Peg and Rose Play the Ponies

by Laurien Berenson, Margaret Strom (Read by)

Overview

Rival sisters-in-law Peg Turnbull and Rose Donovan spent their summer doing the unthinkable: sleuthing for dangerous suspects and becoming (almost) friends. But when a September trip leads to more murder, it’ll be a miracle if the dysfunctional duo is still a team—and alive—by autumn . . .

Murder, She Wrote meets The Golden Girls in the third Senior Sleuths Mystery!

From the moment Peg arrives in Kentucky, dragging level-headed Rose along for the week-long excursion proves a smart move. Because after she brings her canine expertise to prestigious conformation shows, next on the agenda is selling her Thoroughbred broodmare's offspring at a high-stakes yearling sale. And when the ladies arrive to meet the young horse at Six Oaks farm, something seems off about the place—especially Jim Grable, the yearling manager with serious anger issues . . .

While Peg feels comfortable again judging pedigree pups over Labor Day Weekend, Rose judges a shocking new turn of events. Jim has been found dead on the farm and a young employee needs help convincing police she didn’t kill him. As disjointed clues lead to a list of misdeeds swirling around Six Oaks, everyone connected to Jim agrees on one thing—he had it coming . . .

It isn’t until Peg guides her colt’s journey to the auction ring that she grasps how much Jim had been manipulating the process behind the scenes. Now, unable to rely on her instincts alone, Peg must also trust in Rose’s talents to expose the real culprit. But the two need to have each other’s backs before tangling with a killer—a deadly criminal set on halting their dog and pony show for good!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798874848491
Publisher:	Tantor
Publication date:	06/25/2024
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Laurien Berenson is an Agatha and Macavity nominee, winner of the RT Book Reviews Reviewers' Choice Award, and four-time winner of the Maxwell Award, presented by the Dog Writers Association of America. She and her husband live on a farm in Kentucky surrounded by dogs and horses.

Margaret Strom, a New York–trained actress, graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and holds both BA and MA degrees in theater, as well as an MS degree in educational administration and supervision. She has narrated more than five hundred books for the Library of Congress, and is the voice of business, private, nonprofit, medical, and government industrials and commercials.

Editorial Reviews

04/22/2024

Berenson’s bewitching third Senior Sleuths mystery (after Peg and Rose Stir Up Trouble) finds septuagenarian sisters-in-law Peg Turnbull and Rose Donovan heading from Connecticut to Kentucky to check in on Peg’s mare, Lucky Luna. Luna’s latest colt is slated for auction at the local yearling sale, which Peg has roped Rose into attending. It’s a straightforward-enough proposition until Peg and Rose arrive at Six Oaks Farm, where Luna is being stabled, and encounter angry yearling manager Jim Grable. Though they sense tension on the premises, Peg and Rose turn a blind eye until Rose reads, in a news bulletin, that Jim has been found dead on the farm. The police pin his murder on Six Oaks employee Lucia Alvarez, but Rose doubts Lucia’s guilt, so she enlists Peg to help her clear the young woman’s name. Together, they unearth deep-seated corruption on the farm. Though Berenson has moved the setting from dog shows to horse stables, series fans will get exactly what they came for: lively banter, a breezy mystery, and plenty of amusing animal antics. This is good fun. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for the Senior Sleuths Mysteries by Laurien Berenson
 
“Clever and sharp twists and turns—tracked by two spunky retiree protagonists—will once again charm and delight cozy mystery lovers." —Shelf Awareness on Peg and Rose Stir Up Trouble
 
“Endearing…Berenson supplements the mystery with several welcome trips to the dog show ring. This will appeal to dog lovers and mystery readers.” —Publishers Weekly on Peg and Rose Stir Up Trouble

“Gentle Rose and determined Peg make an appealing pair…Long live the senior sleuths.” —Kirkus Reviews on Peg and Rose Stir Up Trouble
 
“This Golden Girls–style cozy mystery has plenty of humor and style… Perfect for cozy aficionados looking for a new series and some laughs.” —Library Journal on Peg and Rose Stir Up Trouble

“The well-drawn bickering senior sleuths, sympathetic secondary characters, the frame of the women’s shelter where Rose works, and Peg’s dog show world (and love of poodles) all add up to a satisfying cozy.” —Booklist on Peg and Rose Stir Up Trouble

“With Melanie Travis away on vacation, it falls to her feuding aunts to solve a crime . . . If you love dogs and bridge, this character-driven mystery will be especially pleasing.” —Kirkus Reviews on Peg and Rose Solve a Murder
 
“This spin-off from Berenson’s Melanie Travis mysteries (Melanie is Peg and Rose’s niece) combines well-delineated but very different senior protagonists with details of raising, showing, and judging show dogs, especially poodles. The resolution of the long-standing feud sets the table for future outings starring cases for the sisters-in-law turned sleuths.” —Booklist on Peg and Rose Solve a Murder
 
“Fans of Laurien Berenson’s Melanie Travis Canine mysteries will enjoy seeing Peg and Rose, secondary characters in some of her other books, take center stage. Berenson gives Peg and Rose rich backgrounds that bring them to life, and her strong storytelling skills will have you guessing whodunit until the end.” —Mystery Scene on Peg and Rose Solve a Murder
 
“Fans of the Melanie Travis series will be delighted.” —Publishers Weekly on Peg and Rose Solve a Murder
 
“Fans of Laurien Berenson’s long-running Melanie Travis Canine Mysteries will be thrilled with Peg and Rose Solve a Murder, the first entry in a new spinoff series featuring Melanie’s engaging aunts, Peg Turnbull and Rose Donovan . . . [Peg and Rose] stand on their own as capable, witty women who are more than up to the task of crime-solving.” —BookPage on Peg and Rose Solve a Murder

“Peg and Rose Solve a Murder really does have the sass of The Golden Girls mixed with the shenanigans of Murder, She Wrote, though with a lot more animal friends than either. I’m greatly looking forward to being charmed by more of Peg and Rose’s adventures together as this warm, witty series continues.” —Criminal Element on Peg and Rose Solve a Murder

“Author Laurien Berenson writes with a breezy flair that’s perfect for this kind of mystery, and that breeze blows in the humor…Mystery mavens who love dogs will particularly love this book, as will readers who enjoy sleuths who are past A Certain Age.” –Terri Schlichenmeyer, The Bookworm Syndicate on Peg and Rose Solve a Murder

“A real hoot!” —Suspense Magazine on Peg and Rose Solve a Murder
 
“Lots of canine fun…Anyone who loves dogs, especially poodles, dog shows, and silver-haired sleuths, will enjoy this new cozy mystery series by Lauren Berenson.” —San Francisco Book Review on Peg and Rose Solve a Murder

“Fans of the long-running Murder, She Wrote television show, featuring the late Angela Lansbury, will welcome Versailles, KY author Laurien Berenson’s new Senior Sleuth Mystery book series.” —Kentucky Living on Peg and Rose Solve a Murder

From the Publisher

2024-05-04
Dog breeder Peg Turnbull ups her game as she plunges headfirst into the world of thoroughbred horse racing.

Peg has always let the staff at Six Oaks Farm handle the sales of brood mare Lucky Luna’s offspring. This year, though, the Keeneland September Yearling Sale overlaps so nicely with the Bluegrass Cluster dog show in Lexington that she decides to drive down to Kentucky over Labor Day weekend to witness the sale of Luna’s latest colt in person. Asking her late husband’s sister, Rose Donovan, to come with her may feel like a stretch, since the sisters-in-law have just recently patched up their rocky relationship in an uneasy truce. But Peg seems eager to prove to Rose that the principles that lead someone to become one of the country’s top breeders of standard poodles apply equally well to thoroughbreds. Having spent most of her adult life living among the Sisters of Divine Mercy, Rose is hardly equipped to deal with the rough and tumble world of horse racing, but she provides an important counterweight to Peg’s unbridled exuberance. Rose’s knack for moderation becomes especially important when Jim Grable, the yearling manager at Six Oaks, is brutally murdered. The senior sleuths discover that the higher the stakes, the higher the human capacity for evil. Taking the sisters-in-law’s complicated relationship to a new level, Berenson combines a thorough tutorial on the care of yearlings with a chilling account of the vice than can infect those who care for them.

Berenson at her best.

Kirkus Reviews