Welcome to Litsy!

�If you like dogs, you�ll love Laurien Berenson�s Melanie Travis mysteries!� �Joanne Fluke, New York Times bestselling author Melanie Travis needs a little peace from her busy life this Christmas. But the usual holiday hubbub is a joy compared to the killer surprise she finds tucked underneath the tree . . . With a demanding teaching job at Connecticut�s elite Howard Academy and five poodles scampering around the house, Melanie barely has energy for the upcoming Christmas rush. But she unwraps an unexpected challenge when her brother and ex-husband, elated by the recent success of their country caf�, make a spontaneous bid on a dilapidated pine tree farm. Although the ten-acre lot had been a popular seasonal destination while the original owner was still alive, it�ll take some sprucing up�and a small miracle or two�before the neglected place is in shape for December. Unfortunately, the impromptu business venture goes cold when the group discovers a purebred Maltese whimpering in the snow-covered grove�right beside a dead body. Pete, a squatter who camped out on the land, apparently met his end after a fallen fir tree branch knocked him on the head. But as Melanie and Aunt Peg investigate Pete�s history and the terrible habit that cost him everything, it�s clear his death was no accident. Now, Melanie must run through a flurry of likely suspects and muzzle a dogged murderer in time�or she�ll be next on someone�s deadly list.