Former vet Gail McCarthy, now a stay-at-home wife and mom, encounters trouble while she and her husband and their six-year-old son are vacationing in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills in Crum’s less than suspenseful 11th equine puzzler (after 2008’s Chasing Cans
). Soon after Gail and her family arrive at their friend Lonny Peterson’s ranch, Martindale County deputy sheriff Bret Boncantini, a childhood friend of Gail’s, arrests their host for the shooting murders of Lonny’s girlfriend, Lorene Richardson, and Lorene’s brother, Cole, who together ran the local livestock auction. Though Lonny’s fingerprints are all over the murder weapon, Gail’s positive he’s innocent and sets out to prove it. Crum’s easygoing approach to crime solving sometimes defies believability, but her solid knowledge of horses and the ranching life will appeal to horse-loving mystery fans who aren’t expecting a plot worthy of Dick Francis. (Apr.)
