Mercy Carr sits down for a Q&A with dru’s book musings responding to twenty or more questions so that we can learn more about her. Are you ready? Let’s get to know Mercy.
What is your full name?
Mercy Fleury Carr. My mother’s side of the family has long given their daughters virtue names. Hence Mercy. (My mother’s name is Grace and my grandmother’s name is Patience.) Fleury is my grandmother’s maiden name.
How old are you?
I’ll face my thirtieth birthday in The Hiding Place.
What is your profession?
I was a military police officer in the Army. Now I’m transitioning to the civilian world, doing freelance security work and helping out my grandmother at her veterinary clinic and trying to figure out the best road ahead.
Do you have a significant other?
That’s a good question. My fiancé Martinez died in Afghanistan, in the same battle in which I was wounded and his bomb-sniffing dog Elvis was traumatized. I’ve got Elvis now, and we’re both grieving for Martinez, whom we may very well mourn forever. There is this game warden named Troy, but I’m not sure how he—or any man—can ever measure up to Martinez?
What is their name and profession?
Troy Warner is a Vermont Game Warden, and Susie Bear is his search-and-rescue dog.
Do you have any children?
No. Martinez and I planned to have a family, but now that he’s gone, I can’t see that happening.
Do you have any siblings?
I have an older brother named Nick. He’s a doctor, which pleased our parents but left them to count on me to join the family law firm. The one thing I know I never want to be: a lawyer.
Are your parents nearby?
They’re 159 miles away in Boston, and as much as I love them, I am grateful for every mile.
Who is your best friend?
Since Martinez died, Elvis is my best friend. Don’t look at me like that—you know that dogs are woman’s best friend.
Do you have any pets?
Elvis is nobody’s pet. He chooses to be my companion, and for that I am truly grateful.
What town do you live in?
I live in a hundred-year-old cabin on the edge of the forest in southwestern Vermont.
Do you live in a small town or a big city?
I need the solace and the solitude of the wilderness, so I live as close to it as I can. The village of Northshire is just down the road, and when I miss the city—which hardly ever happens—I can always visit my parents in Boston.
Type of dwelling and do you own or rent?
I used the small inheritance my grandfather left me to buy the cabin when I came home from Afghanistan. Nothing fancy, but it’s mine.
What is your favorite spot in your home?
On fair days: The porch, in one of my grandmother’s rocking chairs overlooking the garden, watching Elvis run down to the barn and back. On snow days: The great room, on the sofa in front of the fireplace, with a good book and a glass of wine, Elvis’s head on my feet.
Favorite meal and dessert?
My grandmother’s Yankee pot roast, with a good bottle of Big Barn Red. For dessert, chocolate doberge cake, which she makes for my birthday every year.
Do you have any hobbies?
I don’t have hobbies as much as I have pleasant coping mechanisms, namely yoga and boxing and the outdoors. Elvis and I love hiking; we tramp through the Lye Brook Wilderness most every morning. But the most important of these necessary activities is reading. I’ll read anything and everything, but Shakespeare is my touchstone. I feel like everything I need to know about life—good and bad—is in his work.
What is your favorite vacation spot?
I was raised in Boston and spent summer vacations with my grandparents right here in Vermont. After Afghanistan, I came back here—and I can’t imagine living anywhere else. My mother took me to Paris when I was twelve—she said every girl should see Paris—and I’d like to go back someday. . .
What music do you listen to?
I love all kinds of music: classical, jazz, country, hip hop. Martinez introduced me to Mexican music; he used to play corridos for me on his guitar. Still brings me to tears. When I need to breathe, I listen to kirtan and Gregorian chant.
Do you have a favorite book?
A treasured copy of The Globe Illustrated Shakespeare.
What is your idea of a really fun time?
[Laughing] I’m just getting used to the idea of fun again. I used to love to dance. Maybe someday. . .
If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
Unfinished.
Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
As a former MP, I’m a trained professional. Technically I’m a civilian now, but I keep getting involved in criminal investigations, which is a help or a hindrance to local law enforcement, depending on whom you ask.
In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
Elvis and I are up early, usually hiking in the Green Mountains by dawn. Our happy place. Then we head home for breakfast with Amy and her baby Helena, who are living with me, at least until Amy gets back on her feet. Then they go off to school and daycare, and I do whatever contract gig I’ve got going on at the moment. Lately it’s investigative work for local billionaire Daniel Feinberg. Feinberg is not a bad guy, for a billionaire.
What is a typical day when you are on a case?
It’s a matter of surveillance, talking to people, tracking down leads, and figuring out what it all means –without getting killed and without getting in the way of law enforcement. I’ve been accused of having a nose for trouble, and Elvis’s nose is even more sensitive than mine; between the two of us that adds up to a lot of trouble. We do often team up with Troy and Susie Bear to solve cases, much to the dismay of Detective Kai Harrington, head of the Major Crime Unit. He doesn’t think much of civilians or dogs or game wardens. Outwitting him is half the fun.
The Hiding Place, A Mercy Carr Mystery #3
Genre: Traditional
Release: March 2021
Purchase Link
Some people take their secrets with them to the grave. Others leave them behind on their deathbeds, riddles for the survivors to solve.
When her late grandfather’s dying deputy calls Mercy to his side, she and Elvis inherit the cold case that haunted him—and may have killed him. But finding Beth Kilgore 20 years after she disappeared is more than a lost cause. It’s a Pandora’s box releasing a rain of evil on the very people Mercy and Elvis hold most dear.
The timing couldn’t be worse when the man who murdered her grandfather escapes from prison and a fellow Army vet turns up claiming that Elvis is his dog, not hers. With her grandmother Patience gone missing, and Elvis’s future uncertain, Mercy faces the prospect of losing her most treasured allies, the only ones she believes truly love and understand her.
She needs help, and that means forgiving Vermont Game Warden Troy Warner long enough to enlist his aid. With time running out for Patience, Mercy and Elvis must team up with Troy and his search-and-rescue dog Susie Bear to unravel the secrets of the past and save her grandmother―before it’s too late.
Once again, Paula Munier crafts a terrific mystery thriller filled with intrigue, action, resilient characters, the mountains of Vermont, and two amazing dogs.
About the author
Paula Munier is a literary agent and the USA Today bestselling author of the Mercy Carr mysteries. A Borrowing of Bones, the first in the series, was nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award and named the Dogwise Book of the Year. Blind Search was inspired by the real-life rescue of a little boy with autism who got lost in the woods. The Hiding Place debuts in March 2021. Paula credits the hero dogs of Mission K9 Rescue, her own rescue dogs, and a deep love of New England as her series’ major influences. Paula has also written three popular books on writing: Plot Perfect, The Writer’s Guide to Beginnings, and Writing with Quiet Hands, as well as Fixing Freddie and Happier Every Day.
All comments are welcomed.
Thanks Paula, I enjoyed getting to know more about Mercy.
Loved the first two books in this series! The Hiding Place was delivered to my door this morning. Can’t wait to read it. I hope this series goes on for a very long time.
Can’t wait to plunge in!