Forged

Gail McCarthy Mystery #8

by Laura Crum

Veterinarian Gail McCarthy's horseshoer is shot in her barnyard, while shoeing her horse, embroiling Gail in the ensuing investigation. With no shortage of suspects who had a reason to kill the womanizing farrier (including Gail), this is a lively mystery with an unexpectede conclusion.

189 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2004

About the author

Laura Crum has spent over twenty years training and showing western cowhorses, and her mystery series, featuring equine veterinarian Gail McCarthy, reflects her knowledge and love of horses. The twelve book series is available both in print and as ebooks. Laura still owns horses and rides regularly. She lives in the hills near California's Monterey Bay with her husband and son and a large menagerie of horses, dogs, cats and chickens. She be emailed and visited at lauracrum.com and blogs at equestrianink blogspot.

Reviews

[Jamie]

3.5 stars. Nothing earth shattering here but kept me turning pages and it was a fast read. It’ll be a good addition to my little free library.

[John P]

A short, quality entertainment.

The author has created a murder mystery that is set in the unfamiliar, to this reviewer, context of the world of horse owners and associated persons. The protagonist is a horse vet; the unlucky deceased is a horse shoer.

The plot contains an over-abundance of suspects each with a seemingly strong motive for murder. The plethora of potential shooters reduces the number of rating stars as it seems as if the author deliberately muddies the water, so-to-speak, to befuddle the reader and make the solution harder to fathom. And of course it is true. A fictional mystery is deliberately contrived by definition. Almost all work in this genre suffers from the same deficiency and it takes a special author indeed to imbue his or her work with that rare ingredient: realism.

At first, I thought I had made a mistake in choosing a novel with an equine context. Quite the opposite is true. The most realistic passages are those which expose the author's obvious familiarity and insight into this interesting and specialized world.

While the denouement disappoints, remember that this reviewer looks more for believable villains rather than the too clever use of red herrings and logical contortions. The writing is good, the story moves along briskly, the protagonist is well-drawn and likable. One looking for a light read with the added benefit of learning about the equine milieu could do worse.

[Mary Hood]

Meh... I was looking for a series similar to Rita Mae Brown's Sister series. I chose this for the title. My dad was a horseshoer, so maybe it just turned me off that the horseshoer was such a jerk. It was a quick read and fairly entertaining but I honestly didn't really care about the characters in the least little bit. Reasonably accurate in terms of the equine terminology. I can't explain what it is about this book that left me cold. But, I probably won't choose any more books by this author.

[JoAnn Plant]

First comes love in the last book, now comes marriage; could a baby be next? Gail sets off finding out why she was set up and winds up being almost killed if not for the horses. Great book, very riveting!

[Christie Brown]

Quick read

Fast read. Not a long book. Decent storyline. Good characters. Didn't get into backs to much. Will read other books by this author.

[Caryn]

Another good Gail McCarthy mystery. Crum's books are entertaining, with just enough suspense, and lots of accurately portrayed horse and veterinary scenarios. I have a good time with the California horse community atmosphere as well, it's refreshing to learn how horses are kept and enjoyed in another part of the country.

[Lydia]

Excellent book for horselovers and mystery lovers, a real page turner.