Stella & Lyndy #7
Murder At Cottonwood Creek Is the seventh book in Clara McKenna’s series set in the early 20th century, about Viscount “Lyndy” Lyndhurst, a British aristocrat, and Stella, his American-born wife, the daughter of a Kentucky horse farmer who was murdered in an earlier book. It was an arranged marriage at first, but the couple grew to love each other. A shared love of horses certainly helped. This book takes place outside the series’ usual setting of the New Forest region of England, as Stella and Lyndy travel to a ranch in Montana, owned by her mother’s second husband, Ned Smith. There, Lyndy’s father, Lord Atherly, pursues his passion for fossil-hunting, as he works with a paleontologist, Professor Gridley, to search for the fossils of prehistoric horses. Lyndy, a fan of dime novels, is excited about seeing the “Wild West,” even though he is disappointed that the herds of buffalo have largely died out. Stella is glad to finally meet her stepfather and twelve-year-old brother. She has recently settled her father’s estate in Kentucky and brought thoroughbred horses to the ranch.
Things go wrong from the very beginning, as Lord Atherly goes missing when Stella and Lyndy first arrive. It turns out he has just wandered off, since he is unused to the vast sweeps of land in Montana. But then the man who guards the site of the dig at night, Franz “Harp” Richter (the nickname comes from the harmonica, or mouth harp, he plays) is found dead in a creek bed. The coroner insists the death is an accident, and the inquest court quickly agrees. But the sheriff is not so sure, and he allows Stella and Lyndy to investigate in secret. The coroner is the richest man in town, and it seems everyone is in debt to him. He also has political ambitions, and he and the sheriff belong to different parties. The two men hate each other, and Stella and Lyndy are caught up in their rivalry. Of course, they are sure the death was no accident.
Fossils begin disappearing from the dig, and Professor Gridley’s notebook is stolen. The professor suspects a rival paleontologist who is camped nearby and who published Gridley’s paper as his own. There are several other suspects, including Gridley’s assistant Terence, who is rude to everyone, a reporter who keeps showing up when he’s least wanted, and a female photographer who carries a gun in her handbag. Just when Stella and Lyndy think they’ve figured out who the murderer was, things take another turn. Terence, who seemed like the prime suspect for a while, ends up dead as well, and once again the coroner declares it an accident, even though there is even more reason to think his death was murder.
Soon after Terence’s death, Lord Atherly goes missing again, and this time the professor does, as well. Unfortunately, the sheriff thinks they disappeared because they were responsible for Terence’s death. Stella and Lyndy are sure Lord Atherly and the professor had nothing to do with it, of course, and they decide to find the two men, and prove they’re not guilty of murder by finding the real killer. Their investigation takes many twists and turns along the way. Every time they decide a certain suspect is the killer, that person is ruled out. Meanwhile, Stella’s stepfather threatens to shut down the dig if the killer isn’t found soon, because the murders will ruin his ranch’s reputation. I will not give away any spoilers, but the solution proves shocking, with implications for future books.
I enjoyed this book very much, even though it takes place outside the series’ usual setting. I enjoyed reading about the search for fossils in the early 20th century, and about the species of prehistoric horses the characters find, even though, as McKenna’s author’s note explains, some of the species weren’t found in that area until much later. Stella shares her father-in-law’s passion for paleontology, and so does her mother. Lyndy is less enthusiastic about it, but I think his character develops more in this book than any of the others. He experiences culture shock and finds out his privileged background counts for nothing in Montana, where people treat him just like anyone else. He begins to realize what Stella went through when she first came to England. Lyndy also begins to learn to restrain his hot temper, which has gotten him into trouble before, landing him in prison, accused of a murder he didn’t commit, in the previous book.
The most sympathetic character in the book, as in the whole series, is Stella. She has a natural compassion and empathy, and a love of animals, especially horses. I missed her beloved mare, Tully, in this book, but Stella couldn’t bring her from England. Instead, she finds another horse she loves. I also enjoyed the scenes between Stella and her mother. They had been estranged for a long time, because Stella’s mother had gone off to start a new family, but clearly they still love each other and enjoy being together. I did not miss Stella’s domineering mother-in-law, Lady Atherly, even though we are reminded of her because she keeps sending telegrams, wanting to know if Stella is any closer to producing an heir. The couple’s childlessness is a thread that has run through the last few books, and it is not clear whether we will have a resolution soon. This is the first time, though, that Stella really seems worried about it.
I highly recommend this book, and the whole series, especially to fans of Tasha Alexander and Dianne Freeman, who have series set in a similar time. Freeman’s series also features a couple where the husband is a British aristocrat and the wife is an American heiress, even though Freeman’s series has more humor than McKenna’s. With McKenna’s series, I don’t think it’s necessary to start from the beginning. (I didn’t.). This book could certainly be read on its own, as it has a different setting from the others, and it gives enough background information on the characters that the reader will not be confused. I look forward to reading more of Stella’s and Lyndy’s adventures in the future, especially after the new development that I will not give away. — Vicki Kondelik