This is my first book of the Carson Stables Mystery series, but I do have the first one somewhere on my Kindle app. I remember being excited that someone was finally writing a cosy mystery series around horses.

Annie Carson is a Western rider from the Pacific Northwest, running a small ranch on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State (a truly beautiful part of the world). She is invited to attend a dressage show in Southern California, somewhere she's not been before. Dressage, although involving horses - and quite lovely ones - is not something Annie is at all familiar with.

She joins her friends Patricia and Liz, trainer and rider respectively, for the show and whilst she's there becomes involved in investigating a murder, which devolves into two! The dressage world portrayed is not entirely pleasant for her, with a couple of catty women, the not-quite-illegal abuse of a horse, and tough trainers surrounding her, despite the beautiful surroundings. She does, however, become firm friends with her hosts and the French chef. She also helps find homes for three rescued horses Patricia brought down from Washington, as she was involved in their initial rescue a few months prior.

I enjoyed this very much. I like Annie (and not just because of her name) and her passion for horses. She is a middle-aged woman who knows exactly who she is and is not apologetic for it. She made no TSTL decisions, which was refreshing and never found herself in immediate danger. I wasn't entirely convinced about the missing server branch of the plot, but the investigation was thorough and well plotted.

Now I'll have to go back and start from the first one!

This is my first time reading a book from Leigh Hearon and you can bet I will be buying all of the ones up to this point. I loved this book. It was a big longer than a normal cozy mystery, which was great. I loved the horses and learning all about dressage. I loved the characters.

Annie has been invited to a dressage event with her friend Patricia to help sell some horses that they have. Things get complicated when one of the buyers is killed in a freak auto accident. Annie is trying to learn about dressage so she doesn't fell like such an outcast. There are a couple of really nasty women there but for the most part they are all nice. She makes fast friends with the owners and the chef. On the morning of the event, the judge is murdered. She gets involved in trying to solve the murder. It's a great book and it was all but impossible to put down!

One of the best things about reading is learning about new worlds and so I loved this entertaining look at the world of horses and dressage, with a little bit of Hollywood glamor thrown in along with a thoroughly likeable lead character in Annie Carson. Annie is a horsewoman from Washington who gets talked into going to a dressage show in Southern California to try to sell three dressage horses she had rescued and is caring for. when she gets there she finds a lovely buyer for one of the horses but as the woman is leaving the mansion they are staying at, she is involved in a car accident which kills her and Annie who has been involved in previous murder investigations back home, is anxious to find out what happened to her. Annie is shocked at the nastiness of some of the dressage riders, all of whom are staying at the same house especially when she finds out the level of abuse some of them put their horses and their fellow competitors through. This was a puzzling mystery, with a great setting, interesting characters (both good and bad) and it gave me an education into the world of dressage competition. I highly recommend it.