Austin is the retired Head of Cornell's Veterinary School in upstate NY, and though he might have had dreams of the easy life with his wife Madeline, he lost that option when he made a large and injudicious investment in a local company. So now he's started up a large animal practice to keep out of trouble and a roof over their head, though it would be nice if business picked up a bit. Still, Austin is willing to wait for his practice to grow on it's own, and doesn't appreciate the sudden rash of veterinarian killings in the county. Nor does he much want to take Brewster McClellan up on his offer of fifteen thousand dollars for a week of veterinary services at the Earlsdown Three Day (Equestrian) Event. Fortunately for his bank account, his wife is made of more reasonable stuff, and Austin finds himself up to his ears in high toned horse folk.

Austin McKenzie isn't the sort of man to suffer fools, or worse, gladly. At the best of times he's a bit of a curmudgeon and when he gets his dander up he's the sort of man who tilts at windmills with gusto. Brewster McMullen may be a brilliant venture capitalist, but if he thinks he can abuse his family, the good doctor, and his prize Swedish Warmblood (which is to say, a light draft horse) with impunity, he's got another think coming. Undoubtedly it was the horse that got to McKenzie, and when he loses his temper over its treatment he decides to solve the multiple mysteries that have been piling up around him, hopefully with McMullen taking the fall.

With fourteen mysteries behind her, it's no surprise that Claudia Bishop can concoct a solid cast of characters while plotting out a very satisfying mystery for them to solve. The strong romantic element between Austin and Madeline is handled nicely, reminding us that love can do more than endure, it can deepen. Along with the Doc and his wife we pick up a pair of young folks to help out around the clinic. Joe, a veterinary student earning his way though school, and Allegra, a college girl who loves horses and whose family has fallen from fiscal grace. Her father, in fact, was the CEO of the company that Austin put too much faith in, and now she's trying to find her own place in a world where things are suddenly very different. They're both fine kids, and they fill in a number of vacant niches in the McKenzie's lives, everything from the kids they never had to the undercover operatives they're going to need.

The fun of this book is as much meeting the folks who promise to be recurring characters as it is solving the puzzle. Austin writes a column for the local paper, so we get a whole newsroom, if a small one to pump for facts. Simon Provost, the chief of detectives, really doesn't want any help solving the murders, especially if it's going to bring the wrong kind of publicity to the town. Victor Bergland, the current dean at Cornell, and a constant source of irritation to Austin. Luscious Lila Gernsback, whose judgment in men is generally horrific, though she does have a thing for Austin. Which makes the Doc skittish, and amuses his wife no end. Not all the characters are human, by the way. Certainly Lincoln the dog, deserves mention, and I suppose the feline Miss Odie as well.

Things wind up pretty satisfactorily, with the cast well ensconced and justice served cold, though I'm not sure we were given an adequate chance to solve things before the final scene. Still, we got to see the inside of several new worlds, at least for those of us with no more than a passing acquaintance with veterinary medicine or horse events. Most importantly we get to develop an attachment to the prickly and imperfect Austin and his cohorts. Hopefully the author isn't out horsing around when she should be hard at work on the next book.