Monday, March 29, 2021

"The Hiding Place"

Paula Munier is the USA Today bestselling author of the Mercy and Elvis mysteries. A Borrowing of Bones, the first in the series, was nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award and named the Dogwise Book of the Year. Blind Search was inspired by the real-life rescue of a little boy with autism who got lost in the woods.

Munier credits the hero dogs of Mission K9 Rescue, her own rescue dogs Bear, Bliss, and Blondie—a Malinois mix as loyal and smart as Elvis—and a lifelong passion for crime fiction as her series’ major influences.

She’s also written three popular books on writing: Plot Perfect, The Writer’s Guide to Beginnings, and Writing with Quiet Hands, as well as Fixing Freddie and Happier Every Day.

Munier lives in New Hampshire with her family, the dogs, and a torbie tabby named Ursula.

She applied the Page 69 Test to her new Mercy and Elvis mystery, The Hiding Place, and reported the following:
From page 69:
CHAPTER ELEVEN

“Patience had one of those motion cameras on the porch. So that she could see the people who left animals on her doorstep.”

“I thought it was anonymous,” said Troy. “I thought that was the whole point of the rescue drop-off station.”

“It was,” said Mercy. “It is. But in case anything goes wrong, she needs to be able to contact them. Like if the animals turn out to have rabies or some other communicable disease.”

“Does that ever happen?” asked Ed.

“I don’t know. But that’s not the point. The point is, we should have film of whoever left those kittens on the porch.”

“And whoever left the bomb.”
Don't panic. No kittens--or any other animal--were harmed during the course of this story. But on page 69 we see our heroine Mercy Carr, her cousin Ed, and game warden Troy Warner examining a crime scene, which just happens to be the porch of the Victorian house where Mercy's grandmother Patience lives. The man who murdered Mercy's grandfather has escaped from prison, and this bombing may confirm that he's out for revenge--and that the target of his revenge may be Patience.

Her grandmother is the one person Mercy most relies upon for love and understanding—the rock who never fails her. The thought of losing her is unbearable, and she’ll do anything to keep her safe. In The Hiding Place, Mercy must dig deeply into the past to reveal the dark secrets that could destroy her grandmother and their family—or save them all. The porch bombing is just the first in a series of threats that Mercy and her canine companion Elvis must face while they search for the truth—and take down the killer.
Visit Paula Munier's website.

Coffee with a Canine: Paula Munier & Bear.

The Page 69 Test: A Borrowing of Bones.

The Page 69 Test: Blind Search.

My Book, The Movie: The Hiding Place.

--Marshal Zeringue