As the title suggests this crime story involves a horse
trainer. Annie Carson is woken by her local sheriff asking
her to come to the scene of a road crash, where a horse has
been rescued from a trailer. The horse is unhurt but the
stable staff driver was not so fortunate. REINING IN MURDER
follows the fortunes of this bay Thoroughbred who belongs
to the richest horse owner in town, Hilda Colbert from
California. Annie thinks the Olympic Peninsula is a good
place to keep horses but few neighbors are wealthy.
Settling in the bay, speaking to his contentious owner on
the phone and asking a vet to remove a damaged tooth takes
up most of Annie's day. Her own horses are mostly rescue
animals, rewarding her with loyalty and great work. So it's
some time later when she hears the autopsy results and
really wonders what happened to cause the driver to swerve
and crash. This turns out to have been no accident.
Returning the horse to the hunter-jumper stable brings
further menace to the fore.
As Annie lives alone, having preferred her animals to her
husband, we see her interacting with police officers, a
neighbor's little girl and the wealthy lady's staff. This
helps us build up a picture of Annie's character, besides
the care and attention she provides for her horses, donkey
and sheep-herding dog Wolf. She also has a half-sister,
Lavender, who comes to help Annie connect spiritually
with her horses - something the capable horse trainer
doesn't really need as she puts manners on an unruly
Arabian colt. It's snowing when Lavender arrives, and she
hasn't brought any warm clothes. On the good side, she
makes a great casserole. Annie is more concerned about
meeting a man who is a murder suspect. She doesn't think
he's guilty, but can you be sure?
With plenty of horse care and danger, and the vexed
question of the bay Thoroughbred's ownership, this murder
mystery will be enjoyed by anyone who likes chewing hay and
wearing riding boots. REINING IN MURDER is first in
the 'Carson Stables' series by Leigh Hearon and the second
is going to be called SADDLE UP FOR MURDER. Clearly this
winning theme is set to continue and with well-developed
characters, realistic animals and lovely landscapes, this
is one series I'll be following with interest.
When horse trainer Annie Carson rescues a beautiful
thoroughbred from a roadside rollover, she knows the horse
is lucky to be alive…unlike the driver. After rehabilitating
the injured animal at her Carson Stables ranch, Annie
delivers the horse to Hilda Colbert--the thoroughbred's
neurotic and controlling owner--only to find she's been
permanently put out to pasture. Two deaths in three days is
unheard of in the small Olympic Peninsula county, and Annie
decides to start sniffing around. She's confident she can
track down a killer…but she may not know how ruthless this
killer really is…
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