A Mercy Carr Mystery Book 5
“Buy land, they’re not making it anymore.”—Mark Twain
Book Blurb:
Beware the blackbirds…
It’s Halloween in Vermont, winter is coming, and five humans, two dogs, and a cat are a crowd in Mercy Carr’s small cabin. She needs more room—and she knows just the place: Grackle Tree Farm, with thirty acres of woods and wetlands and a Victorian manor to die for. They say it’s haunted by the ghosts of missing children and lost poets and a murderer or two, but Mercy loves it anyway. Even when Elvis finds a dead body in the library.
There’s something about Grackle Tree Farm that people are willing to kill for—and Mercy needs to figure out what before they move in. A coded letter found on the victim points to a hidden treasure that may be worth a fortune—if it’s real. She and Captain Thrasher conduct a search of the old place—and end up at the wrong end of a Glock. A masked man shoots Thrasher, and she and Elvis must take him down before he murders them all. Under fire, she and Elvis manage to run the guy off, but not before they are wounded, leaving Thrasher fighting for his life in the hospital, Mercy on crutches, and Elvis on the mend.
Now it’s up to Mercy and Troy and the dogs to track down the masked murderer in a county overflowing with leaf peepers, Halloween revelers, and treasure hunters and bring him to justice before he strikes again and the treasure is lost forever, along with the good name of Grackle Tree Farm….
My Review:
I love it when one of my favorite series pops up with a new one. This one seemed rather inspired, full of prose, quotables, and down home philosophy.
While I tripped over the name of Grackle Tree Farm every time I read it, the plot is a good one and there is a lot going on. The doggies have an active part—love Elvis and Suzy Bear.
Love the atmospherics in this particular episode. The author knows how to weave in the texture, suspense, the unknown. It builds tension and multiplies interest in the characters, who are mysterious and engaging. Particularly invested in their efforts to secure the ownership of the farm—sounded so neat I wanted a tour.
“…private roads, private being Yankee-speak for unpaved.”
The mysteries are interesting, the backstories clever and complex. There are twists and pushes into the poetry world I’d never consider otherwise. Romance language is interwoven as easily as English.
“The ghosts that stalk us are the secrets we cannot keep, the trespasses we cannot forgive, the truths we cannot bury.”
I really liked the progress that Mercy and Troy made this time and can’t wait to discover what they do with the property. Never hurts to catch up on Elvis either. He is an awesome canine character, as is Suzy Bear, both are so different yet so competent in their separate roles.
I read The Wedding Plot in August 2022 and had a bit of a problem with the pacing. This one keeps interest throughout, no sags in the middle, is well-paced.
I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.
Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars 
Book Details:
Genre: Cozy Animal Mystery, Cozy Animal Mysteries, Police Procedurals
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ASIN: B0BQGJSWCQ
Print Length: 352 pages
Publication Date: October 17, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link(s):
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
The Author: PAULA MUNIER is a literary agent and the USA TODAY bestselling author of the Mercy Carr mysteries. A BORROWING OF BONES, the first in the series, was nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award, and was recently named the Dog Writers Association of America’s Dogwise Book of the Year. The second, BLIND SEARCH, pubbed in November 2019. The third, THE HIDING PLACE, will debut in March 2021.
Paula was inspired to write the series by the hero working dogs she met through Mission K9 Rescue, her own rescues, Newfoundland/retriever mix Bear, Great Pyrenees/Australian cattle dog mix Bliss, and Malinois mix Blondie, and a lifelong passion for crime fiction.
Paula also written three popular books on writing: PLOT PERFECT, THE WRITER’S GUIDE TO BEGINNINGS, and WRITING WITH QUIET HANDS, as well as the acclaimed memoir FIXING FREDDIE: A True Story of a Boy, a Mom, and a Very, Very Bad Beagle, and HAPPIER EVERY DAY: Simple ways to bring more peace, contentment and joy into your life.
She lives in New England with her family, her three rescue dogs, and a rescue torbie tabby named Ursula.
©2023 V Williams
Rosepoint Publishing 