This is what I call a character driven mystery/thriller because I love all of the characters and see how each one makes this story so much better. The canine handlers must join together to find an elderly grandmother while working through their personal problems at the same time. The pursuit of an escaped convict adds tension to an already tense situation. Another great book in this great series.

Another winner for this great new series. I really enjoyed this book (#3, even when I read it out of order). Read #4 earlier this year.

Retired MP Mercy Carr and her bomb-sniffing dog Elvis are back for the 3rd instalment of the series. Mercy visits a dying deputy sheriff who gives her some information on a cold case that her late grandfather worked on. Mercy and Troy, a Vermont game warden and his search and rescue dog Susie Bear, find themselves involved in several cases that may be linked to the cold case. The man who killed her grandfather escapes from prison, a murder and an explosion and a snowmobile chase through the Vermont winter, keep the story moving at a quick pace. Great characters, plot and dogs! Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hey folks, daddy Steve with some doggiebook talk. After reading the first two books in the Mercy and Elvis series by Paula Munier, I get to the third one that just came out this Summer, The Hiding Place.

I’ve really fallen in love with the work of this author on this series with the first two books and this book only added a layer to Mercy’s back story by having her visit her sheriff grandfather’s old deputy.

Once again, there’s lots of Elvis action as well as some form other dogs, including newfie mutt search and rescue dog Susie Bear.

As with the first two, this is a most recommended read. Recommend starting the series from the beginning actually.

Huge thanks to NetGalley who provided a free eBook advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. This is as honest as it gets...

#Malcolmstories #doggiebooks
#TheHidingPlace #NetGalley


Link to my review of A Borrowing of Bones
https://www.facebook.com/152390402036938/posts/840362473239724/

Link to my review of Blind Search
https://www.facebook.com/152390402036938/posts/840365453239426/

I'm so happy I found this series. It just keeps getting even more amazing with each book. I love that the dogs are also like main characters just like their humans.

This is the 3rd in Paula Munier's mystery series starring former Army MP Mercy Carr and her bomb-sniffing dog Elvis, also a war veteran.

On his deathbed, an old partner of her sheriff grandfather tells Mercy to 'Find the girl' and leaves her cold case files. Next, the convict who killed her grandfather, has escaped and had threatened her grandmother. Mercy has to dig into her own family history to find out why.

Of course, Mercy and Elvis solve both the cold and modern cases. Though I like all the characters in this engaging series, the dogs do tend to steal the show.

4.5 stars = I loved it! Would re-read.

Another excellent mystery starring Mercy and Elvis. The characters in this series are stellar - both the human characters and the animal ones. I was able to puzzle out most of the mystery which was satisfying. The author did a great job of refreshing my memory about the conflict at the end of book 2 so I didn't have to go back and re-read it so I wasn't lost. I started reading, and it felt like coming home to familiar people and places. This is a must-read series for me.

I usually love books with working dogs, but for some reason this one failed to make me believe in the situations or the characters. It was quick and entertaining, but didn't feel genuine.

Do you like books that feature dogs? I sure do! I read the third book in the Mercy Carr mystery series, The Hiding Place, in one day! It features Mercy, a former army MP, and her military dog Elvis. Their backstory is one of overcoming tragedy. This book can be read as a standalone but I would recommend the series so you can see the characters grow.

Mercy and Elvis make a great pair in solving crimes alongside Vermont game warden Troy Warner. Mercy is tenacious at figuring out a puzzle and never hesitates to follow a lead. Elvis is fiercely loyal to Mercy and loves to "work." In The Hiding Place, the story deals with a 20-year-old cold case involving a former sheriff, Mercy's grandfather. The outdoors play a part in these books and add another challenge. This was a multi-layered mystery with characters who have depth. Mercy in particular faces a tough decision regarding Elvis.

I enjoy the series for the Vermont setting, the mysteries and how Mercy puts the pieces together, as well as seeing character growth. If you enjoy mysteries I would recommend the Mercy Carr series. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a gifted e-copy of this book.

The Hiding Place by Paula Munier Mercy and Elvis are involved in a Cold case, missing persons, escaped prisoners, murder,emotional trauma, relationship issues ,in the third book in the Mercy Carr series. Fast paced and engrossing story with personable, relatable characters and charming, hard working dogs is very entertaining read. First book that I have read in this series and definitely will be looking to read the previous books.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

THE HIDING PLACE by Paula Munier is the third title in the best-selling and award-winning Mercy Carr mystery series, but it was a first for me. I enjoyed trying to puzzle out the mystery involving former military police soldier Mercy and her canine companion, Elvis. The story is set in Vermont and features another dog – Susie Bear – who works with game warden Troy Warner, a sometimes romantic interest for Mercy. This complex adventure involved the long ago disappearance of two young women (Beth Kilgore and Ruby Rucker) and the present day escape of the man convicted of killing Mercy's grandfather, plus the kidnapping of a family member and the gruesome death of a young biologist. There is quite a bit to unpack, including Mercy's efforts to adjust to civilian life. In fact, she shares a fable about a prisoner being locked up with a snake and concludes, "It's a little lame. ... But the moral of the story is good. A lot of what we're afraid of is just rope – not snakes." Quite popular with readers who will look forward to Mercy's growth and escapades in future series entries, THE HIDING PLACE received a starred review from Library Journal.

This is a favorite new series. The books feature Mercy Carr and her military dog, Elvis, who have come home to Vermont to nurse their wounds (and their PTSD) after losing the love of both their lives, Martinez, in Afghanistan. Both have reacclimated to a degree, though Mercy has a hard time with trust and tends to hold herself back when it comes to relationships. While Mercy is slightly on the outs with her perhaps boyfriend, game warden Troy, her life is a full one. She’s taken in a teenage mother, her baby, and her boyfriend; she has a tight relationship with her grandmother, Patience, a vet; and she and Elvis are now working as a complete team.

Into every life a little rain must fall, however, and someone turns up claiming that Elvis is his, and that Martinez had only had him on loan. He wants him back. This is a shadow throughout the book as the man tells her Elvis’ life with her is too dangerous. He has a point - in every book so far, Elvis faces a near death situation. It’s troubling Mercy, but she’s quickly drawn into an investigation when a pipe bomb explodes on her grandmother’s doorstep, sending both women to the hospital.

In the course of her investigation (she’s being monitored by Troy on instructions from his boss), she discovers a body. It’s added to the recently discovered body of a scientist who had been studying moose. There’s also an old mystery to be solved, perhaps tying into the new one, of a long missing woman. These threads are seamlessly integrated, and the book has a wonderful storytelling rhythm.

There are several things that set these books apart. While it was more of a feature in the first book, Mercy is a huge fan of Shakespeare, and there are a generous number of quotes scattered through the books, mostly advancing the plot. The setting is a character – Vermont in all it’s glory and nature in all its brutality as well as its beauty is beautifully defined and described. And Elvis, the dog, is a nicely nuanced character but he’s still very much a dog. He’s not anthropomorphized. His skillset (he alerts to dead bodies, guns and bombs) often comes in useful.

These are action packed novels, and Mercy takes a beating as much as V.I. Warshawski ever did, refusing to let herself heal, instead hurling herself back into action at every opportunity. As in V.I.’s case, this involves a giant amount of stubbornness, but also a giant amount of smarts. Mercy is an excellent detective even though she’s not really on the police force in any way. She’s simply a retired military officer who seems to be discovered by local crime. I’m thinking that thread may need to be resolved to a degree in future novels.

This is a compelling, well written story, and the characters of both Mercy and Elvis are quickly developing into classics. I haven’t cried so much at the end of a book in a long time. I was pretty sure what was going to happen, but I cried anyway, which is a great endorsement (in my opinion). An author who can make you invested enough in a character to sob about her situation is a talented one. This is a wonderful new series.

https://auntagathas.com/aa/2021/04/01/paula-munier-the-hiding-place/

Mercy Carr gets plenty of bad news to start off the latest book. George Rucker, who murdered Mercy's grandfather Sheriff Red O’Sullivan, has escaped from prison. Rucker stated that he is coming after Red’s widow and Mercy's beloved grandmother Patience. Meanwhile, former deputy August Pitts is dying. Pitts and Mercy's grandfather were haunted with a cold case about a young woman named Beth who disappeared in 1999. Pitts gives Mercy his notes and case files and begs her to find the girl. Mercy also ends up "rescuing" Golden Retriever Sunny from Pitts' uninterested sister.

Another subplot involves Mercy's estranged boyfriend game warden Troy and search dog Susie Bear who find wildlife biologist and filmmaker Cory dead in the snowy Vermont woods, naked except for his socks. Is this death somehow connected with Mercy's investigation? Then Elvis' former trainer/handler Hallett returns and wants Elvis back. With both Patience and Elvis in danger, Mercy is determined to save them both.

This was another thrilling read in the Mercy Carr and Elvis mystery series.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and Minotaur Books with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

The Hiding Place by Paula Munier—Must Love Dogs

The Hiding Place by Paula Munier is the third installment in the Mercy Carr Mystery series. I haven’t read the first two books in the series, but when I started seeing this novel popping up on the crime fiction websites I visit regularly, the buzz intrigued me, so I requested a copy to discover for myself what all the excitement was about.

The granddaughter of a former sheriff, Mercy Carr, pays a visit to her late grandfather’s dying deputy, August Pitts, at his request. Pitts asks Mercy to investigate the case of a missing girl that neither he nor her grandfather had solved. Mercy is determined to work the cold case once she learns the details surrounding it from her grandmother, Patience. Eventually, her sidekick, Troy Warner, a Vermont game warden helps her with the investigation. Mercy has developed a reputation for solving mysteries that have baffled local law enforcement.

Mercy is an interesting character, a former U.S. Army MP who saw action in Afghanistan who is still struggling to come to terms with the death of her fiance, another soldier and a dog handler killed there. Honoring his last request, Mercy adopted her late fiance’s work dog, a Belgian shepherd named Elvis, who figures prominently in the book. The novel predominantly unfolds from Mercy’s point of view. She’s still living in her childhood hometown in Vermont. After reading the synopsis, I assumed Mercy was a private investigator, but after reading the book discovered she is more a Jessica Fletcher like amateur detective.

Mercy’s personal life is a bit of a mess. She is struggling not only with her fiance’s death, but with the fallout from her experiences in Afghanistan as a soldier. Both her parents are lawyers, and her somewhat over bearing mother had expected Mercy to follow her parents into law, but Mercy had no interest in becoming an attorney and intends to blaze her own trail. This is also a source of friction. Her relationship with Troy Warner which had previously leaned more toward romance than only friendship is strained. But a part of her wants to forgive him for a lie of omission, and to further explore the possibilities.

What began as an inquiry into the cold case becomes more complicated when the man who killed Mercy’s grandfather escapes from prison and then someone leaves a bomb on her grandmother’s doorstep that explodes and injures both Mercy and her her grandmother, the local veterinarian. A fresh murder occurs and a decades old murder is uncovered and for Mercy and Troy, the present and past intersect in ways they could not have imagined.

Munier puts us occasionally in the heads of other characters–usually significant ones to give us some hints or clues to help us work out the whodunit.

There are a few undercurrents simmering this book, including themes around grief, loss, love, and trust.

I enjoyed this novel even though I hadn’t read the first two books in the series. Munier has given us some interesting and likeable characters in Mercy, as well as her sidekick Troy, her grandmother Patience, her mother Grace and a host of dogs including Elvis.

The Hiding Place is a traditional mystery with a well-crafted plot, a very conservative story featuring a comfortable social structure (a small town in Vermont), which is shockingly disrupted by a crime. An amateur attempts to solve the mystery through traditional investigative techniques. Like all traditional mysteries, even given today’s rather permissive society, the novel contains no offensive language, dramatic violence, perversion, or sex.

This book is perfect for traditional mystery fans who enjoy a touch of romance and prefer books that don’t contain swear words or other offensive language. And dogs—we mustn’t forget the dogs. You must love dogs.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.

The third in the series examines parallel storylines involving Mercy’s grandfather’s deputy, the man responsible for her grandfather’s death escape from prison, and the prior owner/handler of Elvis seeking to retrieve him.

Mercy had a falling out with Troy Warner who has a search and rescue dog and Book 3 catches up the reasons for the break. Still, they are involved in the suspicious death of a game employee.

As a veteran herself, Mercy is still working through her return to civil life, as well as the relationships with both her grandmother Patience and her mother.

It is a well-plotted and fast-paced narrative, never sagging in the middle, while she whittles away at clues and interviews.

The immersion into a winter in Vermont is beautifully described sufficient to see your breath and chill the bones. There are descriptions of snow storms and cabins deep enough in the woods accessible by snowmobiles. As several of the threads begin to appear linked, pieces of the puzzle gradually fall into place.

I really enjoyed the strong inclusion of the animals and the sensible resolution of the ownership question of Elvis.

Somehow I missed Book 2, but greatly enjoyed this uncorrected digital galley received from the publisher through NetGalley. Assuming my quibbles regarding the novel, including several contradictions are correctly edited by release, I can say I enjoyed this entry more than the first. I’m looking forward to Book 4 and can wholly recommend this to any who enjoy a canine/location driven mystery and interesting and complex male/female protagonist team. 4.5 stars

Superbly written mystery with twists and turns like no other. Mercy may lose everything she has left but she trudges on like a good soldier. You may scream, you may cry but you will definitely cheer for the underdog. Munier will keep you on the edge of your seat from cover to cover.

The Hiding Place is the third book in Paula Munier’s Mercy Carr Mystery series. In this story, retired US Army military police officer Mercy Carr and her also retired K9 explosive detection Malinois Elvis find themselves in the crosshairs of an unknown threat after a visit to see dying former Sheriff August Pitts. Pitts was supposed to have been the deputy backup to her grandfather, Sheriff Red O’Sullivan, the night a crazed man, George Rucker, shot and killed him. On this visit, Pitts gives Mercy the many file boxes full of all that had been collected on this case and the unsolved disappearance of Rucker’s wife. With the nastiness of his sister Eveline shows towards his sweet golden retriever Sunny, Pitts also sends his beloved dog home with Mercy.

With a visit from Captain Floyd Thrasher to tell Mercy that the man responsible for her grandfather’s death has escaped from prison and her family may be in danger, Mercy heads to warn her grandmother, veterinarian Patience O’Sullivan. As they talk there are two interruptions. The first is someone who leaves a boxful of kittens through a no questions asked program. Mercy answers the door and no sooner seems to get these little guys settled when there is another knock at the door. But it isn’t kittens this time, but a pipe bomb that goes off landing both Mercy and Patience in the hospital. When a few days later an intruder tries to steal the boxes Mercy brought home, it is clear that they are, indeed, in danger.

As another exciting story unfolds, the fans of this series will not be disappointed! With old mysteries solved and new relationships made, the Mercy Carr series continues to enthrall. Although this is a series, the new reader will be able to easily slide into this edition and also become a fan. I have found this series to be some of the very best mysteries I’ve read! I did enjoy this book and I do recommend it!

Terrific read great series.I was drawn in from the first pages.Really well written great characters & scenery,Look forward to more by this author will be recommending.#netgalley #st.Martins press

Excellent addition to a top-notch series, maybe even the best one. One caveat, while this can be read and enjoyed as a standalone, for the full enjoyment read the first two books. You won't be sorry. Mercy Carr and her dog, Elvis, are both returned vets suffering from PTSD, who act with law enforcement in helping to solve cases. Their relationship serves as the core of the series. In this book, long buried secrets bubble up when Mercy and her grandmother find a pipe bomb that explodes at the front door. You're immediately engaged with the story and the suspense is ratcheted up at each turn of events. Well written and highly recommended.

Mercy gets more than she ever expected when she visits with a dying man who served as her grandfather Red's deputy sheriff. For one thing, there's Sunny the dog and for another there are boxes of documents related to the case of a missing woman- Beth. Mercy's dog Elvis, a vet, is cross trained on explosives and bodies, which comes in handy in this complex mystery which sees several threads involving things than happened years ago. Mercy and her grandmother Patience are injured when someone leaves a bomb at Patience's front door which sets off a hunt not only for George, who killed Red and has just escaped from prison, but also for Beth, whose case may well be linked. Mercy must navigate it all while fighting her romantic attraction to Troy, s Game Warden, and the arrival in town of the man who claims he is Elvia's owner. Whew. It does help, I think, to have read one of the previous books in the series but Munier provides good background. There are a few plot holes (how does Mercy support herself? ) but this barrels along with good Vermont atmospherics . No spoilers on the answers I didn't see coming or the ending. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. I very much enjoyed this and look forward to the next installment.