The Trojan Colt: An Eli Paxton Mystery

A clever plot lifts Resnick’s sequel to 1995’s Dog in the Manger. Bill Striker, the head of Cincinnati’s largest detective agency, hires Eli Paxton, an ex-cop who ekes out a living as a solo PI, to provide security for Tyrone, the first offspring of legendary retired race horse Trojan to go up for auction. At the big Keeneland Summer Sale in Lexington, Ky., Eli confers with Tyrone’s devoted groom, Tony Sanders, who’s kept busy showing the colt to prospective buyers. When Tony vanishes the day before the auction, the groom’s worried parents hire Eli to find him; Travis Bigelow, Tyrone’s owner, claims Tony ran off, however. With help from a cooperative Lexington cop and the Bigelow farm manager, Paxton learns of another Bigelow groom who disappeared unexpectedly. Eli figures he’s on track when someone starts trying to kill him. A wealth of horse-racing and horse-breeding lore adds interest. Agent: Eleanor Wood, Spectrum Literary Agency. (June)