Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Murder In The Winner’s Circle: A Harness Racing Mystery by M.J. Evans. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
Murder In The Winner’s Circle: A Harness Racing Mystery by M.J. Evans
Murder In The Winner’s Circle: A Harness Racing Mystery
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Pennsylvania
Publisher : Dancing Horse Press
Print Length – 257 Pages
Paperback
A Birthday Celebration. A Champion Horse. A Deadly Toast.
Alfred Wellington has everything he wants on his sixtieth birthday. His prized colt just won at Liberty Racetrack, the champagne is flowing, and the crowd is cheering.
Then Alfred collapses.
At first, everyone assumes it was a heart attack—until the autopsy reveals the truth.
ALFRED WELLINGTON WAS POISONED.
Former insurance investigator Callie Oaks Coffman knows Liberty Racetrack inside and out. She knows its horses, its owners, its trainers—and she knows that secrets can get someone killed. As she and her new husband, reporter Paul Coffman, become drawn into the investigation, Callie discovers that Alfred left behind plenty of people with reasons to want him dead.
A beautiful young wife.
A secretive trainer.
A bitter ex-wife.
A business partner with something to hide.
But which one of them is the killer?
BECAUSE IN THE WINNER’S CIRCLE, EVERYONE HAS SOMETHING TO HIDE.
Return to the world of Liberty Racetrack in the second Harness Racing Mystery, following Fire at the Track.
A Life of Horses, Money, and Secrets: An Introduction to Lisa Wellington
By Lisa Wellington, a character from Murder in the Winner’s Circle by M.J. Evans
People often assume that marrying a wealthy man means you have everything you could ever want. Beautiful homes, expensive clothes, exotic vacations, and horses that most people can only dream of owning. I suppose, from the outside, my life looks rather enviable.
My name is Lisa Wellington, and I’m married to Alfred Wellington, a prominent harness racing owner and successful businessman. If you’ve ever met my husband, you know he isn’t a man who fades into the background. Alfred likes to be noticed. He enjoys the finer things in life, and he has a particular talent for making sure everyone knows when one of his horses wins a race.
He also has very definite opinions about how things should be done.
Unfortunately, those opinions don’t always coincide with mine.
I’m passionate about horses, although my interests tend to lean toward dressage rather than harness racing. Give me a beautiful warmblood, a well-executed tempi change, and the opportunity to work toward Grand Prix, and I’m perfectly happy. Alfred, on the other hand, is happiest when one of his Standardbreds crosses the finish line first.
We have learned to accommodate each other’s interests. At least, that’s what I tell myself.
Of course, horses can be expensive. Very expensive. Fortunately, Alfred has never been a man to pinch pennies when something catches his attention. Whether it’s a promising young racehorse or another addition to my stable, money has rarely been an obstacle.
But wealth comes with its own complications. There are business associates to entertain, social expectations to meet, and people who seem much more interested in what Alfred can do for them than in who he really is.
And then there are the secrets.
Every marriage has its private corners, I suppose. Every family has things it would rather not discuss in public. The trouble begins when those private matters become impossible to keep hidden.
I learned that the hard way.
One evening at Liberty Racetrack, Alfred celebrated a particularly exciting victory by his new colt, Firecracker. It was also his sixtieth birthday, so I thought a champagne toast in the winner’s circle would be the perfect way to mark the occasion. Everyone was there—friends, business associates, racing people, and, of course, the photographers.
It should have been a wonderful night.
It wasn’t.
Alfred collapsed shortly after the celebration began. One moment, he was basking in the crowd’s admiration. The next, he was fighting for his life.
I won’t pretend that Alfred and I had a perfect marriage. We didn’t. But nothing prepares you for the sudden possibility of losing someone who has been such a large part of your world.
And nothing prepares you for the questions that follow.
When Detective Rita Kowalski began investigating Alfred’s death, I discovered just how quickly grief can become tangled with suspicion. People who had smiled at me across dinner tables suddenly seemed to be studying my every word. Conversations took on new meanings. Old disagreements were remembered. And things I had thought were private became matters of public interest.
Then there was Callie Oaks Coffman.
Callie knows the Liberty Racetrack community well. She understands the horses, the people who care for them, and the rivalries that can simmer beneath the surface of a racing operation. She also has a habit of noticing things other people miss.
I suspect that makes her a very good investigator.
I also suspect it makes her rather dangerous to anyone who has something to hide.
As for me, I have my own concerns. My future is suddenly uncertain, my husband’s affairs are under scrutiny, and I am discovering that the people around me may not be quite who I thought they were.
Perhaps that is the real lesson of life at the racetrack: appearances can be deceiving. A winning horse may be carrying more than its share of trouble, a trusted business partner may have motives of his own, and even a champagne toast can conceal something far more sinister.
So, if you find yourself at Liberty Racetrack, enjoy the races. Admire the horses. Celebrate the winners.
But take my advice.
Be careful whom you trust.
And never assume that everyone standing in the winner’s circle belongs there.
Lisa Wellington is a character in Murder in the Winner’s Circle, the second book in M.J. Evans’s Harness Racing Mystery series. When a celebrated horse owner collapses in the winner’s circle during his sixtieth birthday celebration, what appears to be a tragic heart attack soon becomes a murder investigation. With a determined detective, a sharp-eyed amateur sleuth, and a racetrack full of people with secrets, the truth may be more dangerous than anyone expects.
About M.J. Evans
M.J. Evans is the award-winning author of twenty-seven published works spanning middle-grade, young adult, and adult fiction, as well as a selection of picture books. Her writing often explores themes centered around horses and equine fantasy, reflecting a lifelong passion for these remarkable animals. A graduate of Oregon State University and a former educator with experience teaching both middle and high school students, Ms. Evans brings both educational insight and storytelling flair to her work. She resides in beautiful Colorado with her husband, Tom, where they enjoy the company of their horses and Standard Poodle. She is the proud mother of five and grandmother of thirteen.
M.J. Evans was the recipient of the 2024 Colorado Authors League Lifetime Achievement Award.
Literary awards include:
Chanticleer International Book Awards
Readers’ Favorite International Awards
Eric Hoffer Awards
Nautilus Awards
Literary Classics awards
Literary Global Book Awards
Literary Titan Book Award
Feathered Quill Book Awards
Purple Dragonfly Awards
Royal Dragonfly Awards
Page Turner Award
Next Generation Award
Global Book Awards
CIPA Evvy Book Awards
Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards
Incipere Book Awards
International Impact Book Awards
Maincrest Media Book Awards
Book Excellence Awards
Mom’s Choice Awards
Author Links
Website: www.dancinghorsepress.com.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4496514.M J Evans
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/m-j-evans
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/M.-J.-Evans/e/B004GMS014
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/margi.evans.98
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mjevansbooks/
Enter the Giveaway
Murder in the Winner’s Circle TOUR PARTICIPANTS
November 3 – Books1987 – SPOTLIGHT
November 3 – deal sharing aunt – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
November 4 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
November 5 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 6 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST
November 7 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
November 8 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
November 9 – Romance Novel Giveaways – AUTHOR GUEST POST
November 10 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
November 10 – Book HookUp – REVIEW
November 11 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – SPOTLIGHT
November 11 – Salty Inspirations – AUTHOR GUEST POST
November 12 – Sarcastically Yours, Jen– SPOTLIGHT
November 12 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW
November 13 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT
November 13 – Christa Reads and Writes – REVIEW
November 14 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT
November 15 – Sarandipity’s – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
November 16 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST
November 16 – Rebecca M. Douglass, Author – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
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