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Murder Well-Bred
San Miguel de Allende is a vacation paradise--until murder takes a holiday.
While her food critic husband, Jeet, checks out San Miguel's cuisine, equestrienne Robin Vaughan heads for the country to interview a famed dressage master. But Hans Bell is nastily uncooperative, his elegant horses are nervous, and the interviewis a flop. So is an encounter with an old Texas friend, Marilee Hart, who's sitting pretty on a wonderful ranch called Milagro--"Miracle," Marilee is not friendly and, like Bell's horses, she's terribly nervous. And before long, she's dead.
Who fired the shots that killed her? Why is Milagro such a deep secret? Wild horses couldn't keep Robin from snooping for the truth, a story too bizarre to believe--and much too dangerous to print...
While her food critic husband, Jeet, checks out San Miguel's cuisine, equestrienne Robin Vaughan heads for the country to interview a famed dressage master. But Hans Bell is nastily uncooperative, his elegant horses are nervous, and the interviewis a flop. So is an encounter with an old Texas friend, Marilee Hart, who's sitting pretty on a wonderful ranch called Milagro--"Miracle," Marilee is not friendly and, like Bell's horses, she's terribly nervous. And before long, she's dead.
Who fired the shots that killed her? Why is Milagro such a deep secret? Wild horses couldn't keep Robin from snooping for the truth, a story too bizarre to believe--and much too dangerous to print...
183 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
53 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Banks
36 books15 followersHer first national publication was her short story "Idyll," which appeared in Voyages , a literary magazine, in 1968, alongside the work of Anaïs Nin, Josephine Miles and Theodore Weiss. In 1972, the oft-reprinted "Growing Up Polish in Pittsburgh" appeared in American Mix (Lippincott). A version of this story appeared as "The Virgin of Polish Hill" in Plume's 1992 Catholic Girls. Her stories appeared in several issues of Yellow Silk.
Carolyn Banks is the author of a series of humorous equestrian mysteries: Death by Dressage, Groomed for Death, Murder Well Bred, Death on the Diagonal, and A Horse to Die For, all of which available from Amber Quill Press. In addition, Carolyn has written Mr. Right (a smart-ass parafeminist psycho-erotic thriller), The Darkroom, and Girls on the Row. She is also a journalist and videographer who recently wrote and directed "Invicta," a feature movie that is part horror story, part romantic comedy that is currently in post-production.
Carolyn Banks is the author of a series of humorous equestrian mysteries: Death by Dressage, Groomed for Death, Murder Well Bred, Death on the Diagonal, and A Horse to Die For, all of which available from Amber Quill Press. In addition, Carolyn has written Mr. Right (a smart-ass parafeminist psycho-erotic thriller), The Darkroom, and Girls on the Row. She is also a journalist and videographer who recently wrote and directed "Invicta," a feature movie that is part horror story, part romantic comedy that is currently in post-production.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 19, 2022
Jan 18, 230pm ~~ Review asap.
10pm ~~ Well, so far this is my favorite book in the series. Robin Vaughan and her husband are visiting the ex-pat enclave of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. I've never been there but I do know that there are almost more foreigners living there than native Mexican citizens. Which means I would not be comfortable in the city. I figure if a person is going to go live in a country other than the one they were born in, they need to live with the actual citizens and share their lives to an extent, not merely hide behind high walls and locked gates, cloistered away with other people from 'home'.
But I digress.
So let's see, Robin and her husband are in Mexico. He is meeting people and reviewing dinners in various restaurants, and she has gotten herself a gig as a free lance author for a horse magazine. She does make an attempt to interview a world famous horseman at his hacienda, but she has no experience at the job and annoys him with her silly questions. The most she gleans from her time with the man is that all of the horses he had ready to show her are deathly afraid of the man and his evil aura.
She had heard the name of another hacienda, Milagro, and she foolishly asks the world famous horseman if he knows about it. This causes her to be invited forcefully to leave. She does find the other hacienda eventually, along with a woman from her own past. So what is she doing there? And why does she end up dead a few chapters later?
As usual Robin jumps to all kinds of conclusions about everything that is happening around her. But somehow in this book her leaps of imagination were not as irritating as in previous titles. But seriously, Robin, if I made as many incorrect guesses as you do, I would consider getting some professional help! lol
What annoyed me most this time were the constant references to various movies. Something would happen and Robin would riff about this or that movie that the event reminded her of. Luckily I had seen all of these movies so I got the references, but the tactic became tiresome pretty quickly. I wanted to smack Robin upside the head and say Live In The Present Moment, Girl!
I also have another tiny nit to pick here. At one point our Robin is talking about their hotel and just cannot get over the idea that they advertised hot water being available 24 hours a day. She has no idea how that could be something anyone would need to advertise. Of course here in the spoiled USA hot water (water of any temperature, come to think of it) is taken for granted. But there is more awareness of water in Mexico.
Most houses have a thick plastic tank on the roof that holds a supply of water. This tank is filled automatically every other day by the water agency of the pueblo, and it is up to the household to not use it all up before the next water day. So there is water when you open the tap in the sink, but if you are wasteful with it, you will run dry. And then if perhaps the city's pump is not working the next water day you will not get any water until the one after that. You learn to be careful. Water is precious and the people of Mexico know this, which is why any hotel able to advertise hot water available 24 hours a day will get more business than those who cannot do that. And I don't think that anyone should ridicule something they obviously do not understand the reason for. This is a point against the author, of course, for putting those thoughts in Robin's mind in the first place.
Oh, and I had to wonder about something else. At one point Robin rides a horse without using a saddle. And she bounces around, doesn't know how to sit, says she has never ridden bareback before. How is that possible? Surely everyone with a horse has slipped on at some point for a bareback spin around the pasture? How can anyone be a dressage rider and not be able to ride with no saddle? That seemed so weird to me, but then I was just a desert rider, I never had lessons or did shows or anything like that. Maybe all those lessons it takes to learn dressage train the natural rider right out of a person? Kind of like someone with a talent for drawing going to art school and afterwards not being able to draw anything at all.
I know I'm noticing things that other readers might not care about, but that's me, I can't help myself. Meanwhile, I am hoping that tonight I will be able to sleep but if not, I am ready with book number 4, Death On The Diagonal. All I know about it so far is that we will all be back in Texas. So we will see what happens there. I wonder how deep we will be in that infamous hot water?
10pm ~~ Well, so far this is my favorite book in the series. Robin Vaughan and her husband are visiting the ex-pat enclave of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. I've never been there but I do know that there are almost more foreigners living there than native Mexican citizens. Which means I would not be comfortable in the city. I figure if a person is going to go live in a country other than the one they were born in, they need to live with the actual citizens and share their lives to an extent, not merely hide behind high walls and locked gates, cloistered away with other people from 'home'.
But I digress.
So let's see, Robin and her husband are in Mexico. He is meeting people and reviewing dinners in various restaurants, and she has gotten herself a gig as a free lance author for a horse magazine. She does make an attempt to interview a world famous horseman at his hacienda, but she has no experience at the job and annoys him with her silly questions. The most she gleans from her time with the man is that all of the horses he had ready to show her are deathly afraid of the man and his evil aura.
She had heard the name of another hacienda, Milagro, and she foolishly asks the world famous horseman if he knows about it. This causes her to be invited forcefully to leave. She does find the other hacienda eventually, along with a woman from her own past. So what is she doing there? And why does she end up dead a few chapters later?
As usual Robin jumps to all kinds of conclusions about everything that is happening around her. But somehow in this book her leaps of imagination were not as irritating as in previous titles. But seriously, Robin, if I made as many incorrect guesses as you do, I would consider getting some professional help! lol
What annoyed me most this time were the constant references to various movies. Something would happen and Robin would riff about this or that movie that the event reminded her of. Luckily I had seen all of these movies so I got the references, but the tactic became tiresome pretty quickly. I wanted to smack Robin upside the head and say Live In The Present Moment, Girl!
I also have another tiny nit to pick here. At one point our Robin is talking about their hotel and just cannot get over the idea that they advertised hot water being available 24 hours a day. She has no idea how that could be something anyone would need to advertise. Of course here in the spoiled USA hot water (water of any temperature, come to think of it) is taken for granted. But there is more awareness of water in Mexico.
Most houses have a thick plastic tank on the roof that holds a supply of water. This tank is filled automatically every other day by the water agency of the pueblo, and it is up to the household to not use it all up before the next water day. So there is water when you open the tap in the sink, but if you are wasteful with it, you will run dry. And then if perhaps the city's pump is not working the next water day you will not get any water until the one after that. You learn to be careful. Water is precious and the people of Mexico know this, which is why any hotel able to advertise hot water available 24 hours a day will get more business than those who cannot do that. And I don't think that anyone should ridicule something they obviously do not understand the reason for. This is a point against the author, of course, for putting those thoughts in Robin's mind in the first place.
Oh, and I had to wonder about something else. At one point Robin rides a horse without using a saddle. And she bounces around, doesn't know how to sit, says she has never ridden bareback before. How is that possible? Surely everyone with a horse has slipped on at some point for a bareback spin around the pasture? How can anyone be a dressage rider and not be able to ride with no saddle? That seemed so weird to me, but then I was just a desert rider, I never had lessons or did shows or anything like that. Maybe all those lessons it takes to learn dressage train the natural rider right out of a person? Kind of like someone with a talent for drawing going to art school and afterwards not being able to draw anything at all.
I know I'm noticing things that other readers might not care about, but that's me, I can't help myself. Meanwhile, I am hoping that tonight I will be able to sleep but if not, I am ready with book number 4, Death On The Diagonal. All I know about it so far is that we will all be back in Texas. So we will see what happens there. I wonder how deep we will be in that infamous hot water?
March 22, 2020
Having to re-read what's on my own shelves since there's no library... While I really like this series, this wasn't one of the better ones. I had actually forgotten I had any of them, they got buried in a stack of paperbacks.
October 2, 2021
Had great ideas but never really took them anywhere, very disappointed in this storyline and the author is usually better than this. It's a no from me
October 28, 2011
Let me be clear, I did NOT buy this book or borrow it. It was one of the multitude of books that got left for whomever to pick up in my old apartment complex's laundry room.
Now I love me a cozy mystery or two...or three...or....lets just say I like them and leave it at that.
I went in hoping I would love it or at the very east that I would like it more than I did. Sadly, this is a case of love that was not meant to be.
I love horses. I love mysteries. Yet somehow I did no love this book. Perhaps it's because I haven't read the other two preceeding books in the series but from my experience these types of mysteries are written in a way that allows the reader to jump in anywhere in the series.
I did like Robin and her husband but I could not for the life of me get into the story. I found that the story was rushed. There were moments where I was thinking to myself "what the hell?" when there would be a scene change that was so abrupt that it didn't make sense. The plot was weak and so were the characters. It took me 5 days to read this book which would usually take me a few hours to finish.
I may try reading other books in the series but I'm not sure. I don't think I would reccomend this to anyone. If you do read it, I insist you try getting it from the library first.
Final Rating: 2.5
Now I love me a cozy mystery or two...or three...or....lets just say I like them and leave it at that.
I went in hoping I would love it or at the very east that I would like it more than I did. Sadly, this is a case of love that was not meant to be.
I love horses. I love mysteries. Yet somehow I did no love this book. Perhaps it's because I haven't read the other two preceeding books in the series but from my experience these types of mysteries are written in a way that allows the reader to jump in anywhere in the series.
I did like Robin and her husband but I could not for the life of me get into the story. I found that the story was rushed. There were moments where I was thinking to myself "what the hell?" when there would be a scene change that was so abrupt that it didn't make sense. The plot was weak and so were the characters. It took me 5 days to read this book which would usually take me a few hours to finish.
I may try reading other books in the series but I'm not sure. I don't think I would reccomend this to anyone. If you do read it, I insist you try getting it from the library first.
Final Rating: 2.5
August 24, 2015
An OK horsey, cozy mystery.
But oh, the plot holes!!! The sheer size and number were ghastly. And not all loose ends were tied up, which kinda bugged me.
And I'm not above bathroom humor, but it needs to be well done. The many, many, many "bathroom" scenes weren't funny, just lame.
I loved #1 of this series so much, #2 and #3 were really disappointing.
But oh, the plot holes!!! The sheer size and number were ghastly. And not all loose ends were tied up, which kinda bugged me.
And I'm not above bathroom humor, but it needs to be well done. The many, many, many "bathroom" scenes weren't funny, just lame.
I loved #1 of this series so much, #2 and #3 were really disappointing.
January 26, 2016
Robin vaughn is in San Miguel, Mexico with her food critic husband Jeet so he can cover the local cuisine. Robin is attempting to write a story about local horse breeders but is blown off by Hans Bell. Robin then finds Marilee Hart, who disappeared from Robin's hometown 3 years ago, living on a mysterious farm named Milagro. Robin decides to look into the mystery of Milagro. This book makes more sense than the first in the series but it still rambles around too much for my taste.
January 3, 2011
Quick read, entertaining but not very thought provoking. I would also appreciate more detail about the horses and dressage!
October 23, 2011
A pleasure, gentle evening's read. For mystery lover, horse lover...
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews