be wary.
Then the killer strikes again, and Melanie realizes that
she has been barking up the wrong tree. As events --
mysterious and romantic -- culminate in the celebrated
Westminster Dog Show, she suddenly finds herself on a long
leash of intrigue and greed...hot on the scent of a
chilling secret to die for.