My Nails and My Book Review - Murder at the Puppy Fest by Lauren Berenson

**NetGalley**

Title: Murder at the Puppy Fest

Series: Melanie Travis #20

Author: Laurien Berenson

Goodreads Summary: Frolicking with dogs is Melanie Travis's idea of heaven. So when she's invited to be a "puppy wrangler" at a benefit for a local dog rescue, the last thing she expects is to be chasing after a tricky killer...

As a busy mom and pedigree Poodle owner, Melanie has little time to spare. Still, she doesn't mind helping out at Puppy Fest, an annual fundraiser to benefit Puppy Posse, a local dog rescue organization. Considering the venue--Belle Haven mansion, owned by wealthy philanthropist Leo Brody--it's shaping up to be the can't-miss charity event of the summer. Unfortunately, when Melanie's breeding background lands her in the doghouse with Jane, Leo's snappy daughter who runs the rescue, Melanie finds herself simultaneously managing Puppy Fest and the millionaire's hopelessly fractious family.

But once Puppy Fest kicks off, Leo is nowhere to be found--until Melanie discovers his current mistress crouching over his dead body. According to police, the father of nine's severe nut allergy went into overdrive after he accidentally consumed a contaminated cookie. However, Libby, one of Leo's children and a friend of Melanie's Aunt Peg, believes someone deliberately put him down for good. And now, she's begging a reluctant Melanie to unearth the secrets hidden by the Brody pack. But the closer Melanie gets to fetching answers, the higher the stakes become--and the more she realizes that she's chasing a criminal who's been groomed to win... 

My Review: **I voluntarily read this ARC**

I definitely have mixed feelings about this one. Overall it was interesting, and I loved Kevin and the dogs. The mystery was really good until it got to the motive. I also really didn't like Aunt Peg's attitude towards mutts, but I liked that pound puppies were a big part of the book.

My Manicure: For this manicure, I wanted to keep the colors simple. It's been a while since I did a basic black and white color scheme, which also happens to be perfect for a dog theme. I started with a base of Finger Paints Paper Mache. Then I did a water marble with it and Sinful Colors Black on Black. It's really weird for me to have no holo, shimmer, glitter, or even splash of color in my manicure, but I think the simple color scheme really makes the design pop.

And now for the funny pictures. This is what a water marble looks like pre-cleanup. All the way to my knuckle, under my nails... yeah, it was a pain to cleanup.

~Kelly