Mercy Carr has been avoiding her disastrous love life, and, if not excited by the summons to see her grandfather's old deputy, at least intrigued by it. She finds a dying man who gives her his cold case files on a missing woman and his dog, and Mercy is dragged into a case that her grandfather couldn't solve. Add in the complication of Elvis' former handler showing up to claim custody and a pipe bomb at her grandmother's house, and Mercy is forced to reach out to Troy Warner, the game warden she'd been trying to avoid! Another engaging story of a woman, a dog, and a mystery!

Thanks to St Martin's Press for access to a digital ARC on NetGalley.

Readers always ask, about later installments in a series, "Can this be read as a standalone?" In the case of Paula Munier's The Hiding Place, case, I wouldn't recommend it.

What the book has going for it: It's a good example of romantic suspense, with a strong sense of place (the Green Mountains of Vermont -- in winter!!); characters who are distinct and well-developed -- both human and canine; and a well-paced mystery with a lot of threads skillfully knotted up at the end.

Still, I struggled with several believability issues. The biggest one for me was Mercy, the main character, herself. She is a returning veteran with no visible means of support, yet she lives in a stunning cabin with buttery leather furniture and an artisanally-stocked larder. Her family is prosperous, yes, but both her parents work , as does her grandmother -- so, no independent wealth. I'm sure this was addressed in the two earlier books, but a well-placed sentence in this story would have eliminated what was, for me, a HUGE distraction.

As a former reporter who covered cops and courts in small towns and rural areas, I couldn't buy Mercy's startling level of access to the tiniest investigative details. Speaking of which -- the dying deputy who turned over case files from a 20-year-old disappearance had original documents (photos and a postcard), not photocopies. A lot of law enforcement professionals make copies of case files, but taking home originals should have been worthy of comment and perhaps a scandal and criminal charges.

And, to continue my carping, to have detectives sitting in a civilian's home discussing means and motives with a houseful of civilians (including clueless teenagers) -- it couldn't ethically happen, yet in Mercy's world, it did several times.

A couple of much smaller continuity glitches came up when the game warden "pulled his truck up along her Jeep and hopped out" -- the Jeep that was still at her grandmother's house, and for which she was in the preceding paragraphs, calling an Uber. In another instance, the game warden called a Realtor to ask about listings, and instantly got back, not just a hard copy list, but a spreadsheet, which he shares with Mercy on paper.

The book is very readable, but readers should just turn off their inner questioner as they go.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur for an advance readers copy.

This review was originally posted on <a href="https://booksofmyheart.net/2021/03/25/the-hiding-place-by-paula-munier/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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<i>Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i>

I have really enjoyed this  <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/229122-mercy-elvis-mysteries" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Mercy & Elvis Mysteries</strong></em></a> series.  The first two books seemed quite different from each other to me.   The first had her working with the game warden Troy and their dogs, as well as both Mercy & Elvis trying to recover from the grief after losing Martinez.  I loved all the dog work and searches which were part of the mystery.  The second was more set in her parent's world, working for Daniel, a wealthy local.  She spent almost no time with Troy and they had some issues, and there was less dog involvement.

<strong>A Hiding Place</strong> is back to having a bit more dog involvement.  There are two storylines with some complex emotional aspects.  When her grandfather's deputy is dying, she ends up with a cold case which really bothered him.  It also seems to involve her grandmother, Patience.  One of the involved parties escapes from prison and her grandmother could be in danger.  Patience seems determined to go on about her normal life.

Then, another MP from the Army shows up claiming Elvis is his dog.  I was really torn up over this and spent considerable time worrying and crying.  He thinks Mercy's life is too dangerous for Elvis and Mercy can't disagree. She also continues to sort out her feelings about Martinez, along with her issues with Troy.

Mercy makes some progress with her parents and their relationship.  She continues to enjoy her grandmother, even if she is stubborn.  I wonder where she will go from here, or if she will formalize her investigating in any way.

There was a lot of action and events, keeping things fast paced.  There were some flashbacks to the old days when the woman who disappeared in the cold case.  Mercy gradually puts together bits of information to learn what happened. Everyone seemed to abuse this woman, so hopefully she left and wasn't murdered.  It's very complicated but Mercy untangles it.   I look forward to more in this fascinating world and the dogs. I always love the dogs.

Paula Munier's Mercy Carr series gets stronger with each book. In this third entry, The Hiding Place, much of the mystery and the action concern Mercy's relationships with all the people in her life. A great deal of tension also comes from Hallet, the Army veteran who is determined to take Elvis away from Mercy. Readers of the series will know how important woman and dog are to each other, so I have to admit that I was often more concerned with deducing how Hallet could be convinced to leave well enough alone than I was with all the other elements in Munier's multi-layered mystery.

There's much to like about the "bones" of this series. Mercy herself is a strong, fascinating character as are others like game warden Troy Warner. Munier also brings her setting of the Vermont outdoors to life. Of course, there is also the very strong draw of the resident working dogs: Elvis the Belgian Malinois, a former war dog suffering from PTSD, and Troy's search-and-rescue Newfoundland mix, Susie Bear. (I do wish that Munier would stop referring to Susie's "pumpkin head" so much, however.) There's even the added bonus of a third dog, a gorgeous golden retriever, Sunny, whom Mercy calls the "mood ring of dogs."

If you enjoy multi-layered mysteries set in the great outdoors and filled with marvelous dogs and strong humans, you should become acquainted with Paula Munier's Mercy Carr series. Do that, and you've set yourself up for some mighty fine reading.

Mercy Carr survived her time as a military police officer in Afghanistan, but her fiancé did not. She was able to bring his K9 Elvis home and now they work together, each needing the other. Mercy learns that the man who killed her grandfather, years ago, has escaped from prison and the family is on high alert. Her grandfather’s former deputy is dying and asks Mercy to “find the girl” and gives her the cold case files. When a returning veteran arrives claiming that Elvis is his K9, he tries to convince her to return him. Meanwhile, Mercy’s relationship with Game Warden Troy Warner is strained since she found out that he was separated, not divorced. The original case that Mercy is trying to solve gets even more complicated as her grandmother is in danger, two men have been murdered and an escaped convict is still out there. A highly addictive mystery as the author weaves the evidence that will lead to the final unexpected conclusion. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

The Hiding Place by Paula Munier (Mercy Carr #3) 5 stars

Mercy Carr is visiting the home of August Pitts, a retired deputy that worked with her grandfather. Mr. Pitts is dying and has requested the visit in order to giver her old case files on an unsolved missing persons case. Mercy leaves with the files and Mr. Pitt's golden retriever, Sunny. Vermont Game Warder, Troy Warner is looking for Joey Colby, a missing wildlife biologist that hasn't checked in with his boss in two days. Warner and his dog, Susie Bear find Colby's body in the forest. He was murdered and the murderer is at large. Mercy is informed that George Rucker, the man who killed her grandfather has escaped from prison. Afraid for her grandmother, Patience, she goes to her house to find out what her grandmother knows, A bomb goes off at Patience's home and Mercy is hurt. Can these incidents be related?

This mystery has an intricate plot, tied to past actions. I couldn't put it down and read it straight through. I loved the actions scenes with Mercy and her dog, Elvis. Troy Warner and his dog, Susie Bear are no slouches either. Mercy dogged determination and intelligence helps to solve each mystery and find the fugitive. I especially enjoyed the repair of the relationship between Mercy and Troy that fractured in the previous book. I eagerly look forward to the next book in this series.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for his ARC.

The Hiding Place is the third book in this excellent series by Paula Munier. I love K9 books as a rule, but what makes these books special is the focus placed on the dogs...Elvis and Susie Bear are the centerpieces of the series. Mercy is still dealing with some personal issues that occured between herself and Troy in the last book. Troy is hoping to regain her trust and good graces when they find out that the man convicted of killing her grandfather has escaped from prison.... and things start going from bad to worse. There's alot going on...a missing woman from 20 years ago, the missing prisoners, a bomb delivered to Mercy's grandmother's house, a murdered wildlife worker, a 20 year old skeleton.....while Mercy and Troy struggle to make sense of what's going on the specter of Elvis's original owner hangs over everything. Paula Munier takes all these scattered threads and brings them together to form a logical, cohesive conclusion. Great colorful characters, the Vermont wilderness and 2 smart, loveable dogs make this a very enjoyable book.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Mercy and her four legged partner, Elvis are back to untangle a new mystery that starts out with a very cold case. As soon as she takes custody of the old case files she also adds Sunny to her life. Sunny is the beloved Golden Retriever owned by the dying man who asked her to take the files.....and his dog.
The case involves a missing woman last seen long ago at the library. Then she simply vanished. Involving her late grandfather, her grandmother, Patience and the rest of her extended family, Mercy will cross paths with danger.
I won't say any more because I don't want to commit spoilers. From book #1, A Borrowing of Bones, I fell in love with this awesome series - hands down a five star read. Then the same for #2, Blind Search. If you love dogs and their relationship with their person (or people) do not miss reading this series. The mystery is very well crafted with enough suspense to keep me flipping the pages and staying up way into the early hours of the morning. While The Hiding Place can be read as a stand alone, I would encourage the reader to consume them in order so that the bond between Mercy and Elvis and their relationship with Mercy's grandmother grows as it was intended to be felt. It really adds to the experience. Mercy and Elvis are right up there on this dog lovers top five 'must be read no matter what' list.
My thanks to the publisher Minotaur Books and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this one I’m a sucker for any dog story and when included with a mystery I loved it .
I really enjoyed this well plotted book . I loved Elvis and just the whole feel of this book . I will definitely read more by this author

The Hiding Place: A Mercy Carr Mystery
By Paula Munier
Minotaur
March 30, 2021

Review by Cynthia Chow

Life for former MP Mercy Carr has not slowed down since she returned from Afghanistan to live back home in the Green Mountains of Northshire, Vermont. Helping her to recover from her PTSD has been Belgian Malinois Elvis, a bomb-sniffing war dog handled by Mercy’s late fiancé. Against her grandmother’s advice Mercy makes a deathbed visit to the home of her grandfather’s Deputy Pitts, who asks her not only to investigate a cold case but to adopt his retriever Sunny. Taking in another dog is easy compared to looking into the disappearance of Beth Kilgore, who along with her abusive husband went missing in 1999. It’s an eerie coincidence when Police Captain Thrasher comes with the news that George Rucker, the man who killed Mercy’s grandpa Sheriff Red O’Sullivan, has escaped from prison and could be bent on continuing his mission of revenge. Local gossip had it that Red was having an affair with Rucker’s wife Ruby, a disreputable woman from Vegas who shocked the town with her unabashed flirtations and inappropriately tight clothing. A bomb attempt foiled by Elvis seems to indicate that either Mercy or her grandmother Patience are being targeted for murder, especially when it’s followed by an attempted break-in.

This is the worst time for the arrival of Wesley John Hallett, a military dog handler claiming to be Elvis’s rightful owner. An IED left him wounded and placed Elvis in the hands of Hallett’s partner Sergeant Martinez, the love of Mercy’s life and who would later himself be killed in action. Mercy has no intention of breaking the promise she made to Martinez to take care of Elvis, and giving him up would break her like nothing else. She’s already suffering from the betrayal of trust by game warden Troy Warner, who was nudging his way past her guard until the estranged wife he neglected to mention existed crashed their first dance together. Ignoring him will be impossible as not only is he determined to protect Mercy, but his own investigation into the death of a wildlife biologist has Troy’s bosses ordering that he spy on her to prevent her from interfering.

I’ve loved these characters since they debuted in A Borrowing of Bones, but this third is my absolute favorite. Mercy’s interactions with her independent grandmother and her straight-laced, take-no-prisoners very judgmental mother explain just how Mercy became the woman she is now. The advice she is given on to move on in her life, and what she should choose to protect, is both heart-breaking and heart-warming. Just as complex is her dilemma over Elvis, and whether holding onto him is in hers or his best interests. While the continual attacks upon them are undoubtedly stressful, Elvis is outstanding at his job at detecting bombs and protecting his handler. Balancing these complicated topics are Mercy’s daily conversations with her family, and particularly memorable is one between herself and her grandmother as they prepare a doberge cake together. Librarians will of course appreciate the tribute to libraries as sanctuaries and librarians as agitators and protectors of privacy. While this serves as an eminently rewarding and satisfying conclusion to the series, readers can hope that there will be further installments exploring the lives of Mercy and her wonderful Green Mountains family.

In this fast-paced, well-written and all-consuming drama, the author pulled out all the stops to bring a dynamic and compelling tale that I could not put down, quickly becoming a page turner.

From the first page to the end, I was immersed in all that was happening in Mercy’s world, a dying man’s wishes, an escaped prisoner, a cold case, and the thought of losing Elvis. This multi-plot storyline corralled me with a fantastically scripted mystery with visually descriptive narrative that played like a moving picture as one by one, each scene led to another peppering us with clues that when all was said and done would lead to some intriguing revelations and surprises that I didn’t see coming, until it was planted in my head. This is the one of the best books in the series and I can’t wait to read the next book in the captivating and riveting series.

Mercy is called to the bedside of her Grandfather's former deputy. He's dying and he want her to look into the case that haunted him. Beth Kilgore disappeared 20 years ago never to be heard from again. Mercy takes the case files and at his request his Golden Retriever as well. When her Grandfather's murderer escapes from prison, Mercy has even more reason to look into the case because she's sure there's a connection between the murder and disappearance.
Munier writes a great mystery and once again we have a little romance to add to the story. Mercy is slowly recovering from her time in Afghanistan, even if she can't keep herself out of trouble. She's making peace with the local authorities as well. I like the character development, Mercy and Troy's and even her Grandmother and parents. I especially like the dogs. My one nitpick is she's not really shown training her dog. As any dog trainer knows, if dogs don't practice what they've learned they become sloppy and even lose that skill, much like a person speaking another language. On the whole I can't wait for the next installment.

#thehidingplace #netgalley

Mercy Carr and her dog Elvis are both military vets who have a talent for solving mysteries since they returned to Vermont at the end of their duty. Now Mercy is looking into a cold case and someone is trying to take Elvis away from her.

The environs of Vermont in winter are well described and it was easy to become involved in the location of this story. There is a death in the first part of the story that seems to be almost forgotten for a long period of time because of all the effort Mercy is putting into trying to get answers for the cold case. I had a hard time maintaining my interest in this novel and feel that I had to push myself into continuing. For whatever reason the main characters just didn't click with me. Even Elvis couldn't help and I'm usually all about the dog in a mystery. This is the third book in this series and I don't feel any compulsion to read the first two books.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press Minotaur Books for an e-galley of this novel.

This book hooks you on the first page and doesn't let go. If you like a well written mystery/suspense book that makes you feel like you are there, grab this book. Beautiful scenery and enough suspense to keep you turning the pages. I highly recommend this entire series. Thank you St. Martin's Press--Minotaur Books via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Overall, I really liked this book. Somehow I managed to miss the second book in the series so I didn't get references to events that had occurred in that book, but I like this series well enough that I will go back and read the second book. With that said, these books can be read as a standalone. I thought the author did a great job with the setting, in the mountains of Vermont. Her descriptions of the landscape as well as the homes that were key locations in the book were excellent - I had a clear picture in my mind of what these places looked like. I also really enjoyed the main character, Mercy Carr, and her relationship with her Malinois, Elvis. The story line with Elvis's former handler is what really kept me reading on! I am a bit disappointed that this appears to be the last book in the series. I would love to follow more of Mercy's adventures and follow the developing relationship between her and Troy. This book was definitely worth reading.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing a copy to review.

"The Hiding Place" is a mystery/suspense novel. It's the third book in a series. You don't need to read the previous novels to understand this one, and this novel didn't spoil the whodunit of the previous novels.

The characters were engaging, complex, and acted in realistic ways. I cared about what happened to them. The mystery was complex since the cold case, the recent murder, and the attack on Mercy's grandmother may or may not be connected. Mercy and her talented service dog, Elvis, tracked down clues, asked good questions, and pieced together a complex cold case. And chased bad guys. She worked with U.S. Game Warden Troy Warner and his search and rescue dog. The suspense remained high since an escaped criminal was after Mercy's grandmother and a fellow soldier was threatening to take Elvis from her.

There were a few uses of bad language. There was no sex. Overall, I'd recommend this novel to people who enjoy canine mysteries and suspense.

I really enjoyed this book. I spent most of the day reading the third book in the Mercy Carr Mystery Series. The plot kept me guessing right up to the reveal. The characters are well developed and I began to care what happened to them early in the story. This is one of the few books that had me in tears at a pivotal moment. If you like working dogs and really good mysteries this is the perfect book for you.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from St Martin's Press through NetGalley. The opinions Jon's expressed are entirely my own.
#TheHidingPlace #NetGalley

This was a good novel. I haven't read the ones before this.... So now I'm gonna have to go back. But I believe this can be read as a stand alone book!
The characters were great I enjoyed Mercy and Elvis.
This was a good mystery read and one author I'll be on the lookout for

The Hiding Place is the third Mercy Carr novel and can be read by itself but Mercy and Elvis rock so why not read them all. Mercy and Elvis are back and on the trail of another case. A dying deputy, who served under Mercy's murdered father, wants Mercy to take on the cold case of a missing woman. Mercy and Elvis seem to be on attack from all sides as they uncover more than one body. Plus, Mercy's grandmother Patience seems to be under threat from an escaped convict and Elvis's former handler wants him back. Still reeling from the hurt Troy's ex dished out, Mercy finally warms back up to Troy as he and Susie Bear barrel into danger for a full throttle mystery and thriller that leaves you guessing until the end. Reading a Mercy and Elvis novel is always a breath of fresh air and a guaranteed good time. This series is becoming one of my favorites of all time. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

Set in gorgeous Vermont, The Hiding Place is the third in the Mercy Carr series and is my favourite so far as it is the most...arresting. Mercy is an Afghanistan veteran with her precious dog, Elvis, also a highly-trained war veteran. The author reveals glimpses into the realities of PTSD from the unique veteran perspective.

Mercy, along with her grandmother who is a veterinarian and Game Warden Troy Warner investigate a cold case two decades old. The case involves missing Beth, a young woman married to an abusive man, Thomas. Beth has gone missing. The search takes Mercy down paths she would never have dreamed of but she is bound and determined to discover truths and reveal secrets. She is accustomed to danger. Winter somewhat impedes the investigation.

This is a good mystery without gore so if that appeals, this book is definitely for you. Though part of a series, this book is also fine as a stand alone. I read it in one sitting on a -42C day, very apt! The baking descriptions nearly had me drooling.

My sincere thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGally for allowing me the privilege of reading this enjoyable advance copy.