Review: enjoyable investigative whodunit
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 25, 2012
In Georgia, Merry Abbott and her friend Peggy Caldwell are driving the first cross country carriage during a fog when a bull horn and a banner spook their two horses Golden Boy and Ned.  Their carriage ends into nearby water, but they and the horses are rescued.  Since nasty bully Giles Raleigh and his victimized daughter Dawn were to be first, the assumption is he was the target.  Soon afterward, Merry sees Giles' four horses pulling his carriage without a driver.  She quickly finds his corpse with a cable spike in his neck.  Sheriff Stan Nordstrom leads the investigation in which Merry is a prime suspect.  Peggy calls GBI agent Geoff Wheeler, who worked the homicide of Merry's dad (see The Merry Abbot Carriage-Driving Mystery).  Attracted to Merry, Geoff rushes to the crime scene where Stan welcomes him.On the way back to their farm near Missy Creek, someone runs Merry and Peggy off the road.  When she checks on her horses, someone tries to kill Merry.  She and Geoff realize that Giles' killer thinks she can identify him or her.  As Merry hosts an event, a predator stalks her.Although the killer should have realized Merry could not identify the murderer as the cops would have arrested the culprit, the latest Merry mayhem is an enjoyable investigative whodunit.  The fun storyline is leisurely-paced with insight into the cross country carriage shows nicely enhancing the mystery.  Readers will enjoy this warm lighthearted romp (unless you're the victim) as Carolyn McSparren continues to spin Mossy Creek into a radically different direction yet contains the elements of friendship that make the community a delightful place to visit.Harriet Klausner