Roundup and Reckoning
(2026)(The sixth book in the Last Range Mystery series)
A novel by Hailey Hartley
When livestock buyer Morgan Mercer arrives at Blackwood Ranch to evaluate cattle during the chaos of fall roundup, she expects routine measurements and paperwork. What she doesn't expect is for her Shetland Sheepdog Tucker to lead her straight to ranch foreman Wyatt Chambers's body inside a grain bin. The sheriff quickly rules it a tragic accident during busy operations, but Morgan knows ranching safety protocols, and something about the scene doesn't sit right. Experienced foremen like Wyatt don't make fatal mistakes around grain bins, and Tucker won't stop alerting to danger at every turn. As Morgan digs deeper with Tucker's keen nose guiding her investigation, she uncovers secrets that someone in the tight-knit community of Aspen Valley has been killing to protect.
The deeper Morgan investigates, the more she realizes that Wyatt's death connects to a devastating barn fire from twenty-three years ago that killed two people and reshaped the valley's entire power structure. The fire was ruled accidental at the time, but Wyatt had recently discovered evidence proving it was arson and murder. He'd been planning to finally tell the truth after decades of guilt-ridden silence, and someone couldn't let that happen. With threatening notes appearing on her windshield, her tires slashed in broad daylight, and a dark truck running her off a mountain road, Morgan realizes the killer is tracking her every move and willing to do whatever it takes to keep the past buried beneath Montana soil.
Racing against time with Tucker's instincts proving sharper than any detective's and Deputy Liam Knox quietly supporting her efforts, Morgan must figure out which respected rancher committed murder before she becomes the next victim. But in a valley where family legacy matters more than truth and neighbors protect their own at any cost, uncovering a decades-old crime means risking everything Morgan has built in her career. Some empires are built on lies and blood, and some people believe those foundations should stay hidden forever. But Morgan Mercer has never been one to ignore when something doesn't add up, and Tucker has never been wrong about what's buried beneath the surface. In Aspen Valley, some secrets demand twenty-three years of silence, and some truths are worth dying for.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
The deeper Morgan investigates, the more she realizes that Wyatt's death connects to a devastating barn fire from twenty-three years ago that killed two people and reshaped the valley's entire power structure. The fire was ruled accidental at the time, but Wyatt had recently discovered evidence proving it was arson and murder. He'd been planning to finally tell the truth after decades of guilt-ridden silence, and someone couldn't let that happen. With threatening notes appearing on her windshield, her tires slashed in broad daylight, and a dark truck running her off a mountain road, Morgan realizes the killer is tracking her every move and willing to do whatever it takes to keep the past buried beneath Montana soil.
Racing against time with Tucker's instincts proving sharper than any detective's and Deputy Liam Knox quietly supporting her efforts, Morgan must figure out which respected rancher committed murder before she becomes the next victim. But in a valley where family legacy matters more than truth and neighbors protect their own at any cost, uncovering a decades-old crime means risking everything Morgan has built in her career. Some empires are built on lies and blood, and some people believe those foundations should stay hidden forever. But Morgan Mercer has never been one to ignore when something doesn't add up, and Tucker has never been wrong about what's buried beneath the surface. In Aspen Valley, some secrets demand twenty-three years of silence, and some truths are worth dying for.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Used availability for Hailey Hartley's Roundup and Reckoning