Once Bitten (Melanie Travis Series #8) » (Reprint)

With her former fiancé off finding himself and their wedding plans kaput, Melanie Travis figures the only ring she'll be seeing in the near future is one where she's showing her prized poodles. But at least somebody still believes in happily ever after: her brother Frank is about to tie the knot with his true love, Bertie Kennedy. With scant knowledge of tulle, favors, or cocktail hors d'oeuvres, Melanie is content to leave the nuptial arrangements to Sara Bentley, a fellow dog-handler moonlighting as a wedding coordinator. But when Sara vanishes without a trace, a panicked Bertie gives Melanie a choice: either pinch-hit for Sara1or find out where she is.

Opting for the latter, Melanie begins sniffing around into Sara's past—and unearths far more trouble than she bargained for when Sara's cottage burns to the gorund and a woman's body is found in the rubble. There are plenty of people who might have reason to want Sara dead—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?

What became of Sara isn't the only mystery on Melanie's hands. For some reason, her ex-husband has resurfaced and is following her around like a lovesick puppy. Bob can't possibly want to rekindle their old relationship...or does he?

Melanie soon realizes that despite the best-laid plans, anything can happen, from a rekindled romance to high-spirited canine hijinks to a surprise human pregnancy. 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.

Publishers Weekly

In her eighth doggedly endearing adventure in sleuthing, Melanie Travis is anticipating her brother Frank's impending nuptials to beautiful dog-handler Bertie Kennedy while reflecting over the defection of her fianc?, Sam, who (in last year's Unleashed) suddenly announced he wasn't ready for marriage and went off to find himself. Bertie has hired an old friend, Sara Bentley, to plan her wedding, despite Sara's dubious reputation as a poor little rich girl who flits from one job to another. When Sara disappears soon after taking on the job, Bertie insists that Melanie help find her. As if Melanie doesn't have enough headaches, her ex-husband, Bob Travis, has suddenly reappeared, without his young wife, and is acting like he wants Melanie back. As Melanie delves into Sara's background, she realizes that most of Sara's friends and family aren't that concerned about her. Then a dead body turns up in a fire in the guest cottage where Sara lived on her mother's estate. Is it Sara? If not, then who is it, and where is Sara? The plot takes some surprising twists as Melanie digs deeper into Sara's life, trying to unearth the truth. Balancing an entertaining mystery puzzle with Melanie's attempt to resolve her feelings for her ex-husband and her decamped fianc?, Berenson rounds out the story with the lore of the dog-show world her readers expect. (Sept. 4) FYI: With this title, the publisher has initiated a brighter, bolder jacket design for the series that can only help sales. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.