annieb123's Review of Home at Night (Mercy Carr Mystery, #5)

by Paula Munier

t’s Halloween in Vermont, winter is coming, and five humans, two dogs, and a cat are a crowd in Mercy Carr’s small cabin. She needs more room - and she knows just the place: Grackle Tree Farm, with thirty acres of woods and wetlands and a Victorian manor to die for. They say it’s haunted by the ghosts of missing children and lost poets and a murderer or two, but Mercy loves it anyway. Even when Elvis finds a dead body in the library.

There’s something about Grackle Tree Farm that people are willing to kill for - and Mercy needs to figure out what before they move in. A coded letter found on the victim points to a hidden treasure that may be worth a fortune - if it’s real. She and Captain Thrasher conduct a search of the old place - and end up at the wrong end of a Glock. A masked man shoots Thrasher, and she and Elvis must take him down before he murders them all. Under fire, she and Elvis manage to run the guy off, but not before they are wounded, leaving Thrasher fighting for his life in the hospital, Mercy on crutches, and Elvis on the mend.

Now it’s up to Mercy and Troy and the dogs to track down the masked murderer in a county overflowing with leaf peepers, Halloween revelers, and treasure hunters and bring him to justice before he strikes again and the treasure is lost forever, along with the good name of Grackle Tree Farm….

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Home at Night is the 5th mystery featuring Mercy Carr (and her combat trained dog Elvis) by Paula Munier. Released 17th Oct 2023 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 352 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. There's a 6th book in the series due out in 4th quarter 2024 from the same publisher.

This is a very well written mystery with an appealing and sympathetic MC who's a former combat expert out of the military and back in civilian life in Vermont. A local Victorian estate is coming up for sale and Mercy's determined to buy it since she's been in love with the place since her teenage years. Her enthusiasm isn't dampened when her former-bomb-dog Elvis finds a body in the library of the mansion during a showing. She and Troy (and the dogs) are soon on the trail of a killer, hidden treasure, skullduggery, and a historical long ago cold case.

The plotting is very tight and action driven. There's real tension in the story, and the characters are very well drawn, sympathetic, and believable. Although it's the 5th book in the series, the mystery and resolution are self contained in this volume. The characters have developed over the course of the series, so minor spoilers should be expected if read out of order.

Four stars. Well written, without major flaws. It would be a good choice for public library acquisition, home use, or a solid binge/buddy read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Reading updates

4 August, 2024: Started reading

4 August, 2024: Finished reading

4 August, 2024: Reviewed