Mountain Man Mysteries

In the small town of Clarkesville, in the heart of the Oregon Cascade Mountains, a humble forester stumbles into the complex world of crooked cops and power-hungry politicians…all because he rescues a stray, injured dog on the highway.

Lehigh Carter never really meant to adopt the dog. But his ex-fiancée, Stacy McBride, convinces him to do it, with a promise to help. Their rekindled romance angers her father, state Senator George McBride, who sees her backwoods suitor as a blemish on his carefully created political image. It also sets off a chain of events that entangle Lehigh in a life-or-death conflict with the senator’s hardnosed campaign treasurer, Paul van Paten, who had his own plans for Stacy’s future.

Selected as one of Pople’s Book Reviews Best Reads for Fall 2017, The Mountain Man’s Dog, Book One of The Mountain Man Mysteries series, is a briskly told crime thriller loaded with equal parts suspense, romance, and light-hearted humor, pitting honor and loyalty against ruthless ambition and runaway greed in a town too small for anyone to get away with anything.

And this time, he’s pissed.

In this sequel to The Mountain Man’s Dog, rustic forester Lehigh Carter must prove that his fiancée is innocent of murdering a popular Acting Sheriff — but evidence of a secret affair makes even Lehigh wonder if he should fight for her freedom against the corrupt local machine that accused her.

Lehigh and Stacy, happily engaged and caring for two adorable dogs, have begun rebuilding their lives after exposing a local cabal who burned down Lehigh’s house, vandalized Stacy’s veterinary clinic, and framed Lehigh for everything. But the murder of popular acting Sheriff Jared Barkley in Clarkesville, a small town in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains, put Lehigh and Stacy’s plans to marry on hold when Stacy is arrested for committing the crime.

On the advice of her lawyer, Stacy cuts off ties to Lehigh, who remains a subject of the investigation himself by the crooked cops and politicians running Mt. Hood County.

Lehigh’s own lawyer, the smart, beautiful Samantha Pullen, works the legal angles to keep Lehigh out of jail, but he ignores her advice to keep a low profile and conducts his own investigation into the murder, putting himself in greater danger than he ever imagined.

A chance meeting with an old high school friend prompts Lehigh to visit the victim’s grieving mother, who will talk only to one who has suffered the same way—Lehigh’s own mother, who, in her advancing senile dementia, blames Lehigh for the death of his older brother when they were tykes. When the two women bond, Lehigh becomes privy to new information revealing a series of clandestine meetings between Jared and Stacy leading up to his death—meetings that look a lot like an ongoing secret love affair, rekindled from their youth.

As Lehigh continues his investigation, his doubts about Stacy’s innocence multiply—particularly when she appears to make romantic overtures to her ex-fianceé, attorney Paul van Paten, a leading member of the conspiracy against Lehigh. Cooperating with the only honest cop he knows in the county, Detective “Gentleman Jim” Wadsworth, Lehigh plays a high-stakes game of legal chicken to infiltrate the conspiracy and discover the truth behind Jared Barkley’s murder.

The Mountain Man’s Bride picks up where The Mountain Man’s Dog leaves off, but each can be enjoyed independently of the other. The Mountain Man Mysteries combine the adventure and grit of a thriller, the suspense of a mystery, and the humor of a romantic dog cozy to delight and enchant all readers who enjoy a well-written story.

Mountain Man Lehigh Carter got talked into serving the unexpired term of disgraced long-time Mt. Hood County sheriff Buck Winters, hoping for a quiet nine months in office before the voters selected a new, permanent office-holder. But a few months into the job, poachers discover the body of Everett Downey, a sleazy local businessman, and the evidence points to Lehigh’s brand-new father-in-law, the once-powerful senator George McBride.

To his chagrin and his new bride’s fury, Lehigh is forced to arrest George for the murder, and suddenly his happy marriage is on the rocks. Soon he’s living in a tent with only his two dogs for companionship.

While most people in Mt. Hood County appreciate Lehigh’s honesty and his willingness to fight the cronyism and corruption that have plagued Mt. Hood County law enforcement for decades, his desire for reform ruffles some important feathers. Lehigh finds himself fighting unseen enemies, determined to portray him as inept and even more corrupt than his predecessor–even at the cost of protecting the integrity of the murder investigation. Even his own deputies seem intent on bringing back the old guard, and a series of evidence leaks put Lehigh’s reputation and ability to serve as sheriff in jeopardy.

Lehigh’s not a quitter, though, and with dogged persistence, begins to chip away at the investigation, discovering facts that don’t add up…and leads him to suspect why some of those most intent on removing him from office have reasons far more sinister than Lehigh’s agenda of reform. Can Lehigh uncover the truth behind Everett Downey’s murder without becoming the killer’s next victim?

With plot twists at every turn and the stakes rising on every page, this is a book you won’t want to put down.