Slickrock: A Gail McCarthy Mystery

Gail McCarthy Mystery #5

by Laura Crum

Equine veterinarian Gail McCarthy is up for the challenge of a two weeks alone deep within the winding trails of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. Needing a break from the stress of everyday life and a somewhat trying long-distance relationship. Gail is eager to depart on a solitary pack trip with only two horses and her faithful new puppy for company.

The night before Gail is to leave, she stumbles across a wounded man lying in an open meadow next to a gun. He has apparently tried to kill himself, and despite the immediate help that Gail gets, he sadly succeeds. But not before he mumbles several enigmatic words, leaving Gail to wonder if this might have been more than a simple suicide.

Unwilling to let anything get in the way of her long-planned trip and unable to do anything about the man's death, Gail sets off. But it isn't long before she becomes aware of an eerie lurking presence following closely in her footsteps, threatening to close in and make Gail his next victim. It will take all of Gail's strength to survive the trip, and all of her intelligence to figure out who her stalker is and how he might be related to the dead man.

Genres: Mystery, Horses

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 29, 1999

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

[Emma Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book I found at Maupin’s free little library. The beginning was a little slow and I didn’t know a lot of the horse-specific vocabulary, but the plot was exciting and the mystery kept me entertained. It simultaneously made me want to solo pack through the mountains and also not. A bit of an abrupt ending, but still quite enjoyable.

[JoAnn Plant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Her BF partner with two others using horses to smuggle. If that not bad enough, running into BF ex wife shows up! At least she found a friend or maybe next boyfriend who should show up sometime before the end of the series!

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really love this series, but this book in particular seemed to drag. Part of the mystery was laid out really early, then lots of other things happened that seemed like filler and then finally the mystery solving that didn't start until the last 20 pages or so. I'll be continuing with the rest of the series for sure since I've enjoyed the previous installments so much, but I hope this is just a fluke.

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite novel from Laura Crum yet, Slickrock blends action, adventure, stunning scenery, accurate and interesting animal elements, and that old keystone, romance. Set in the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains, protagonist Gail is out for the adventure of a lifetime on a solo horse packing trip that doesn't go quite according to plan. I tore through this book in no time and am intrigued to see what happens to Gail McCarthy next!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a recent book, but very well done and intrigues me about the rest of the series. Gail McCarthy is a horse vet in California who decides to fulfill a goal of taking a two week pack trip into the Sierras alone. The author does an excellent job with descriptions of the beautiful scenery and dealing with a largely solitary main character.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book. Reading another by the same author. Not one to do back-flips over, but a solid read. I question again, why, why add any really nasty swearing? This book had a mild one here, another here. And then drops two f-bombs in out of the blue. Say what? Yeah, only two. But still.

[Cindy B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting plot & characters, would've given 4 stars but the plot wandered a little (Waldens' Pond, "...wished she knew more cuss words"??). Overall a pleasant read though.