The second book in the Show Me mystery series has been released in Kindle and hardcover editions. I’ve already received a reader’s comment on the Kindle edition (my cousin loved it), but the hardcover won’t reach stores and libraries for a few days.

Show Me the Deadly Deer features the main characters introduced in Show Me the Murder. Former CIA covert operative Phoenix Smith tells the story, which begins when Acting Sheriff Annalynn Carr Keyser enlists Phoenix’s help in looking for a missing farmer.

You can read a teaser summary and the first chapter on the Show Me the Deadly Deer page.

Kirkus Reviews published the first review, its summary saying, “Small-town Missouri again proves almost as dangerous to a former CIA agent as European back alleys. Mulford’s second provides plenty of excitement as readers wend their ways through a slew of suspects.”

St. Louis Post-Dispatch reviewer Harry Levins notes that the book depicts the murder rate in rural Missouri as urban high but says, “Still, the local color can be colorful indeed.”

Hardcover prices at online bookstores vary from day to day, so if you want to order a copy online, check more than one site.

—Carolyn Mulford