Once Bitten

With her former fiance off finding himself, Melanie Travis figures the only ring she'll be seeing in the near future is one where she's showing her prized poodles. But love is still in the air for her brother Frank, who is about to tie the knot with his sweetheart, Bertie Kennedy. With scant knowledge of tulle, favors, or cocktail hors d'oeuvres, Melanie happily leaves the nuptial arrangements to Sara Bentley, a fellow dog handler moonlighting as a wedding coordinator. But when Sara suddenly vanishes, a panicked Bertie gives Melanie a choice: either pinch-hit for Sara--or find out where she is.

Opting for the latter, Melanie begins sniffing around into Sara's past--and unearths big trouble when Sara's cottage burns to the ground and a woman's body is found in the rubble. There are plenty of people with grudges against Sara--from Maris Kincaid, a disgruntled dog groomer; to Debra Silver, a competitor whose dog had been poisoned a decade ago; to Josh Bennett, her embittered ex-boyfriend. Even Sara's own family seems oddly unconcerned about her disappearance...but are the blue-blooded Bentleys cold-blooded enough to kill one of their own?

Melanie soon realizes that despite the best-laid plans, anything can happen. And when it comes to Sara Bentley, nothing is certain--except that it's up to Melanie to stop a murderer in his--or her--tracks...

This is #8 in A Melanie Travis Mystery.