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A Borrowing of Bones

A Mercy Carr Mystery

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A Borrowing of Bones

By: Paula Munier
Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney
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About this listen

The first in a gripping new series by Paula Munier, A Borrowing of Bones is full of complex twists, introducing a wonderful new voice for mystery listeners and dog lovers alike.   

Grief and guilt are the ghosts that haunt you when you survive what others do not....

After their last deployment, when she got shot, her fiancé, Martinez, got killed, and his bomb-sniffing dog, Elvis, got depressed, soldier Mercy Carr and Elvis were both sent home, her late lover’s last words ringing in her ears: “Take care of my partner.”  

Together, the two former military police - one 29-year-old two-legged female with wounds deeper than skin and one handsome five-year-old four-legged Malinois with canine PTSD - march off their grief mile after mile in the beautiful remote Vermont wilderness.  

Even on the Fourth of July weekend, when all of Northshire celebrates with fun and frolic and fireworks, it’s just another walk in the woods for Mercy and Elvis - until the dog alerts to explosives and they find a squalling baby abandoned near a shallow grave filled with what appear to be human bones. 

US Game Warden Troy Warner and his search-and-rescue Newfoundland, Susie Bear, respond to Mercy’s 9-1-1 call, and the four must work together to track down a missing mother, solve a cold-case murder, and keep the citizens of Northshire safe on potentially the most incendiary Independence Day since the American Revolution.  

It’s a call to action Mercy and Elvis cannot ignore, no matter what the cost.

©2018 Paula Munier (P)2018 Macmillan Audio Detective Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Crime Haunted Exciting Suspense Murder

Critic reviews

“A compelling mix of hard edges and easy charm - I loved this book.” (Lee Child, number-one New York Times best-selling author)

"Finally, a suspense novel that combines my two loves: a thrilling police procedural, assisted by two fabulous working dogs. A one-sit read that will make you happy you did." (Lisa Gardner, number-one New York Times best-selling author)

"Listeners are treated to a warm and realistic portrayal of life with a smart dog along with a winding story of danger and suspense. [Narrator Kathleen McInerney] expertly sets the pace in scene after scene, driving listeners ever closer to the complicated answers at the heart of this mystery." (AudioFile Magazine)
All stars
Most relevant
well thought out, strong likeable characters. I love Elvis and Suzie Bear. I look forward to the next book dropping

highly enjoyable

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I bought this book because the synopsis was so promising.
However, I find it has lots of 'repetition' - her loss over her dead lover and Elvis's previous owner - while sad, it gets a bit tedious after a while.
Also, too many ‘you’re tired, I’m ok, you’re injured, I’m ok, you need rest, I’m ok, you need to go to the hospital, I’m ok'.
What saves the book are the real heroes - the two dogs.
I also think the narrator is all wrong for a book such as this. She could have salvaged it, but her ‘hesitant' delivery was not up to it.
I’m not sure if I’ll continue with the series, but perhaps the second book will be better paced. While I love the dogs, the narrator is another matter.
I’ve put the second book on my wish list, but not sure if I’ll go through buying it.

OK but…

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First in a gripping new mystery series about a retired MP and her bomb-sniffing dog who become embroiled in an investigation in the beautiful Vermont wilderness
It may be the Fourth of July weekend, but for retired soldiers Mercy Carr and Belgian Malinois Elvis, it’s just another walk in the remote Lye Brook Wilderness—until the former bomb-sniffing dog alerts to explosives and they find a squalling baby abandoned near a shallow grave filled with what appear to be human bones. U.S. Game Warden Troy Warner and his search-and rescue Newfoundland Susie Bear respond to Mercy’s 911 call, and the four must work together to track down a missing mother, solve a cold-case murder, and keep the citizens of Vermont safe on potentially the most incendiary Independence Day since the American Revolution.

A Borrowing of Bones is full of complex twists and real details about search-and-rescue dog training that Paula learned through the training of her own dog. With its canine sidekicks and rich, dramatic story, this debut will be a must-have for mystery fans.

My comments:

This was a wonderful 1st book in this promising series. The mystery had suspense and twists throughout which meant I was never sure where it was going. When I thought I'd worked out who the killers were more was revealed. I did not work out who the killers were at all and every time I suspected somebody another plot twist occurred making me rethink everything. When I heard that the Author had experience with a dog performing search and rescue this did not surprise me as from the level of detail it was clear the author knew about the subject first hand rather than just doing research.

I loved the 4 main characters in the novel, Mercy, Troy, Elvis and Susie Bear. Mercy especially grew throughout the book after losing her lover and Elvis losing his handler the way they started to learn to work together as a team was amazing. Troy and Susie Bear were a great support to Mercy and Elvis helping them out where possible. The banter between Mercy and Troy was also funny and all 4 made a really good team. All 4 of them were committed to finding out what happened and keeping the town safe. What I especially liked was the way the two main characters put the dogs first and saw them as part of their team and always refered to them as we. I also liked the fact that the dogs were just as important to the investigation as the humans and both dogs played a huge parts.

I loved learning more about what a dog like Elvis does in the army setting and how important they are to their handler. I can't wait to read the rest of this series and learning more about Mercy, Troy, Elvis and Susie Bear and them working together to solve more chrime. I will be reading the rest of the series without a doubt and just like Timber creak the other series i've started these are two series I'll be following from now on until they finish which I hope is not for a while as I really love the potential in both of these series.

Excelent start to this series.

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I liked the story, especially the dogs. However, a few things spoilt it for me. The big thing that got to me is the thieves rolling up oil paintings. This would ruin, maybe destroy an oil painting. The paint would crack and flake. There were a couple errors, e.g. both main characters shoot the same tire on a vehicle but they were on opposite sides. Also, the narrator's voice is a bit too soft for a character who has been through the things the main character has. The narrator needs to develop a more believable voice for Mercy. Hopefully, the next book will be an improvement.

Good For A First Book

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most enjoyable tale with lots of intrigue and action and every hook tou could think of. Will look out for more by this author

unusual abd captivating

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