Dying to Jump

Trish Hennessey sees mysteries everywhere. Most of the time, the mystery is only in her head but this time, Trish is right and it nearly gets her killed.

This tween mystery story starts when Trish and Laura go on a trail ride and find some large, vertical jumps set up in an old riding ring. Trish is suspicious but Laura thinks she is overreacting.

Both girls forget all about the jumps when they get back to the barn and have a run in with the new head trainer, Michael Commings.

Commings was an internationally rated equestrian before a riding accident ended his competitive career. He agrees to take on the job of head trainer at Crest Hill but Trish can't figure out why.

After a couple of run ins, Commings tries to make friends with Trish but her habit of eavesdropping and her knack for figuring out what he is really doing quickly make Trish into an enemy.

Commings, who needs to get Trish off his back, decides to make some big changes in how the stable is run. He starts by separating Trish from her best friend.

When he succeeds in turning Laura against Trish, Commings tries to drive Trish out of the stable. Instead, Trish gets angry.

Enlisting help from a nerdy friend, Trish hacks into a computer and discovers that Commings didn’t just get hurt, physically. He had a mental breakdown. Then, Trish learns the real reason he came to Crest Hill.

She catches the new trainer in the act of teaching another rider's horse to take a deadly fall. Trish tries to tell everyone what she has learned including her father, the Sheriff, but no one believes her.

She decides to stop Mr. Commings and almost dies, trying.