Astride a Pink Horse by Robert Greer, a Mysterious Review.

Review: The murder of a former Air Force sergeant that has a trio of investigators baffled is at the center of Robert Greer's stand-alone mystery, Astride the Pink Horse.

Thurmond Giles was found dead, hanging nude by his ankles in a decommissioned military compound, a former cold-war nuclear missile site in Wyoming. A nuclear maintenance technician who had served in the Air Force, his body was mutilated and a piece of a map stuffed in his mouth. Major Bernadette Cameron, a special investigations officer with the Warren Air Force Base, is assigned to the case to determine if national security was breached. But when it seems as if that is not the case, the investigation is turned over to the Platte County Sheriff's Department. But Bernadette can't let go, and is forced to take an involuntary leave of absence when she disobeys orders to cease. She teams up with a reporter, Elgin "Cozy" Coseia, to piece together what may have happened, but as they dig deeper they only seem to generate more questions than answers.

The diverse and engaging cast of characters in Astride the Pink Horse help elevate this novel into the top tier of mysteries to be published this year. In addition to Bernadette and Cozy, the other principal involved in the investigation is Cozy's boss Freddie Dames, the son of a millionaire who has the resources to pursue whatever news story interests him without any regard to a financial return. The motives put forth for Giles's death are far-ranging but also quite credible. As a black man, Giles's murder could have been a hate crime, and there's certainly evidence to suggest as much. As a expert in atomic weaponry, he could have been part of a blackmail scheme or technology theft gone wrong. And there's evidence to support this as well. It could have been a political statement on the part of someone for some reason (pro or con). The whodunit and whydunit elements of this mystery will keep readers guessing right up to the very end.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Astride a Pink Horse.

Acknowledgment: Caitlin Hamilton Marketing provided an ARC of Astride a Pink Horse for this review.

First of State
North Atlantic (Hardcover), October 2010
ISBN-13: 9781556439155; ISBN-10: 1556439156