A Right Royal Revenge (Highland Horse Whisperer, #2) by R.B. Marshall

A Right Royal Revenge by R.B. Marshall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A winning return to the high-stakes competition and culture of the horse world in the Scottish highlands.

When Isobel “Izzy” Paterson finds a potential client, Pat McDade, dead in his office before their first meeting and herself a prime murder suspect, she leaps into action to clear her name. However, as she didn’t get the chance to discuss the matter the man wanted her to investigate, she has few suspects to look at other than Pat’s wife, Francine, and the all too chummy show-jumper for Francine’s horse, Darcy.

Roommate and business partner, Trinity Allen, is busy with her very successful salsa class in town, its popularity boosted by a timely newspaper article written by the besotted local reporter, Neil Etherington. Izzy, too, has continued her friendship with Police Sergeant Dean Lovell yet finds herself still thinking about her recent beau, Craig MacDonald. He is still in Windsor temporarily replacing their ailing stable manager.

Meanwhile, Izzy is preparing the queen’s stallion, Eagle, a Highland Pony, and Lady Letham’s mare, Allegra, for competition in the upcoming Royal Highland Show. Princess Anne will be there to present the awards. But, as strange acts of vandalism, some annoying but others that could have hurt someone, are discovered, the list of suspects quickly expands.

A Right Royal Revenge is an excellent cozy mystery, and Izzy is a dedicated and intelligent sleuth. This time, Izzy’s having to work outside the police investigation as she is one of their suspects, and I liked that the author included how this puts a crimp in her budding relationship with the hunky Sergeant Lovely. The mystery is not easy to figure out, but Izzy gets right down to business, asking the right people the right questions, so the resolution makes sense.

Reading this second book in the Highland Horse Whisperer series was like putting on a much-loved pair of slippers: cozy and comfortable. I felt almost as if I knew these people personally, and I was anxious to see how things were going for them. I have missed these characters.

An extra entertaining aspect to me is that the author laces the story with the everyday activities of caring for and training horses. Wow. It is more complex than I ever imagined: both eye-opening and interesting.

As the series progresses, readers learn more about the local community of Glengowrie. I like continuing characters, in general, and many of the Glengowrie crowd are real stand-outs: some offering stability, others humor and quirkiness. It’s nice to see familiar faces.

I recommend A Right Royal Revenge to readers who enjoy cozy mysteries, horse-themed stories, appearances by royals, and tales set in Scotland.


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