Hoofprints

The pay's not great, but the work is rewarding, and Gail McCarthy is a horse vet with a hectic schedule-not to mention a dog, a horse, a house payment, and a new boy friend all clamoring for attention. Her life is more than a little disrupted when she discovers two dead bodies during the course of a routine call. Murder is upsetting enough, but when a midnight emergency turns into an attempt on her own life, Gail begins to see the quite beach side town of Santa Cruz as a rather frightening place. The cops are not too concerned with the situation, writing off the two deaths as the work of a vagrant and the attack on Gail as the work of an overactive imagination. Once again, the forthright young vet finds herself trying to catch a killer and restore some peace to her little world-before it's too late. Laura Crum has spent over twenty years training and showing western cowhorses, and her mystery series, featuring equine veterinarian Gail McCarthy, reflects her knowledge and love of horses. Laura still owns horses and rides regularly. She lives in the hills near California's Monterey Bay with her husband and son and a large menagerie of horses, dogs, cats and chickens. She be emailed and visited at lauracrum.com and blogs at equestrianink blogspot.