• A Pedigree to Die For

  • A Melanie Travis Mystery
  • By: Laurien Berenson
  • Narrated by: Jessica Almasy
  • Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (358 ratings)

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A Pedigree to Die For  By  cover art

A Pedigree to Die For

By: Laurien Berenson
Narrated by: Jessica Almasy
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Publisher's summary

Win, place, or die.

The apparent heart attack that killed kennel owner Max Turnbull has left seven pups in mourning, and his wife Peg suspecting foul play. But the only evidence is their missing prize pooch - a pedigreed poodle named Beau.

Enter Melanie Travis. With her young son happily ensconced in day damp, the 30-something teacher and single mother is talked into investigating her uncle's death - unofficially, of course. Posing as a poodle breeder in search of the perfect stud, Melanie hounds Connecticut's elite canine competitions and finds an ally in fellow breeder Sam Driver. But her affection cools when she's put on the scent of Sam's questionable past...and hot on the trail of a poodle-hating neighbor and one elusive murderer who isn't ready to come to heel.

For as Melanie soon discovers, in a championship dog-eat-dog world the instinct for survival, and winning, can prove fatal.

©1995 Laurien Berenson (P)2014 Audible Inc.

What listeners say about A Pedigree to Die For

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Could not get beyond first chapters

The story lines for these cozies aren’t too bad, especially if you happen to love poodles. However, the narrator had a high pitched voice for the lead character and performed the text way to fast. Just could not relax, do the other stuff I normally do when listening to this genre. Glad I did not have to pay for it.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not horrible- but not good. And weirdly Anti-Catholic

The narrator’s tempo when the voicing the main character sounds like you accidentally hit the 1.5 speed button. You might be able to get used to this- but she sounds much more normal when voicing every other character, so it’s repeatedly jarring.
And the kid’s voice. Ouch.
Even my love for dogs and all things dog-related couldn’t save this for me. I’m glad it was included with membership. This would probably have been the 1st title to ever return, and I’ve been a member for many years.
Addressing my comment in the title- I’ve got no issue at all with people sharing their views and feelings , and love reading all sorts of views and perspectives. In a book that appears to be lighthearted however , the author’s slant is presented acerbically in the very 1st scene, and repeatedly thereafter. She clearly wants to communicate this, and she succeeds. Which definitely doesn’t help an already uncomfortably disjointed book.
The book is just not very good. Add in the slightly bizarre narration , and it’s time you’re probably wish you could have back. I know I do.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

I Should Have Listened To The Sample

Since the book was free, I didn’t listen to the sample. The narrator’s speed sounds as if her voice is being played at 1.5x speed.
However, the sample would not have shown me that the book is about a weak-willed woman whose life is awful. I read cozies to escape, not hear about how bad the lead character’s life is.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Don't miss this GREAT, SMART, FUN series.

In "A Pedigree to Die For," we meet single mom Melanie Travis, raising her son Davey on a teacher's salary. Her Aunt Peg, a force in the unique world of dog showing, has recently been widowed. In addition to the murder of her husband, Aunt Peg's favorite poodle Beau has gone missing. Melanie is drawn into this weird and wonderful doggy world at Peg's demand. This is a wonderful series. Not only does Berenson get every nuance of the dog show world correct--which is hard to do!--but the characters are marvelous. Aunt Peg is a perfect combination of patrician New England with the practicality of a true dog fancier. Melanie is nosy, direct, loving, and down-to-earth, the family is varied and quirky. If you love dogs and want to learn more about them, especially poodles, this is a fun way to go. And if you love mysteries with great characters, you'll be happy here, too. But don't stop with this book--part of the charm of this series is following the family over time. And a word for Jessica Almasy's performance--the read of Melanie is perfect for this character. Aunt Peg is marvelous! And all the characters are distinctively read in ways that click with their personalities as written. A splendid performance all around--far better than many I've heard.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Narrator Isn't Great...but

Get through the narrator. Slow the speed down so you can understand her. The story is cute and the second audio in the series has a more understandable narration.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

SLOW DOWN!!!!!!!

The book was entertaining but I had to slow the playback speed waaaaay down. The narrator reads it ridiculously fast, as if she is in a race to finish it. This was so distracting that I probably won't be listening to the other books in the series. I find it hard to believe that this was produced with such a poor narrator.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Gone to the dogs

Story ok and ended with a surprise narrator bad I kept checking to be sure it wasn't on a fast speed. Distracted from book.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A pedigree to die for

I just love this poodle series! I am a total dog lover, so I really need to find audio series about German shepherds, Great Danes, Rottweilers or other big dogs!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Couldn’t get pass the narrator’s voice

I ran out of cozy mysteries to listen to and was having a bit of a cozy mystery withdrawals so I figured that I could endure Jessica Almasy’s voice to listen to the story. I lowered the voice speed down to .8 and thought that would help tolerate her voice. Unfortunately, she sounded like the old-time comedian Gracie Allen or Jean Stapleton in All in the family. I tried so hard to get into the story but the narrator’s voice just rambled on like an aimless chatterbox. All I could hear was that voice rattling on. Sorry to be insulting but what good is having a narrator whose voice and delivery are hindrances to actually listening to the story. This book was free with Prime so I didn’t lose any money or credit but I may have lost an opportunity to listen to might have been a good series. I don’t know and will never know unless they re-recorded the series with a different narrator.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

VSP

VSP - Very Stupid People. Even the dimmest person these days should know there is big $$ in well-bred show dogs. The narrator’s rendition of the child is like nails on a chalkboard.

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