Carol Miller's The Fortune Telling Mysteries series has a second outing, at a community festival. Mystic craft shop owners, Hope and Summer Bailey, are sisters living in Asheville, North Carolina with their grandmother, known as Gram. They start out with a presentiment of loss when a Tarot card turns up showing DEATH RIDES A PONY. 

Sadly for me, that was the only pony in DEATH RIDES A PONY. However, anyone interested in fortune-telling will have fun with this charming adventure and wicked murder mystery. We meet many of the townsfolk, most are pleasant and helpful as the festival gets underway. Rosemarie Potter is one such character, with her little pug Percy. Summer is in the process of divorcing her husband, who still resides in their house which is for sale. Summer has moved out and allowed Gary to specify the realtor, Davis Scott. I am sure there are many wonderful people who are realtors, but it happens that in mysteries we often see uneasy situations, with money, property, and prestige at stake, and the real estate office is in the middle of everything. Davis Scott is making the most of an awkward position. 

Quite correctly, the sisters decide not to read Tarot cards either for money or for entertainment. They settle on palmistry and fortune-telling. The festival is beset by stifling heat and ants, but most people are having a wonderful time. Then some strange noises at night indicate an accident--or something worse. Suddenly everyone is being asked by the police where they were all day, who could have been in the vicinity, and what items went missing. A visitor has been murdered. 

As the location is fairly contained, readers who enjoy puzzles will sink their teeth into the clues and observations. Newcomers to the pages include a receptionist at the doctor’s office, Larkin, who flirts with any men in sight, distracting Summer and Hope from serious matters.  While she’s not an obvious suspect, I hope Larkin will feature in another installment as she is a good contrast. Carol Miller has built upon her first book, THE FOOL DIES LAST, again referring to tarot. DEATH RIDES A PONY certainly involves a harbinger of death but is not too spooky for the average reader of amateur sleuth stories. Summer and Hope are well-named, with a positive attitude and firm intent to stick together, no matter what the threat. Even if the fortune-telling is cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances...