In the latest mystery in the Mercy Carr series, “The Night Woods,” main character Mercy and her husband Troy have settled into their new historic home, Grackle Tree Farm, and are waiting for the birth of their first child. Mercy is restless, and as her delivery date nears, she worries more and more about being a mother. Will a baby change her? Will she be unable to continue working and solving murders? Will she be a decent mother? Will her baby be a dainty feminine girl with whom she will have nothing in common? (She’s hoping for a boy.)

But, of course, nine-months-pregnant Mercy stumbles across a murder. Hiking in the woods with her dog Elvis, a former military K9, she goes to visit a new friend, a hermit named Homer. They play Scrabble together and while he lives far off the grid, his skill with words is prodigious. Elvis also like to play with his huge bloodhound, Argos. But when she arrives at his cabin, there is a murdered man inside and no sign of Homer. Elvis manages to find Homer, injured, and Mercy ingeniously creates a travois to get him to safety.

The mystery deepens when a local billionaire disappears during a hunt he hosted on his huge property for other one-percenters. And when Troy, who is the local game warden, is out with his search and rescue dog Susie Bear, and they stumble across the naked body of a man in a flooded creek, the murder count has quickly doubled. The murders seem unconnected. What could a billionaire and a visitor to a hermit have in common? But as fans of Munier know, she is supremely capable of throwing spaghetti at the ceiling and not only having some stick up there, but braiding it enroute. The more messy facts and mysterious matters there are, the more Munier will confound us with myriad suspects and many possible motives.

The trail that Mercy follows will lead back to her days as an MP in Afghanistan and bring back some bitter memories. There’s some serious trauma that those returning from was zones face, and Munier reminds us of what the soldiers not only endure, but suffer when they return to a “normal” life. In fact, the Odyssey, the story by the Greek Homer, is one of the central topics in this novel because that story is of a soldier, Odysseus, returning home after his decades of travel, and discovering that homecomings are not always what they should be. Soldiers returning home often, too often, discover that sad fact in heartbreaking ways.

As Mercy plods along, worrying about false labor and premature contractions, trying to solve the murders and absolve her friend Homer, we are afforded a real sense of who Mercy is. Her strengths, her loyalty, and her insecurities. And dare I say we like her better for all those very human traits, including her frailties and worries. There are many things to like about the Mercy Carr series, and the abundance of dogs is just one of them. There’s also a rescue cat for those who like furry felines, but Elvis, Susie Bear, and the bloodhound Argos are delightful. And one of the murder victims leaves behind a Viszla that must be cared for and rehomed. It’s extremely obvious that Paula Munier, like other mystery authors who love their dogs (think David Rosenfelt and Spencer Quinn) loves writing about her canine pals. And we love reading about them.

This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.