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Henry Pruitt drives the school bus for dog-trainer Melanie Travis's eight-year-old son and the rest of the grade school children in their little Connecticut community. No one has a mean word to say about Henry and the parents love how he keeps a close eye on all the children who are under his care. One day Melanie is waiting for the school bus with her son. When it pulls up they see another driver. The new bus driver is only able to tell them was that Henry is out that day, but when Henry fails to show up to drive the bus the next day, Melanie and her friend decide that they will go to Henry's home to see if he is sick. When they get there, Henry's next-door neighbor informs them that Henry has been poisoned and has died. She is waiting for his two daughters to come in from California and Alaska to take care of his possessions, including his two big Golden Retrievers. In the meantime, the neighbor's son is feeding the dogs. Melanie, being a dog trainer, is horrified to learn that the two Retrievers are on their own most of the day, so she offers to take them to her aunt Peg's dog kennel for good care. The police soon end up questioning Melanie about why she was even in Henry's home and when Henry's two daughter's finally arrive they accuse her of stealing some of Henry's property, including the dogs. Melanie realizes she had better help figure out who killed Henry and why, or she else might end up being in a big doggie mess. Investigating Henry's death is going to add to her already full schedule. She needs to decorate and help her son with his Christmas activities. And let's not forget that her ex-husband seems to be around a lot more than usual and that her sister in law is due to give birth any second. Even so, Melanie is determined to find out who did the dastardly deed. JINGLE BELL BARK is a delightful book. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, the characters, and how author Laurien Berenson ties everything together. Being a cozy lover, I don't know how I could have possibly missed the ten previous books in this doggie series! It's an altogether charming read. I also enjoyed that Ms Berenson threw in a lot of information about taking care of dogs. This surprised me, because I've never owned a dog and am not really interested in them and yet the author made all the dog information fascinating. JINGLE BELL BARK is terrific, and I highly recommend it to all readers (dog lovers or not) who love a well-crafted mystery cozy. I intend to read the rest in the series - I'm looking forward to them!
Reviewed by Sharon Katz, December 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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