Cynthia Baxter, Lead a Horse to Murder

Cynthia Baxter, Lead a Horse to Murder - On Long Island's Gold Coast, veterinarian Dr. Jessica Popper goes to Heatherfield Estates to tend to an injured polo horse Braveheart. Though the barn manager Johnny Ray is nasty, Jessica checks the leg and concludes the steed suffers from inflammation. Jessica explains this to owner Andrew Mac Mackinnon when they hear a scream. They look outside to see a rider on the ground near a horse. Everyone races outside to find polo star Eduardo Garcia from Argentina dead.

Though she goes about her business tending to ailing animals, Jessica has concerns over the death of one of the "Argies" as he was too good a horseman to fall like that, especially since she saw how Eduardo and his horse seemed like one creature. She begins to make inquiries, not realizing that a vet can get into deep trouble when she plays sleuth.

Jessica is a terrific lead character and fans will appreciate the descriptions of her work with animals, for instance helping King the dog with bloat or getting her two canines to heel (this reviewer is envious as my two dogs get me to heel). However, on the other hand, readers will question her lack of horse sense by getting involved in the homicide, though the aesthetic seamless perfection of steed and rider she witnessed before Eduardo fell motivates her. Still, LEAD A HORSE TO MURDER is a fabulous, veterinarian, amateur sleuth tale that the sub-genre audience will immensely enjoy while seeking out Cynthia Baxter's delightful previous works (see PUTTING ON THE DOG and DEAD CANARIES CAN'T SING) as this is a pure gold mystery.

Bantam, Jun 2005, $6.99

ISBN: 0553586432

Harriet Klausner