Going, Gone

This is the 11th book in the Gail McCarthy series, but the first I've read. I was surprised that I hadn't heard about this series already. I'm sure that there was a lot of backstory that I was missing, but didn't feel disjointed reading this book out of order. Gail is a homeschooling mom, who used to be a large animal vet. She goes to visit a friend, who is arrested for murdering his girlfriend. Gail is convinced of his innocence, and investigates quietly. Although the vignettes on homeschooling and the mother/child relationship sometimes seemed to be overly sentimental, I enjoyed this book and will look for others in this series.

In a nutshell, Gail's family horse-camping trip runs headlong into a murder investigation. Her ex-boyfriend Lonny Peterson is the prime suspect in the death of his new girlfriend. Gail's childhood friend Bret Boncantini, now a local deputy, provides some helpful, hands-off, police advice, but fears for his job if he provides any overt assistance. If Gail doesn't help, Lonny may just find himself on the wrong side of a set of bars for a very long time.

I was really looking forward to reading the latest in Gail McCarthy's continuing adventures. Previous books have provided informative, suspenseful, and entertaining peeks into the horse industry through the eyes of an equine practitioner.

Everyone's entitled to an off book occasionally, and show more unfortunately, this one limps rather heavily when it comes to carrying through on the blurb's promised excitement. Going, Gone just doesn't stack up to the preceding volumes.

Maudlin, introspective, and jerky by turns, it trails from a stilted beginning through to an abrupt ending that reads a bit like a replay from an earlier book. This installment lacks the realistic grounding in medicine, animals and characters that I've come to expect. Or perhaps it has too much grounding in reality? There are gaps. Characters just aren't fully fleshed out, and too many of them aren't likable. Too many suspects, and the ending is jarringly abrupt. A bit more in the way of story would have gone a long way toward filling in some of what's lacking.

Positives? The critters, as always, are genuine, lovingly portrayed and presented. The riding vignettes, likewise. Gail's relationship with Blue and her son's reaction to all the death are realistic and convincing. Really, as a series of reminiscences, I'd have liked it better. Stringing a murder in there... not so much. Definitely NOT the place to start reading this series. show less

I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer Program, and the algorithm undoubtedly chose me because I read many books that take place in my home region of Central California.

Gail McCarthy thinks she's going on a relaxing vacation with her husband and son. Leaving their home near Monterey, they drive across the San Joaquin Valley to the Sierra foothills to the ranch of her old friend and former boyfriend, Lonny. Upon arrival, things take a more sordid turn: Lonny is being arrested for the murder of his girlfriend and her brother. Instead of camping and swimming with her family, Gail sets out on an investigation to find out who really murdered the sales yard siblings, and she needs to move fast because the death toll is show more mounting.

Overall, I enjoyed this cozy horse mystery. It's obvious that the author knows horses and deeply loves the areas she writes about--which delights me since so few people write about the central part of the state. However, it's not a perfect book. It opens with a dream sequence that has little bearing on the story, and for some reason chapter 17 was in present tense when all the rest is in past. Those are the sort of niggling details a writer notices, especially after critiquing and editing much of the day. But you know what? Those are nitpicks. This was a fun book. It's under 200 pages and there's nothing deep about the mystery. You know the bad guy will get caught and Lonny will be freed, but it's an enjoyable ride up to that conclusion. Sometimes that's the sort of book you need to finish out the day. show less

I liked this book alot. Laura Crum writes mysteries of a world that she is very familiar with. The world of horses and ranching and wide open spaces that fit in the small holes left by our more computerized world.Like some cozy mysteries, the mystery was only part of the theme as of course horses and the ranch communities were another part. The main character, a veternarian who is currently a stay at home mother must solve the murder of two cattle auction folks because the police believe that her friend was involved. The mystery was well thought out and the ending is well thought out. The author was also ruminating some on death and on more than just the world she lives in which makes it somewhat unlike alot of cozies. The read is quick show more and I enjoyed the book except some of the ruminations dragged the pace a bit. I would still read the book though just to see another cozy genre. I read Susan Wittig Albert, Alice Kimberly, Madelyn Alt and J. F. Engelert and Laura Crum's books will be another type of cozy that I will try to find in my local Barnes & Noble. show less

This was the first time I've read one of her books, so I did need to be introduced to her characters. She is a very good wordsmith but, unfortunately, not as good a story teller. This is a relatively short book, 187 small paperback pages, and a great deal of it is devoted to landscape descriptions. The second largest portion is devoted to the metaphysical -- dealing with life and death, family. The plot and mystery are somewhat of an after thought and under-developed. I liked the characters, but I was originally captured by the idea of a woman horse vet, which sounded very intriguing and unique. Unfortunately, in this book, the heroine is a stay at home Mom, with a lot of horses, and frankly didn't seem very interesting. I do know the show more Monterey Peninsula, where half the book takes place, well and she does echo my love for it, so I gave her an extra half star for that. But I would have liked a lot more action and intrigue and less description of flowers, hills, etc. show less

Going, Gone is the latest installment in Laura Crum's cozy mystery series for animal lovers – horse lovers in particular. Horse veterinarian and amateur sleuth Gail McCarthy (now a home-schooling mother of 6-year-old Mac), along with her husband, her son and three horses, is vacationing in the Sierra Nevada mountains, camping and riding on the land of her former boyfriend Lonny Peterson. But, of course, the idyllic setting and anticipated relaxation are interrupted by murder, and Gail feels compelled to solve the mystery.

Ms Crum's forte is in her settings and characterizations. Her descriptions of the mountains and countryside are often quite lovely; and her vivid portrayal of the stockyards and auction arena fully brought to mind a show more stock auction house that I visited as a child and haven't even thought about for years. The main (recurring) characters are interesting and multi-dimensional, and even incidental characters (i.e., suspects) have some personality and individuality.

A love of animals and a strong commitment to kind and responsible care are evident throughout the book. As an animal lover, but not a "horse person," some of the terminology is foreign to me, but the general meaning is always apparent, and those who are familiar with horses will delight in Ms Crum's obvious knowledge.

The weakness of the book is the plotting of the mystery. Rather than Gail discovering clues enabling her to solve the mystery, the solution more or less just unfolds without any particular effort or deduction, by either Gail or the reader. The mystery seems to be rather incidental to the story of Gail and her horses.

I enjoyed the book and found Gail very likeable. The animal / horse theme was a nice change from the shop / inn / craft setting of many current mystery series. I am not averse to reading more of this series, but the weak mystery was disappointing, and I'm not rushing out to complete the series. show less

Gail McCarthy is a veterinarian, who along with her husband and young son, takes a camping and riding vacation on the property of one of her old friends. Soon after their arrival at the campsite, her friend is arrested for murder by another old friend who is now in law enforcement. Even as Gail tries to maintain the vacation, she is drawn into trying to help her friends. Eventually, her efforts take her back home where she continues her efforts to help clear her friend.

I liked how Laura Crum described the countryside, the meadows and forest, and Gail's relationship with her horses. Even someone like me, who knows little about horses and riding, could understand the connection and the joy Gail experienced when she rode.

I also liked how show more she portrayed the reconnection among old friends. For readers of previous books in the series, this would also be a reconnection with old friends as they are characters from previous books. For me as a first time reader, I want to get to know the stories of what happened to these characters before the events of this story.

I liked this book, but oddly, it was more because I enjoyed getting to know the character of Gail than for the mystery. I'll likely read others in this series. show less