Book ~ "Mud Run Murder" (2017) Leslie Langtry

From Goodreads ~ Ex-CIA Agent turned small town Girl Scout leader, Merry Wrath, thinks she has her hands full getting her troop ready for the Mud Run out at scout camp. But a trip to the movies, where she sees her whole career played out on the big screen, turns her world from little girls to great big lies. Turns out her former handler, Riley, is hiding something and the Agency is on the warpath, thinking Merry has leaked classified intel.

Merry is a former CIA agent who loved her job and was very good at it. But when her identity is exposed, she’s forced into early retirement, given a severance package and told to start over somewhere new. After changing her appearance, she returns to her small hometown in Iowa, where her best friend, Kelly, still lives. Together they run a Girl Scout troop while Merry tries to adjust to a much quieter life.

When Merry goes to see a movie at a theatre, she stunned to realized that it's her life as a spy on the big screen. The movie shuts down abruptly during the viewing and across the country. Merry is concerned the CIA will think she was behind the movie, which it turns out is based on an yet-to-be published book, which will send them after her. So she starts digging to see who was behind it. In the meantime, her scout troup is excited about the upcoming mud run and training hard.

This is the fifth in the Merry Wrath mystery series (there are currently 36) and for the most part I liked it. It can be read as a stand alone but it's fun to read them in order. It's written in first person perspective in Merry's voice so we can to hear her thoughts (and she has a lot!). I liked the writing style ... it was conversational as if Merry was speaking to us. It was a quick fun read and I look forward to continuing on with the series.

I found the relationship between Merry and Rex, her boyfriend of a couple years, a bit unrealistic. I'm assuming they are in their mid to late thirties and have had sleepovers. But when Merry has to stay at Rex's, he puts her in the guest room? And she doesn't question that? In general, they tend to act like the neighbours they are rather than a couple.