A Borrowing of Bones by Paula Munier
Paula Munier's debut mystery, A Borrowing of Bones , has everything. It's fast-paced and intense, engrossing with an atmospheric setting in the Vermont woods. For those of us who read for character, though, it's outstanding. Mercy Carr, a veteran of two tours in Afghanistan, and State Game Warden Troy Warner, make an interesting pair of investigators. But, they're not on their own. They each have a rescue dog that is also a K9 working dog. Dog lovers will fall for Elvis, a bomb-sniffing Belgian Malinois, and Susie Bear, a Newfoundland retriever mix. Mercy and Elvis run almost every morning in the Vermont woods. Neither of them can forget Mercy's fiance and Elvis' handler, killed in Afghanistan. Now, the veteran and the dog who is suffering from PTSD need a quiet place to recover. But, just before the July 4 holidays destroy all peace in the area, Elvis noses the pair into trouble. All in one morning, he alerts for explosives, uncovers a human skeleton, and finds...