Review - Horse of a Different Killer

I reviewed the first book in this series, Woof at the Door (click here), the second book A Tiger's Tale (click here), an author interview (click here), and a guest post (click here.)  Today I am reviewing the third in the series.  Let's dive back into the Call of the Wilde mystery series.

 

Author: Laura Morrigan

Copyright: March 2015 (Berkley) 304 pgs

Series: 3rd in Call of the Wilde Mystery series

Sensuality: mild kissing and situations

Mystery Sub-genre: Amateur Sleuth

Main Characters: Grace Wilde, Animal behaviorist who speaks with animals

telepathically

Setting: Modern day, Jacksonville Florida

Obtained Through: Publisher for honest review

Grace’s abusive ex-brother-in-law, Anthony Ortega, dies under suspicious circumstances and her sister is taken in for questioning. Grace been getting calls for Ortega for what purpose she never found out, but to clear Emma, she is going to find out.  She finds out from Ortega's supermodel girlfriend, Jasmine, that he was likely concerned about a thoroughbred Friesian he was buying her but that went missing.  Grace believes if she finds the horse, she will somehow clear Emma from a murder charge.  Two subplots figure into the story, Detective Boyle is convinced Emma killed her abusive ex-husband, and also believes Grace and maybe Kai are involved with the mob from the last adventure.  Secondly, the mob hit-man, Logan, from the last book is contacting Grace and warning her she is in danger as she searches for the missing horse, complicating her relationship with Kai.

Grace has spunk and determination but seems less clear thinking than in prior books.  I felt she was a touch ditzy in this outing.  Sergeant Kai Duncan is dealing with finding out Grace communicates with animals in a more special way than he first thought, and trying to not be overbearing in keeping her safe.  Emma, her kind and capable sister who had been abused by Ortega, is now accomplished in martial arts which raises the question, could she have killed him?  Will, childhood friend and their lawyer, is a sheer delight.  Logan is the dark, dangerous mob killer that calls Grace "Sweetness".  Make no mistake, he is more than a "bad boy" persona, though he does have his own sense of justice... as long as it doesn't conflict with his job.

A few beach scenes interspersed with rural settings provides a good feeling of remote and isolated landscapes as the story unfolds.  The plot was a little disjointed until the last bit where the significance of the horse to the murder was revealed.  Otherwise, it seemed a stretch that the missing horse was such a lynchpin in the case and the time and effort to find it seemed misplaced when Emma sat in jail.  The pacing was fairly consistent, keeping my interest, particularly with Logan's mysterious appearances.

The climax involves a barn in the middle of nowhere, two experienced killers, the missing  Fresian, a storm, and a goat.  It was well done and had a touch of cat-and-mouse maneuvering that delivered great tension.

I enjoyed this book in the series, although I felt it was not quite as riveting as the previous two.  Still, it delivered an entertaining mystery with a surprise or two that kept the pages turning.

Rating: An enjoyable read, good but not stellar.  Fans of the series won't want to miss it, but best to not start the series with this book if you are new to it.

Review - A Tiger'sTale

I reviewed the first book in this series, Woof at the Door (click here), author interview (click here), and a guest post (click here.)  Today I am reviewing the second in the series.  Let's see how well the second book did in the Call of the Wilde mystery series.

Author: Laura Morrigan

Copyright: May 2014 (Berkley Publishing) 337 pgs

Series: 2nd in Call of the Wilde Mystery series

Sensuality: n/a

Mystery Sub-genre: Thriller

Main Characters: Grace Wilde, Animal behaviorist who speaks with animals telepathically

Setting: Modern day, Jacksonville Florida

Obtained Through: Publisher for honest review

Boris the Siberian tiger has witnessed the kidnapping of a teenaged volunteer at an animal rescue facility. The normally mellow tiger gets into attack mode and Grace is called.  She finds why Boris is so upset and realizes that the volunteer has not been reported missing.  She jumps in to find this missing girl and gets more than she imagined with mobsters and hit-men.

Grace Wilde is an interesting main character with spunk and determination with a reasonable manner.  Sergeant Kai Duncan is the romantic interest on the police force who facing Grace's talent. The policeman-as-boyfriend has become a common trope, but in-spite of that trend it is okay in this series.  Not great, but okay. Grace's sister Emma is a party planner and is my favorite fictional sister -- just saying! She is gutsy and loyal.  Grace's closest buddy, Moss, her half wolf is probably the star of the series, and in this book is challenged with a task.

The plot was interesting in that Grace is the only person who thinks a crime has been committed, and she can't openly say the tiger witnessed it.  The story unfolds with revelations and kept my interest throughout.  The story climax had plenty of tension and action and was the frosting on the cake. 

An exciting follow-up to the stellar debut novel for this series, setting this up for a solid series that appeals to more than animal lovers.

Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now and put this author on your watch list

Review - Woof at the Door

This is a debut novel...from a debut author as well.  She grew up on a Costa Rican coffee farm and at one point was a volunteer at a zoo, helping out with everything from “waste management” to teaching an elephant how to paint.  I am sure her animal experience helps in writing this exciting new series.  

Author: Laura Morrigan

Copyright: July 2013 (Berkley) 304 pgs

Series: 1st in A Call of the Wilde Mysteries

Sensuality: n/a

Mystery Sub-genre: Amateur Sleuth

Main Characters: Grace Wilde, Animal behaviorist who speaks with animals telepathically

Setting: Modern day, Jacksonville Florida

Obtained Through: Publisher for honest review


When she’s not helping out at the zoo by comforting agitated lemurs, she’s listening to the woes of annoyed house pets. Grace Wilde's family all know about her ability to psychically communicate with animals, but otherwise she doesn't share how she does the amazing with wild and domestic animals. She is at the zoo getting a paniced lemur that escaped its enclosure off her head and back in its place, when she gets called by the police.  There is a murder of the a high profile football player for the Jacksonville Jaguars and son to the Governor and his Doberman Jax is the only witness to the murder.  Grace is called in because the Doberman is acting out and aggressive...until Grace gets there and he rolls over.  Grace takes him into her care to help him through his trauma.  But the real problem is how will Grace tell the cop that it’s Jax who shares what happened without sounding crazy? So Grace follows the Doberman's sketchy memories to track down the killer.  The main suspect is another football player, LaBryce Walker, that Grace knows because she has trained his real-live Jaguar named Charm.  Grace is positive that he did not kill his friend, no matter if they had an argument.

I really enjoyed the main character, Grace Wilde. She handles the animal communication much better than interactions with people.  She was burned before when attempting to tell a boyfriend about her skill so she is very reluctant to tell anybody outside her family and life-long close friend Wes.  This case has her rethinking that plan.  The romantic interest is... yep - a cop, Sergeant Kai Duncan.  He is supposed to be a crime scene unit member, but he seemed more like a regular cop in the course of the story.  This was perhaps the rough spot since every amateur sleuth seems to date a cop anymore.  Kai is at least an interesting cop, but is far too distracted by Grace.  Grace's sister Emma is a party planner handling high society of the area.  I think she is the surprise stand out character.  I enjoyed their close relationship and Emma's shrewd insights. I am looking forward to more of Emma in the following novels.  Grace's best friend, Wes only made a short appearance, but his character has lots of potential as well.  Last but not least is Grace's closest buddy, Moss, her half wolf companion.  I loved Moss who is a devoted wolf/dog pet.

The setting in Jacksonville was highlighted with nice beach scenes occasionally and some posh mansions.  But otherwise it is just backdrop.  The plotting had some good twists and kept me turning the pages.  I had my suspicions on who-donit, but I was surprised by a few of the turns the story took.  The climax got the blood pumping - my favorite. The wrap-up helped set up the next novel nicely.

This debut novel is actually one of the best involving communicating with animals I have read.  Not too cutesy, it is a smidgen more than a cozy with an interesting main character that has some brains.  This series is off to a good start.

Ratings:  Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now and put this author on your watch list