_Bloodhound_ (Beka Cooper #2), Tamora Pierce

The harvest isn't too good this year and there are rumors that the rye harvest includes ergot contaminated grain. Between that and a big uptick in the number of counterfeit silver coins circulating, day-old bread prices are hiked and the poor in Corus riot. Beka -- who has lost yet another crappy partner -- Tunstall and Goodwin are in the thick of it and Tunstall's legs are broken. They receive a big assist from some caravan guards in town from Port Caynn: Dale, Steen and Hanse.

In the course of tracking down bad coin and who is passing it, Beka runs across Hanse's name again. And Port Caynn keeps coming up as well. Goodwin and Beka are assigned to go find out what's up in Port Caynn, especially since the Deputy Provost there, Lionel of Trebond (complete with the familiar purple gift, but using it to no good end), claims all is peaceful in his city. Unlike every other port in Tortall (or, for that matter, anywhere at all).

The pigeons follow Beka (in particular, Slapper), but Pounce has duties in the Divine Realms. Beka has acquired a scent hound, Achoo, from an abusive handler. And there are spinners everywhere, of course. The narrative is again provided by Beka's journals as she explores the city with Goodwin, pretending to be bad cops. While the Rogue in Tortall -- at least the current one -- is competent at caring for his people and staying out of trouble that would bring the Guard down on him, the same is _not_ true in Port Caynn. Pearl Skinner has cowed Lionel completely and corrupted a large chunk of the Guard. With a bad winter coming and most of the silver in the city counterfeit, it looks bad all around.

Lots of fun here, especially for Dale and Beka. One hopes that her little fling while out of town opens Beka up to the possibilities of making Rosto back in Corus happy. It could happen! I hope. Or at least that she finds someone to have a good time with. I'm expecting we'll see more of Pearl's bodyguard who survived the end of the book, too.

Highly recommended, because, after all, this is Tamora Pierce, after all. You might be able to start here, but I'd recommend getting Terrier. There's some merit in reading the earlier/later Tortallan series, but since these chronologically precede them, I think it doesn't matter much.

Today's Activities included: horses (and dogs)

I went down to Breezy Hill Farm today in Holliston, a place that does therapeutic riding and does not have a multi year wait list. I got to observe a few minutes of a lesson with a kid on the spectrum who is older than T. but still pre-pubescent. Very small operation, definite a family-run kind of place, but the horses are mellow and (to untrained eyes at least) seem content and healthy. The barn smells about like I think it should (no mildew smell, and the hay smell predominating). Lots of dogs ambling around -- very well-behaved, friendly dogs who come up to greet visitors in an extremely low-key way. They smelled my hand, let me pet them and sniffed A.'s foot (she was in the sling) but at no point did any of them jump on me, altho the collie definitely jumped up on the woman I was walking around with.

Very pleasant. Turns out the man of the farm has family from Friesland. Hoodathunk?