Murder, She Rode

At the start of Menino’s gripping mystery debut, horsewoman Tink Elledge comes across a horse van that has overturned and burned on a road near her farm outside Philadelphia. The state troopers at the scene inform her that the van’s human occupants—Joe Terrell and Patty McLaren, both of whom work for a rival stable owned by Win Guthrie—have been taken to the hospital. Tink persuades one of the troopers to shoot the injured horse trapped in the van. Later, Win phones Tink at home to say Joe died in the accident. But was it an accident? Meanwhile, Tink has a horse running in the forthcoming Brandywine Three-Day Event. Since a recent injury prevents her from riding, Tink allows Alejandra Delgado, the girlfriend of her favorite stepson, Stephen, to ride in her place. Money and drugs soon figure into the action of this exciting insider’s view of the elite horse world. Menino is also the author of Calls Beyond Our Hearing: Unlocking the Secrets of Animal Voices. Agent: Ethan Bassoff, Lippincott Massie McQuilkin. (Aug.)