Kate Caraway hates giving lectures at the University of Illinois so much that she fears she’ll lose her mind. So, when a student, Nate Springfield, walks into her office with a story of wild horses in danger, Kate takes an immediate leave of absence. Forty-eight hours later, she arrives in Two Horse, Montana, one of the most rugged and isolated areas in the state. In a race against time, she uses … uses her expertise and influence as a well-respected animal-rights activist to assist Nate’s eighty-two-year-old great-grandmother, Ida, in saving her herd of wild mustangs. If the county’s proposal to dam the Crow River passes, Ida’s water source will disappear. Her horses will be sold to the highest bidder and, most likely, turned into dog food. Before Kate can meet with a small coalition of citizens, who also stand to lose if the dam proposal passes, she stumbles upon a corpse with a knife wedged in his back. The dead man is Frank Springfield, Ida’s estranged son and her number-one enemy, a highly vocal member of the ranching community, who favors the dam. Since Nate is the last person to have seen his grandfather alive, the sheriff issues a warrant for his arrest, and the young man goes on the lam. Kate is convinced of his innocence and determined to prove it, but as she gets closer to truth, she discovers that some men will do anything, including murder, to keep their nefarious scheme from being exposed.
more
Opera dogs, a feisty old woman and a cause worthy of a good fight or possibly murder? Kathleen Kaska’s, Two Horse Town, will reel you in with earthy descriptions of Montana’s mountainous terrain, dialogue that will make you snort with laughter and characters that are as lively as a pack of wild mustangs.
I have to say, I loved this Kate Caraway mystery even more than the first. Kathleen Kaska does an amazing job of filling the reader in on the previous details of book one without repetitive backstory. This book can be read as a stand alone, and the reader won’t miss a beat.
Kaska’s love of animals and nature bring life and humor to the book. I love that each mystery brings awareness to a real animal issue.
The rustic trails with their gravel switchbacks aren’t the only thing that twists and leaves you hanging off the edge. The author keeps the pages turning to find out what is at the bottom of her rustic, homespun mystery.
Kaska will leave you guessing until the end and waiting for another Kate Caraway story. If you love descriptive land scapes that make you feel the cool breeze on your skin or the Montana sun so bright you have to squint to see, you will love, Two Horse Town. Bravo Kathleen Kaska!
Sent from my iPhone
A Two Horse Town opens with a visceral scene. It’s a moonlit night in Big Sky Country. An acrophobic woman scales a boulder ever aware that one wrong step, one slip of a sweaty palm, could lead to a painful-at-best fall. A straight-outa-the-chute beginning to an excellent mystery.
Kate Caraway hadn’t anticipated how much she would miss Kenya, a place where she immediately felt a sense of home, and a research position that fulfilled her. But her husband had a prime job opportunity, so they moved to Chicago. Disliking her work at the University of Illinois, she eagerly agrees to help her student, Nate Springfield. She takes a leave of absence to go to Montana to save wild mustangs endangered by a purposed dam which would leave them without a water supply. Soon after her arrival, Kate discovers a dead body, that of her student’s grandfather. When Nate becomes the prime suspect, Kate struggles to not only save the horses, but also to clear his name.
In Montana, Kate stays with Nate’s great-grandmother, Ida, a gun-toting nonagenarian. She is against the building of the dam, but her reckless outspokenness may work against their cause. Kate also senses that Ida is not as forthright as she seems.
Time is against Kate, and the enemies aren’t afraid to use deadly force. I won’t spoil the ending, but will say it is full of heart-racing excitement and fascinating revelations.
When I read the vivid descriptions of the settings—so bright, compelling and very much a key part of the story—Nevada Barr’s series is brought to mind. Kate Caraway has much in common with Barr’s main character, Anna Pigeon. Both feel strongly about protecting the environment and both have the willingness to take on an active role.
Like a mustang, the story gallops across the pages and I flew like a rider, gripping the horse’s mane in exhilaration. I encourage you to take that ride too. You won’t regret it.
A Two Horse Town is a mystery with a difference. It felt natural as though the events unfolded in real life. I love reading mystery books, but sometimes find that they are contrived for the sake of building a mystery. And there is nothing wrong with that because, as a reader, that’s what we want. But this book seemed like it was happening in real life. The characters and their situations seemed real, yet drama-filled. There were twists and turns and the tension built toward the end. I enjoyed that it wasn’t violent but rather focused on the interesting characters in the small town. You can’t help loving Ida despite her crazy ways, and several of the other secondary characters with all their colorful and conflicting personalities.
Her scenery descriptions were magical, and I’d love to watch the wild horses galloping past. It was a lovely escape for a long-weekend read.
I love mysteries, and I love animal rights activism. This book combines both. I enjoyed every chapter, but now that I’m finished, I’m left with impressions of wonderful characters, pressing conflicts resolved, and an aftertaste that order is restored to this two-horse town.