Book Review: The Hiding Place by Paula Munier

The Hiding Place
Author: Paula Munier
Series: A Mercy Carr Mystery (Book 3)
Publication: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (March 30, 2021)

Description: Mercy and Elvis are back in The Hiding Place, the most enthralling entry yet in USA Today bestselling Paula Munier's award-winning Mercy Carr mystery series. When the man who killed her grandfather breaks out of prison and comes after her grandmother, Mercy must unearth the long-buried scandals that threaten to tear her family apart. And she may have to do it without her beloved canine partner Elvis, if his former handler has his way…

Some people take their secrets with them to the grave. Others leave them behind on their deathbeds, riddles for the survivors to solve.

When her late grandfather’s dying deputy calls Mercy to his side, she and Elvis inherit the cold case that haunted him—and may have killed him. But finding Beth Kilgore 20 years after she disappeared is more than a lost cause. It’s a Pandora’s box releasing a rain of evil on the very people Mercy and Elvis hold most dear

The timing couldn’t be worse when the man who murdered her grandfather escapes from prison and a fellow Army vet turns up claiming that Elvis is his dog, not hers. With her grandmother Patience gone missing, and Elvis’s future uncertain, Mercy faces the prospect of losing her most treasured allies, the only ones she believes truly love and understand her.

She needs help, and that means forgiving Vermont Game Warden Troy Warner long enough to enlist his aid. With time running out for Patience, Mercy and Elvis must team up with Troy and his search-and-rescue dog Susie Bear to unravel the secrets of the past and save her grandmother—before it’s too late.

Once again, Paula Munier crafts a terrific mystery thriller filled with intrigue, action, resilient characters, the mountains of Vermont, and two amazing dogs.

My Thoughts: Mercy Carr is having a difficult time. She hasn't spoken to Game Warden Troy Warner since she learned that he was not divorced. Then a Vet comes from Missouri claiming that her dog Elvis really belonged to him. Then she gets a call from her grandfather's former deputy who is dying who wants to drop a cold case in her lap. And the man who murdered her grandfather escapes from prison and wants revenge on her grandmother for some reason. 

Meanwhile, Troy is trying to find out who murdered a wildlife biologist who was making a documentary about young moose. And he's trying to find a way to mend things with Mercy. 

When someone sets off a pipe bomb at Mercy's grandmother's house which would have killed her had Elvis not alerted and Mercy not managed to push her grandmother aside and cover her with her own body, Mercy has even more incentive to solve a number of mysteries that are surrounding her family. 

The story has lots of action from bombs to snowmobile chases. It also has lots of emotional intensity as Mercy tries to decide if Elvis would be better off if she let him go with his first handler. 

Fans of the series, and this is book three, will enjoy this episode. New readers will find an intriguing assortment of characters and the wonders of Vermont. 

Favorite Quote:

"Well, we know how subversive you librarians can be," said Mercy.

The librarian smiled. "Yes, we are subversive. Reading is subversive. What rebel there was inside Beth Kilgore was the reader in her."

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.