Holy City

Holy City by Henry Wise, 344 pages

For unknown reasons, deputy Will has returned to his small hometown in rural Virginia, despite the fact that his estranged family is long gone and he has a barely functional house to live in. After Will pulls the body of a local man from a fire, the corrupt sheriff immediately pins the murder on a Black man who was seen running away from the scene, though Will is sure that he's not the culprit. Will grudgingly partners with a private investigator to start looking into the murder outside of proper channels, and the pair uncovers all manner of seedy corruption in the small town.

This was suggested to me as a mystery, and while yes, there is an investigation into who killed the guy found in the fire, it's pretty obvious who did it and it gets solved WAY before the end of the book. I wasn't a big fan of this one, as it was really hard to find any redeeming qualities in any of the characters, or to really understand their motives. If you want morally questionable characters in a gritty, racially charged crime novel set in the South, pick up S.A. Cosby and leave this one on the shelf.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie by Rita Mae Brown (2014) 272 pages

At an event that the Jefferson Hunt Club attends in Kentucky, a storm sends a limb crashing into a grave dated from almost a hundred years ago at an equine cemetery. It is discovered that there is a human body and canine body in the grave as well as that of a horse. Thus begins interest in who could possibly have been in the grave, along with interest in the horse buried there, too. As the hunt season progresses, back home in Virginia, details are learned that appear to link horses and people from the past to the current time.

I hadn't any particular interest in the whole industry of people on horseback who follow foxhounds which are trying to sniff out foxes. But Brown skillfully weaves her tale, showing the people who love their horses, their dogs, and even the foxes (which were not chased to be killed, I need to add). As we are introduced to these characters in rural Virginia, we learn that the hunt club is very structured; there are a few employees, but there are mostly dedicated, unpaid volunteers who have specific tasks and places to be during the hunt, and specific actions to take before and during a hunt, as when a fox is sighted, or if the fox has gotten to an area of safety, away from the hounds. Seventy-three year old Sister Jane Arnold (not a nun; it's not clear how she got her name) is the Master of Foxhounds, in charge of the Jefferson Hunt Club's hunts. Through her and her companions, we also learn about horse breeding and lineage. And solve a murder.