Atmospheric and intriguing, Paula Munier's latest is perfect for Fall!
A beautiful old Victorian manor once owned by a renowned poet is up for sale. Empty for years, local legend says the place is haunted. It has seen its share of tragedies, but Mercy and Troy want to buy it anyway. They need the space to accommodate the family they have taken in and love the surrounding land. But they and their realtor discover a dead body inside the house, which isn't the first death on the premises. Undeterred, Mercy looks into the murder and finds the house holds secrets worth dying for and perhaps a hidden treasure.
Atmospheric and vividly depicted, this story had ghosts, bohemian poets, treasure hunters, and Druids, and it all takes place the week of Halloween! Alongside these spooky season vibes are complex and layered mysteries that intertwine for an intriguing whodunnit.
I enjoyed the author's writing style, and this was skillfully plotted and paced to drip clues for both the current and old mysteries that Mercy investigates. I thought it was going in one direction, but some surprise twists were in store, and I was kept guessing and engaged through to the satisfying ending.
Mercy is ex-military, and her dog Elvis, a former K-9 officer, is always by her side. I liked Mercy. She is intelligent, resourceful, and capable, and her background makes her a plausible sleuth. Her connection to her new husband, Troy, is heartwarming. The secondary characters are all very likable, and the whole cast comes across as relatable. Even though this is book five in the series, it is the first one I have read, and I was still very invested in the characters. I will be going back to read the previous four books because I have been missing out!
Great storytelling, engaging characters, amazing dogs, spooky Fall vibes, suspense, danger, and intriguing puzzles to solve made this a great read for me!
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press Minotaur Books for the gifted ARC.
My steep was Apple Cinnamon Coffeecake Tea from Simpson Vail-black tea with cinnamon chips, apple pieces, and orange blossoms. Perfect for Fall!
www.svtea.com
PUBLISHER'S SYNOPSIS:
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….
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