Josiah is happy for her pals Lady Elsmere and Shaneika Mary Todd when broodmare Jean Harlow gives birth to a male foal sired by Comanche. The owners of both horses have high hopes the foal will become a stakes winner—maybe even win the Kentucky Derby. The foal has a broad chest, indicating significant lung capacity—important for winning races, but just like his daddy, the foal is ebony with a bad attitude.

Josiah and Shaneika visit dam Jean Harlow early one morning and are shocked to find the prized foal is missing. They frantically search Lady Elsmere’s and Josiah’s farms without success. It’s urgent they find the foal fast as he is not yet weaned and is too young to be separated from his mother. Who would snatch the feisty foal from his mother’s care? And equally important, why?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

I’m famous for stumbling over dead bodies. It’s a curse.

“What have you got against rich people?” Asa giggled. “Only that I’m not one of them.”

The guard raised his thick eyebrows in need of a trim. They looked like two caterpillars mating on top of each eye.

I do what I have to do. Sometimes a cowboy in a white hat is not sufficient for what needs to be done. Sometimes it takes a dark knight with proficiency for violence. Know what I mean?

My Review:

This amusing contemporary cozy tale was quite the conundrum and despite conjuring multiple theories as I read, I would never have come up with the end result as written by this conniving wordsmith. The mystery was well-plotted and an interesting one to follow. I was invested in the story and worried for all involved.

I enjoy Ms. Keam’s complex characters as they are uniquely quirky, well-nuanced, at least a little bit sketchy, and all realistically fractured. Being somewhat new to the series, this was my introduction to the character of Asa whose story threads intrigued, compelled, and had more twists than a snake’s trail. My fingers are crossed she shows up again and again in future installments.

About the Author

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One thing Miss Abigail loves to do as an author is to write real people and events into her stories. “I am a student of history and love to insert historical information into my mysteries. My goal is to entertain my readers, but if they learn a little something along the way—well, then we are both happy. I certainly learn a lot from my research, and I hope my readers come away with a new appreciation of beekeeping from my Josiah Reynolds Mysteries.”