"The Night Woods" is atmospheric and suspenseful with great characters, human and canine. Since reading this, I have added all of Paula Munier's Mercy & Elvis Mysteries series to my TBR list. I look forward to following this author, series, and characters and have 8 books to catch up to this one. (which seemed fine as a stand-alone novel). Highly recommended! Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC,

All she wanted was to hike with Elvis and visit her friend, but instead Mercy finds a dead body and her injured missing friend. What happens next is a fast-paced and exhilarating ride as someone is causing mischief and mayhem at a nearby facility and someone else is after Mercy and it will take all necessary hands from her family and friends to solve this puzzling case. The author did a great job in the telling of this tale with visually descriptive narrative, engaging dialogue and an atmosphere of suspense and intrigue. I do love that when Mercy and Troy are working on their perspective cases, the cases intersect one another. There were a few strategically placed twists that enhanced my reading pleasure. The introduction of Tandie and the arrival and naming of baby Warner was a bonus to this reader. This is one of the best books in this enduring series. I’m so happy to learn that there will be at least two more books forthcoming.

Troy and Mercy are settling into their new home. With their friends and family, and of course work, they stay busy. With the upcoming baby, Mercy is doing her best to stay out of trouble, but as always, trouble just seems to find her. With a mysterious letter left on her door, and a body, Mercy doesn't know what to think.
As a billionaire goes missing, Mercy wonders what the two crimes seem to have in common, and what else might happen in the woods. As her friend recovers at their home, Mercy is also caring for her rebellious cousin. Who would want to frame Homer for murder, and why are they trying to hard to get her attention?

There is never a dull moment in this series, and I absolutely LOVE it. Mercy and Troy make a great team, and of course the dogs just bring out the best as well. I devoured this book in one sitting - and hope that there are going to be more! I need more of Mercy and Troy!

The Night Woods by Paula Munier continues the story of Mercy Carr, now very pregnant, and Elvis her search and rescue dog. A bored Mercy goes to see her friend Homer and finds a dead body instead. As she and Elvis search and find Homer, who remembers nothing after be attacked, they are joined by her young cousin Tandie. As usual the humans and dogs bring a good mystery to life as everyone is involved in the search for the murderer. The growth of the characters is well done, and a good dog book is always welcome.

TW: An exclusive hunting club (Nothing graphic. No descriptions of animals being killed but references to how many bears, deer, and boars have been killed. Also, a portion of the book takes place in the skinning shack, which sickened me every time I saw those words.)

I didn't read the description of The Night Woods carefully enough. I love Elvis and Susie Bear so much that when I read there was an early copy of The Night Woods available, I said "I'M IN!!" and I grabbed it!

On the positive side, I love the characters in this series so much! Mercy and Troy make the perfect couple and their dogs are utterly loveable. Mercy's grandmother (Patience) was her usual wise and gentle character. Mercy's mom (Grace) was nicer in this book, which was a shocker. I want Tandie to come and live in my house! She constantly impressed me and made me laugh at the same time.

But, ugh. The whole hunting club/skinning shack part of the book turned my stomach. I mean, I just watched a doe as she walked past my office window, not to mention that I'm a vegetarian! (All I can say is that I was the child carried out of the theater, sobbing hysterically when my parents took me to see Bambi and I haven't changed much!)

Moving on, the storyline felt a little too farfetched to me, and some of Mercy's choices as she was about to go into labor felt questionable, too. (Sorry for being such an outlier this time!!)

Ending on another positive note, Homer was a fabulous addition to the series, as was his bloodhound. AND there was a vizsla in this book, as well. Bring on as many dogs as you want to add to this series ... but don't gratuitously kill deer and bears, even if you haven't graphically described their deaths, pretty please. :(

Many thanks to both #MinotaurBooks and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of #TheNightWoods. This book is #6 in the #MercyAndElvis series, It has an expected publication date of October 8, 2024.

Neither heavy rain, sleet, snow, nor an escaped wild boar refused to keep a very pregnant Mercy Carr from hiking through the woods with her beloved dog, Elvis. Leaving her mother behind to decorate the nursery and plan her baby shower, Mercy plowed through the rough elements to her friend Homer Grant’s cabin for a game of her much-loved Scrabble. When she arrived at the cabin, she found the body of an unknown dead man. Homer was nowhere to be found.
After searching the woods in the area of the cabin, Elvis tracked a badly injured Homer and got him back to the cabin. He had no memory of the circumstances surrounding the dead man found in his cabin, yet he became the number one suspect in his death. When Mercy learned that Homer was linked to another death, she was determined to help him prove his innocence.
As the weather worsened, her husband Troy and his dog Susie Bear were called out with a group of first responders and unable to come to her rescue. She was now alone in the cabin with her young cousin, Tandie, who had come to help her. Aware that the murderer was still out there, Mercy began to fear for her life.
A fantastic, edge-of-the-seat thriller, not for the faint of the heart!

Paula Munier’s Mercy Carr mysteries are some of my favorites. Although The Night Woods is the sixth in the series, following my favorite, Home at Night, it can stand alone. It’s another complex story with literary themes woven into it. This time, Munier includes The Odyssey, perfect for soldiers returning for war who suffer from PTSD. Mercy and her search-and-rescue dog, Elvis, were two of those, but family and love helped restore their balance and lives.

Despite pleas from Mercy’s husband, Troy, and her mother, Mercy can’t sit idle although she’s eight months pregnant. She has to be outside, wandering their property and the woods. She has a new friend, a hermit and former classics professor, Homer Grant, and she ends up at his cabin, only to find a dead man with an ax in his chest. Homer’s missing, and so is his bloodhound, Argos. Together with Elvis, she tracks them down in the woods, and finds Homer injured and bleeding. Despite her condition, she finds a way to transport Homer so she can call for help. No one is pleased to see her out in the woods, but she insists on returning to the murder scene to examine it.

When Homer recovers enough to talk with Mercy, he reveals he was working on a new translation of The Odyssey with the dead man. Mercy cares about her new friend, and convinced he didn’t kill the victim, wants to prove his innocence to the police. But, before she can dive too far in, she’s called to another scene by her uncle who runs a security company. Artemis Park is an elite hunting ground for millionaires, and the president of the club is missing. Uncle Hugo wants Mercy’s opinion.

While she’s at the hunting resort, Troy and another game warden find a man’s naked body in Elbow Swamp. Does he have anything to do with the other incidents that are under investigation?

Add in a warming that comes in a blank envelope, a reminder of Mercy’s past as an MP in the army, and there are four different storylines to bring together, not counting the pregnancy one. Munier is a master at handling all the threads of a story, finding the common denominator in various incidents. This time, The Odyssey, a story of soldiers returning home from battle, runs throughout the book.

Paula Munier excels at character development, and introduces a teen, Tandie, in the story. She’s bright, kicked out of too many schools, and she comes to stay for a while with Mercy and Troy. Tandie proves to be a capable attendant for Mercy, a welcome addition to the story.

I’ll admit I was one of those readers who read The Odyssey and anticipated Cold Mountain when it was released in 1997. I quit early on when I was reading it. Cold Mountain was not for me. Munier’s mystery, her own story that includes The Odyssey and returning veterans is much more my type of book. Although Mercy gets in too much trouble for a woman who was supposed to stay close to home, she was an MP. She was military, and she’s too restless. She’s still on her own emotional journey home.

"The Night Woods" is a mystery/suspense novel. It's the 6th 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. Mercy (and her talented service dog) tracked down clues, asked good questions, and pieced together what was going on. The suspense was create by Mercy getting into dangerous situations while near the end of her pregnancy. I felt like more focus was put on Mercy's upcoming childbirth than actually solving the mysteries. She spent time collecting information about seemingly unconnected events (a missing man who was a part of exclusive hunting club for rich business people, a Greek classics professor found dead in the cabin of a man suffering from PTSD, etc.). Then, after a little thought at the end, Mercy suddenly figured out who did what and how people were connected.

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

THE NIGHT WOODS is the sixth book in the Mercy Carr Mysteries by Paula Munier. You can always count on complex mysteries with literary themes woven into the storyline in this character-driven series, and this book is no exception. In this newest release, protagonist Mercy Carr is 8 months pregnant and still lumbering around the woods with her faithful search-and-rescue dog, Elvis. The action starts off right away when they come across a murder victim and the reclusive owner of the cabin missing. Ms. Munier ramps up the suspense with multifaceted plotlines that at first glance don’t seem to be connected, yet come together perfectly at the end. She also brings an emotional level to the story by bringing the plight of soldiers experiencing PTSD to the forefront while weaving in comparisons from the classic Greek work, The Odyssey. My only little quibble is the risks Mercy took while pregnant, and the repeated mentions of such which slowed down the pacing for me. Despite that, this is a strong addition to a series I always look forward to reading.

I love reading about Mercy and Troy. But especially Elvis and Susie Bear. Mercy is heavily pregnant in this book but that doesn’t stop her from trying to solve two murders. There are a couple of new characters and new dogs. This was a good mystery that I really enjoyed.

The Night Woods is the sixth book in the Mercy Carr Mystery series. This entry does not disappoint. The mysteries are always twisty and well done, the New England setting is so well depicted, it’s like another character in the book. I enjoy the literary references, and they are a big piece of this story. I highly recommend this book and the whole series.

The sixth book in the Mercy Carr Mystery series, The Night Woods by Paula Munier, might be the most harrowing one yet. Mercy, an ex-MP with service in Afghanistan, is 8+ months pregnant with her first child and having a difficult time cutting down on her physical activities, as her game warden husband Troy and her mother have asked her to do. Mercy can't help getting involved in crime investigations, along with her intrepid search-and-rescue dog Elvis, even when a huge thunderstorm threatens New England.

I have to admit I was frustrated at the chances Mercy takes, which put her and her baby in possible peril and endanger others in the family. But I understand it wouldn't be much of a story if she acquiesced to her family's wishes. I really enjoy the relationship of Mercy and Troy, and I particularly appreciated a new character, 15-year-old pink-haired Tandie--daughter of Mercy's cousin--who is living with the couple temporarily after being expelled from boarding school. She has been tasked with sticking close to Mercy in the last month of her pregnancy, and in the process she reveals herself to be much more than anyone expected of her.

Woven into the plot are such diverse topics as an exclusive hunting club for millionaires, the effects of PTSD on returning soldiers, the classic Greek work, The Odyssey and, of course, more than one murder to be solved. I know that I can always count on Paula Munier to create a complex, intelligent plot and memorable, always-developing characters.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

Exciting new storm-tossed Mercy Carr mystery!

Mercy Carr and her game warden husband, Troy, have settled into their new home on Grackle Tree Farm. Mercy is 8 months pregnant and is trying to remain active. While at the same time heeding the pleas of her family and friends to take it easy. She goes on walks on their property and the surrounding woods for exercise. But even taking it easy she still gets drawn into murder!

Mercy befriends an older gentleman who has built a cabin nearby and visits him to play Scrabble. Arriving at the cabin for their weekly game, Mercy finds a body and no Homer. While patrolling for wild boars, Troy stumbles upon another body. Are the two murders linked? With Mercy's impending birth, it is a race to investigate. Mercy navigates many dangers including feral hogs and a massive storm to find the truth.

I particularly like that friends and family gather around Mercy and Troy. Seeing the support provided to them is heartwarming and makes you feel like you have stepped into their lives. I chuckled at how women tend to give unsolicited (and sometimes terrifying) advice on childbirth. Mercy’s character also has fears and uncertainties that most new mothers experience. I loved the dogs! Elvis is Mercy’s super-smart Malinois. Susie Bear is Troy’s lovable lumbering Newfoundland.

Woven into the story are thoughts on PTSD, how soldiers return to civilian life, and the huge impact war has on their lives. Threaded through are references to The Odyssey. The two intersecting complex mysteries in the story made for an intriguing read! Highly recommend.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for access to a digital advance review copy on NetGalley.

I've been wanting to read this series for a while now but haven't as yet had the opportunity to until now. Even though this is the latest in the series, I had no problem following along with who everyone was and how they pertained to the story. Mercy is thoroughly fleshed out character with whom I fell in love with immediately. The same with Elvis; I cannot imagine those two not being paired up together.

The story itself was really interesting and I loved all of the tie ins with Greek mythology. I really enjoyed the Odyssey when I was younger so to have it brought back into one of my favorite book genres, well, that just made my day. I love that the mysteries were mixed with psychological aspects as well. It really gave my mind something to chew on throughout the day when I wasn't reading the book.

That's one of my favorite things about mysteries, is that they give you something else to focus on besides your problems. The hunting park, her uncle and his cohorts, they were all very interesting to me as well. And how everything came together at the ending? *Chef's kiss* To me it was done very well. There were no loose ends, or any questions left unanswered.

It really makes me want to go back and read the series from the beginning. The characters are all intelligent and I enjoyed them all, even the bad guys. I didn't like who they were or why they did what they did but I found that I could understand the why. I love complex characters.

Paula Munier has a new fan in me, and I cannot wait to read more of her wonderful books. The different law enforcement agencies being able to work together and able to be a kind of family to Mercy, Toby, and Elvis. I could really feel the affection they had for each other. This book gave me all the feels and there was never a dull moment. I was in the grips of this book from word one.

Thanks to Net Galley, the publishers, and Paula Munier for the ability to read and review this book. All opinions are honest and are completely my own.

The Mercy Carr mysteries continue to impress. The actual mysteries are always well done, the characters are beautifully nuanced, and the New England setting is almost a character itself. I love that the books typically have a literary theme or at least literary references, and they are at the heart of this story. A heavily pregnant Mercy has two different sets of mysteries to solve as spring storms roll through New England. The murder of a classical scholar and the murder of a billionaire hunter end up intersecting with a case from Mercy’s military past. It’s a compelling story with lovely personal developments for the main characters. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. All views are entirely my own.

Mercy and her dog Elvis find a body, and her husband Troy and his dog Susie Bear find another body. Are the murders linked? Lots of interesting new characters with motives for one or both of the crimes. Woven into the story is the saga of how soldiers return from war to try to take up their lives - some succeed and others struggle, each on a different path. The underlying thread of soldiers trying to cope with PTSD adds a serious undertone to the murder investigations. Mercy's advanced stage of pregnancy adds tension and drama, and her relationship with Troy is a lovely thing to watch develop. The plot is complex with numerous threads coming together, and I had to carefully reread a few parts focused on the world of gaming and on Homer's Odyssey, as I am not familiar with either topic, and it took me a few readings to understand the final conclusions. A good addition to the series and it would work as a standalone. Thanks to NetGalley and publisher Minotaur Books for the ARC.

The Night Woods is the sixth book in Paula Munier’s Mercy Carr Mystery series. As the story begins, Mercy is eight months pregnant.. She and her dog, Elvis are out for a hike and inadvertently stumble across a murder with a connection to a friend who lives in the woods with his dog. The clues Mercy comes across seem to be tied to Homer’s The Odyssey. With lots of references to the Greek poem, the book had lots of twists and turns while Mercy tried to solve the mystery. I love Elvis and Susie Bear! Plus, we met a couple new characters and dogs! This book can be read as a standalone but I recommend the entire series!

Another Mercy Carr mystery - I love them! This one finds Mercy, 8 months pregnant, in the middle of murder, mystery, and The Odyssey. I loved all the twists, the seemingly unrelated, yet intertwined characters and events, and the way Mercy’s mind works to figure it all out. Add in a couple of new characters and two new dogs to love, and this is a fast moving and entertaining mystery.

I really like this series! Mercy and Troy are likeable and interesting characters and let's not forget Elvis & Susie Bear! Two of my favourite fictional canines.

Each mystery is standalone so you could easily read this without having read the earlier books but I would recommend reading them all as they're great books.

I hope there will be many more books in this series!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Minotaur Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Minotaur Books.

This is Mercy & Elvis Series #6. Munier does a great job with her characterization of all her characters, which continues to build with each story. In every book you find out more and more about Mercy, Troy, Elvis plus adding layers to the minor characters along the way. The narrative is descriptive without being long winded and you really get a feel of Mercy and Troy’s house the Grackle Tree Farm, the Vermont terrain and much more. This story explores more of the friendships that Mercy has made since coming back from Afghanistan. “The Night Woods” starts with Mercy on a walk on her property about 8 months pregnant. Elvis ends up leading Mercy to her friend and neighbor Homer’s cabin. When she goes inside, she finds a body on the coach with an ax in his chest but no Homer. Mercy checks out the cabin and records some of the evidence she finds for the police. She starts to hike to the cell tower so she can call the police, when she stumbles across Homer unconscious. This is the start of another mystery for Mercy and Troy to solve. I recommend this latest mystery from Munier. A well written series with wonderful and unforgettable characters with plenty of action and suspense. Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for providing an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review