Pumpkin spice and poodles – welcome Laurien Berenson!

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By Liz, happy to welcome Laurien Berenson today to celebrate Pumpkin Spice Puppy – book 30!!! – in the Melanie Travis Canine mystery series. Pumpkin spice and puppies – I am so in! Take it away, Laurien!

Thanks so much Liz Mugavero and the Wickeds for inviting me to your blog!

In the mid-1980s, I walked into a bookstore looking for something fun to read and found Sue Grafton’s book, B IS FOR BURGLAR. I devoured it in a day, then went back for the previous book in her alphabet series, A IS FOR ALIBI. After that, I eagerly waited for each new installment in the series to become available.

At the time I was an aspiring mystery writer, so I was delighted to discover a woman author who was writing books about a woman sleuth–a circumstance that was much less common then than it is now. I was also fascinated by the idea that Grafton intended to write her way to the end of the alphabet. Dame Agatha Christie’s Poirot novels aside, I couldn’t conceive of a single series lasting for twenty-six books–a quest nearly three decades long!

And yet, thirty years later, I find myself exactly there. After discovering Grafton’s terrific series, I wrote two books of ‘psychological suspense’ (as it was then called). But by the early 1990s, what I really wanted to do was write a mystery novel centered around the dog show world. At the time, I was breeding and showing Standard Poodles, and that milieu seemed like the perfect setting for intrigue. 

When A PEDIGREE TO DIE FOR was published in February 1995, I got my wish. Having previously only written standalone novels, it never occurred to me that PEDIGREE wouldn’t be the same. But when my editor accepted the manuscript, he asked for two more books featuring Melanie and crew. Then he wanted more after that. To my delight, the series just kept going. 

PUMPKIN SPICE PUPPY, the 30th book in the Melanie Travis Canine mystery series came out this week. And I am no longer shocked by the notion that a mystery series can continue for three decades.

Writing about the same set of characters all these years has been an interesting journey. The first book in the series had just two main characters: Melanie and her Aunt, Poodle breeder Peg Turnbull. Making lesser appearances were Melanie’s four-year-old son, Davey, and potential suspect Sam Driver. 

Twenty-nine books later, Davey is fifteen and has a little brother. Sam and Melanie have been married for seven years. The cast of characters that revolve in and out of the series numbers nearly twenty people, including reader favorites, gay couple Terry Denunzio and Crawford Langley. 

Over time, there have been at least as many dogs added to the stories as humans. Melanie, who’d never previously owned a pet in A PEDIGREE TO DIE FOR, now lives with her family and six dogs. She and her Standard Poodle sidekick, Faith, are inseparable.

Aunt Peg is not only still causing trouble in Melanie’s life, she has also spawned a spin-off series of her own. Now in her early seventies, Peg along with her sister-in-law and sometime nemesis, Rose Donovan, have become senior sleuths. In their third book, PEG AND ROSE PLAY THE PONIES, they go to Kentucky and become involved in the horseracing industry.

It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to write such a long-running series. I’m honored that readers have stayed interested in Melanie’s adventures through so many years. And even though I now understand how such longevity can happen, sometimes when I stop and think about it, I’m still amazed.

Readers: Do you enjoy long-running series with familiar characters, or would you rather encounter something new and unexpected when you pick up a book?


Laurien Berenson is the author of the long running Melanie Travis mystery series and her new Senior Sleuths series. Her books have won or been nominated for the Maxwell Award for Dog Fiction, RT Reviewer’s Choice Award, Agatha and Macavity awards. She lives on a farm in Kentucky, surrounded by dogs and horses.

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Published by Cate Conte / Liz Mugavero

Cate Conte writes the Cat Cafe Mysteries and the Full Moon Mysteries. As Liz Mugavero, she writes the Pawsitively Organic Mysteries, the first of which was an Agatha Award nominee for Best First Novel. She lives in the Boston area with her rescue pals.

30 Thoughts

  2. Laurien, congrats on your 30th book!

    I read series with familiar characters but since I’m always discovering new-to-me authors and/or series, I’m also meeting new characters all the time too.

    I’m generally good either way so long as I’m being told a story I like.

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  4. Hello and congratulations on your 30th. book, Laurien!!! I enjoyed reading about yoiur writing journey and about your two early books, which I will look up. As to your question; I get a slightly different feeling when I start reading a series that I have read before, versus a completely new series. Last night I started to read two cozies, The first one is the latest in a series I have been reding (book #!!), and afer the first chapter I started another cozy by an author I have been wanting to read. I got right into the first story and am loving it, but when I started to read the second mystery, I had to go back and read some passages again,and also had to try to memorize the characters, who are new to me…I have more reading to do in order to get that “cozy”, familier feeling. Both are good experiences, and I am happy to read both books. Your series is fun and the cover screams: “Read me!!!”. Thank you for the hours of fun you give us readers thrugh your wonderul writing skills. JOY! Luis at ole dot travel

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    1. I sometimes feel the same way when I’m trying a new series or new author. It does take me a bit to get into the new rhythm. Thankfully, in my experience, it’s always been worth the effort.

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  5. Hello and congratulations on #30! I enjoy series reading. It feels a bit like coming home and checking in with old friends. That said, I also like picking up a new stand-alone or new series. Sometimes, as with Peg and Rose, it’s like new folks moving into the neighborhood!

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    1. Thank you for the laugh! I had never thought about the spinoff series that way. But from now on, I will always picture Peg and Rose with their moving van, on the way to a new neighborhood.

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  6. Congratulations on the release of PUMPKIN SPICE PUPPY! Absolutely LOVE this cover and can’t wait to read this book on my TBR list.

    Personally, I love series. It gives you time to learn the people, town and events and feel as if you live among them. It’s like listening to a good friend tell you their troubles and being able to help them out. In the case of the story, it’s enjoying the banter, mystery and friendships as we figure out the whodunit. 🙂 This all means – keep doing what you do so well. ❤
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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    1. Congratulations on your new release, Lauren! Thirty books in a single series. That is incredible! I’ve found over the years that I love the familiarity that goes with reading a series. I also enjoy meeting new characters and settings in non-series books. Give me all the stories! LOL

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    2. Thank you, Kay! The art director at my publisher does a terrific job with my covers, and I think he outdid himself with this one.

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  7. Thank you, Kay! The art director at my publisher (Kensington) does a fantastic job with my covers. I think he has outdone himself with this one.

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  8. If the characters are interesting I enjoy hearing more about them in subsequent novels and learning their back story.

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  9. I love long running series. I feel I’ve lost friends when a series ends. Even when a much loved author starts a new series, it takes me a while to warm up to the new kids in town. Congrats on #30. That is an amazing accomplishment.

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    1. Thank you Ginny! I also feel bereft when a long running series comes to an end. Most recently Maisie Dobbs.

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  11. When a long running series is well done, it’s always great to pop in and visit with old friends. And that’s just what it feels like. A series can grow stale if it goes on too long, but I’ve read many long running series that were delightful – visiting old friends – and I can’t wait to visit again when each book comes out.

    Congrats on reaching book 30!

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  13. I do enjoy a long running series. It’s like visiting with old friends. Even better, when life gets, well, lifey, I will often return to book 1 of a favorite series and read my way through to the latest.

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  16. I enjoy both. It depends on my mood. I love series as well as standalones. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.

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