The Clincher
A Horseshoer Mystery
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4.0 • 65 Ratings
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- $23.99
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- $23.99
Publisher Description
The first book in the Horseshoer Mystery series by bestselling novelist Lisa Preston featuring farrier and amateur detective Rainy Dale, for fans of William Kent Kruger and Craig Johnson.
Rainy Dale is The Clincher, a twenty-something high school-dropout turned farrier (horseshoer) who is haunted by a secret she carries. Estranged from her California D-list actress momma and her ranch hand Texas daddy, she tracked down her childhood horse in small-town Oregon—a land full of cowboys and their horses—then stayed to build a life with her tools, steel, and forge. She's sleeping in a garage and trying not to fall for her landlord, the hapless and hopeful chef, Guy, who is determined to create the perfect soufflé while Rainy would prefer to just stuff her mouth with fuel for her physically demanding job.
As the new kid in town, Rainy has an uphill battle to prove herself in order to make a living by her trade, especially to her male clients who look down their noses at a female farrier. She finds herself in over her head, however, when one of her clients turns up dead, setting her up as both a suspect and a seeker of the truth. If she plans on setting down roots in her new town, Rainy will have to find the killer and clear her name. But it a country as wild as the mustangs that used to run free, finding the truth just might get her killed.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Horseshoer Rainy Dale, the narrator of this exuberantly quirky series opener from Preston (The Measure of the Moon), becomes a murder suspect after the police inform her that the client for whom she just did a job, Patsy-Lynn Harper, is dead. Recently settled in Cowdry, Ore., Rainy worries that her fraught past will be brought to light. With the help of her handsome landlord, chef Guy Kittredge, Rainy aims to suss out Patsy-Lynn's killer, but being the new girl in town isn't easy, and she encounters plenty of resistance. The tough and irascible but innately good-hearted Rainy, determined to rise above her past, is brought to vivid life by Preston, whose effortless prose immerses readers in rural Cowdry, populated by horses that are just as interesting as its human residents. Rainy likes horses and her dog, Charley, more than people, and her attempts to meet her "heart's new goal" to be nice offers genuinely funny moments, balancing the story's darker elements. The exciting, crowd-pleasing finale will leave readers breathless and eagerly awaiting Rainy's next adventure.)
