Blind Search
3 Stars

Mercy Carr and her Belgian Malinois, Elvis, team up once again with Game Warden Troy Warner and his Newfie, Susie Bear, in pursuit of a killer. This time Mercy finds the body of a young woman pierced through the heart by an arrow. The situation is compounded by the fact that the only witness to the crime is a 9-year-old autistic boy

Although well-written with engaging characters, this follow-up to A Borrowing of Bones does not completely resonate.

As with the first book, the mystery involves numerous characters and threads and it is not always easy to keep track, especially while listening to the audiobook. Some of the plot elements are predictable, and the eventual reveal of the killer is almost an afterthought to the twists and turns of the case.

The inclusion of unnecessary angst at the end is annoying. Mercy's reaction to the fact that Troy has just now gotten around to divorcing his philandering wife is way over the top. Hopefully, this will be a small blip on the romance front and the next book will resolve the issue satisfactorily. Time will tell...

Finally, Kathleen McInerney's narration is wonderful and earned the book an extra star. ( )

Despite my hopes the series does not improve, I'm sorry I started it ( )

The second Mercy Carr and Elvis mystery takes place in the Fall in the lovely state of Vermont. It's hunting season and only a fool goes out into the woods without orange clothing. When Mercy heads off in the woods after Elvis takes off when retrieving arrows, Mercy doesn't follow until she kits out and grabs Elvis's orange vest.

She finds Elvis with billionaire Daniel Feinberg's hunting party where they have treed a bear with the aid of an elkhound pack. Then Elvis and the elkhounds take off and the next thing they find is a young woman who has been shot in the heart with an arrow. It turns out that she was one of Feinberg's guests who hadn't yet arrived when the hunters went out.

Mercy doesn't think that the death was a hunting accident, but there are a number of possible explanations. It seems the Vermont woods are filled with poachers, gun runners, and drug runners. But that doesn't mean that she isn't going to look into the lives of Feinberg's guests to see if any of them had a reason to want the young woman dead.

Mercy teams up with Forest Ranger Troy Warner and his dog Suzie Bear to look into the murder despite being told to back off by Detective Harrington. They do have a witness who might have relevant information, but Henry is nine, autistic, and nearly nonverbal.

But someone saw Henry and wants to eliminate the possibility that he will share what he saw. Mercy and Elvis are determined to keep Henry safe from all hazards.

I liked the growing relationship between Mercy and Troy except Troy isn't as divorced as Mercy thinks he is. I also liked Mercy's relationship with her dog Elvis which is changing as they both ger over the death of Mercy's fiance who was also Elvis's handler. They are becoming quite a team.

This was a fun story for fans of cozy mysteries that also have dogs with big personalities. ( )

Another great story in this growing series. I'm thoroughly enjoying it. It has Vermont, it has dogs, it has game wardens, and a strong female leading the way. The books continue to touch on dealing with PTSD. There are so many twists and turns you might have to hold onto the "holy cow" handle that always seems to be in vehicles for just this reason. Enjoy! ( )

Holy... loved it!! Last week I read a borrowing of bones and when I saw blind search I knew I had to check it out. 2nd in the Mercy and Elvis series and looking forward to the next ones. ( )