Muddy Waters

Fantastic modern western, with cowboys, a lot of testosterone, some romance and a little humor. Very well written, with great characters and an excellent plot. The best book I've read in a long while.

This is a really good modern day Western. Set in Colorado, I loved the descriptive passages which transported me right to the scene. The plot was excellent and the book was well written with interesting characters. I would recommend it to lovers of Westerns and thrillers. My thanks to Net Galley for my ARC. reviewed on Amazon, Goodreads and Facebook.

A jolly good read of the old sort. This starts in Colorado with cattle rustling, shooting, death and conviction before the hero heads off to Carolina for a family wedding. There he becomes immersed in more murder, mayhem and cattle rustling - not just a pastime of western cowboys then. Some of the story is about his working, mostly with, the local law enforcement to solve the rustling problem and, more murders to boot. Much of the story, however, is more about him as a person, his difficult history with his father, his future and his lost first love who, of course, is back in town as a mature woman and vet and - well, we can see the rest. It's a cowboy story and the good guy gets the gal in the end. The characters are complex, interesting and well described. The reader has empathy for the hero and feels for him in his meetings with lesser desirables of the small town. He is definitely an old-style, honourable man. The murder solving is sufficient to make it a good read rather than just a fluffy romance. The denouement was a total whack in the eye for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the details of tracking, the landscape of pasture and mountains, the whole book actually. Hope we get more from this author. Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Muddy Waters by Candace J. Carter is an invigorating mystery with a modern day western feel to it. Carter brought the scenery on the range to life in this well-written novel.

Our protagonist, Henry Smith is a range detective in Colorado searching for some cattle rustlers. Without giving away any spoilers as to what happened that day, the story continues with Henry driving to his home town in the mountains of North Carolina for his uncle’s wedding. This brings family issues into the story, as he is estranged from his father, and his step-mother’s son by her first marriage is a jerk. Then a murder occurs that disrupts Henry’s life.

The story is thought-provoking and deceptive in its depth. The characters are well defined and complex. Henry makes for a great sleuth and is very likeable. This is one time that I missed the clues and was totally surprised by the murderer. The ending was impactful and satisfying.

Besides a variety of family issues, this novel incorporates murder, death, cancer, buried treasure, cattle rustling, friendships, lost love, tracking, fights, small town gossip, police procedures and even a little romance.
I greatly enjoyed this novel and recommend it to those that like mysteries with a modern day western theme. I hope there will be another book in the series.

Thanks to Netgalley, BooksGoSocial and Candace J. Carter for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This was a good modern day western with a couple murders thrown in. Henry Smith returns home from Colorado to attend a family wedding. Shortly after his return, he finds the body of a friend who has been murdered. He uses his tracking skills to help the local sherif’s department investigate the murder. This was an interesting addition to the story. In addition to helping with the murder investigation, Henry reconnects with his high school sweetheart and also must find a resolution to the strained relationship he’s had with his father.

I really enjoyed this book and it was well written for the most part. I can’t give it a five star rating because of some editing issues near the end of the book. Those issues are obvious enough that they should not have been missed by an editor or a good proofreader. My rating would be 3 1/2 stars because of these missed opportunities to make the story flow better.

Henry "Whispering" Smith is a range detective for the Colorado Plateau Cattlemen's Association. He picks up rustlers who try to steal cattle. He's good at his job. Buy when he gets a call that his father has cancer, he decides to go home for a while. He and his father parted in a fight and he's not eager to see him but he doesn't want to have regrets later.

BooksGoSocial and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It has been published and you can get a copy now.

When he arrives in town he finds an old friend there. He'd picked him up for rustling in the past but Aubrey saved his life when his partner in crime tried to kill Smith. Neither one holds a grudge and they enjoy visiting again.

Aubrey asks him to go on a ride with him and takes him to a long forgotten pasture land. He shows him the cows in the pasture and indicates that two are missing. He states he's not rustling anymore and that he suspects it's the family from the slaughter house he works at that is thinning the herd. He's afraid he will be blamed for it because of his past. Henry agrees to look into it.

When he goes back to the pasture, he finds Aubrey, dead. Was it the slaughter house boys, someone trying to find the lost treasure that's rumored to be on the farm, or someone else who is the killer?

When Henry is searching for answers, someone is setting him for murder. The youngest of the slaughter house boys is found dead and the killer used Henry's pistol to kill him. He can't remember when he saw it last, It was in his truck and now he has become a suspect.

When he figures who the killer must have been, it gets deadly. With more than one person gunning for him, will he get out alive?

A fantastic western themed murder mystery that, other than the prologue, takes place in North Carolina. The main character is both likeable and realistic. He comes across as a real person caught up in circumstances but is determined to solve the murder of his old friend. In fact he is a range detective, in Colorado, and has returned to his home to be best man at his Uncle's wedding. He reconnects with his old girlfriend and finds what he has missed and considers returning in spite of being estranged from his father. The conclusion will leave the reader wondering what vital clue they missed.

I have rated this book 4.5 stars.

I received an ARC from Netgalley for my unbiased review.

I received a free electronic ARC of this modern western novel from Netgalley, Candace J. Carter, and BooksGoSocial. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work.

Muddy Waters is a compelling, tightly paced modern western, the protagonists well defined, the mystery well hidden. Candace J. Carter brings us a believable tale with personable characters, a story that is easy to follow, folks who feel like friends. And perhaps most importantly, the setting is the essence of 'western'. Candace J. Carter knows that which she writes and is willing to share it with us all. I would love to see more of Henry and Carlie.