Horses

Clara McKenna: Murder on Mistletoe Lane

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Stella & Lyndy #5

Murder on Mistletoe Lane is the fifth book in Clara McKenna’s series about a newly-married couple, Stella Kendrick and Viscount “Lyndy” Lyndhurst, set in the New Forest region of England in the early 1900s.  Lyndy is the son of an impoverished aristocrat, and Stella is a wealthy American who grew up on a horse farm in Kentucky.  Their marriage was arranged by their fathers and, happily, they fell in love not long after they met.  But Lyndy’s mother, Lady Atherly, has always disapproved of Stella and her American ways, even though she needed Stella’s money to make improvements to the crumbling family estate, Morrington Hall.  Stella and Lyndy share a love of horses, and some of the best scenes in the book are the ones where Stella takes her beloved mare, Tully, for a ride.  Lady Atherly sees that her son and Stella are in love, and recently the two women have come to an uneasy truce, but they are still far from being friends. read more

Margaret Mizushima: Standing Dead

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Book eight of this strong, enjoyable and very readable series finds Mattie Wray on the precipice of avenging the family trauma that made her childhood an extremely difficult one.  Two books back (Hanging Falls) Mattie at last reunited with her long lost sister; in the previous installment, Striking Range, she reunites with her mother.  As this book opens, she and her sister are heading to Mexico to see their mother together, but when they arrive, she and her husband have vanished.

There’s quite a bit of backstory to wade through at the beginning of the book.  To set the stage for a new reader, Mattie is an officer in the Timber Creek, Colorado, police department, where she works with her K-9 companion, Robo, who always has a key role in the stories.  Mattie is involved (and on the verge of marrying) the local vet, Cole, and his veterinary work and family are part of the strong backstory of the novels that ground the books, making them pack an emotional and relatable punch. read more

Clara McKenna: Murder at Morrington Hall

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This book will be available May 28, 2019.

The first book in the Stella and Lyndy series, Murder at Morrington Hall, is not your typical rich-American-heiress-marries-broke-English-aristocrat story. Kentuckian Stella Kendrick loves horses more than anything in the world. It’s 1905, and she’s excited to journey with her father to deliver thoroughbreds to an English Earl. Upon arrival at Morrington Hall, the Earl and his Countess are appalled at Stella’s straightforward America manners and her lack of understanding of their aristocratic titles and way of life. Their son, Viscount “Lyndy” Lundhurst is utterly charmed. read more