Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Clincher | 2018 | Lisa Preston | Buy |
| 2 | Dead Blow | 2019 | Lisa Preston | Buy |
| 3 | Forging Fire | 2020 | Lisa Preston | Buy |
Lisa Preston’s Horseshoer Mystery series gives the mystery genre a protagonist you don’t see often: a working farrier whose knowledge of horses and the people who keep them proves surprisingly useful when crimes need solving. The Clincher (2018), Dead Blow (2019), and Forging Fire (2020) follow her through three cases set in the rural Pacific Northwest.
The series benefits from Preston’s own knowledge of horses and rural life, which keeps the setting details specific rather than generic. The farrier tools referenced in the titles aren’t just wordplay; they connect to a world of physical work and close-knit communities that gives these mysteries a different texture from their urban counterparts.