
Genre:
Mystery
Themes:
Cozy Mystery
Mystery / Suspense
Pet / Wild Animal
Heat Level:
Sweet (kissing, holding hands, etc., but no other on-the-page physical intimacy)
Archetypes:
Veterinarian / Animal Rescue
Geographic Location:
United States: Midwest
Setting:
Farm / Ranch
Small Town / Rural
Vet Clinic / Animal Shelter / Pet Shop
Sexual / Gender Identity:
Lesbian
Fertile Betrayal
By Becky Bohan
A mysterious crisis with newborn calves tests a small-town veterinarian
Veterinarian Nedra Wells has moved to a small town in Minnesota to open a mixed-animal practice. For years she has envisioned being a country vet like her father, and after meeting and falling in love with school teacher Annie Callahan, Nedra was sure she could have it all—the career, the lover and life in a small town. Life should be perfect, but it’s not. Nedra and Annie’s reception in town—as low-profile, but unmistakable lesbians—has been polite, but cool. Annie’s reservations about leaving their urban life have not been replaced by a happy settling in. Her sense of isolation only increases with her fear that sharing a life with Nedra will mean giving up her own. Against a backdrop of a possible fracture in her relationship, Nedra’s practice confronts her with a deadly health crisis in a local cattle herd. Baffled at first by her inability to diagnose and treat the problem medically, Nedra’s inquiry leads her into a broader investigation and ultimately, to the solution of a very human problem.