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!

I really enjoyed how good this mystery element going on in this. The concept worked well and I was engaged with the mystery element overall. The characters had everything that I wanted and thought the overall feel worked. Paula Munier has a great writing style and left me wanting to read more in this 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