. Tami Hoag, like so many authors, fell into fiction writing almost by accident. She had been loaned a romance title by a family member but did not wish to read it - until one day circumstances left her with no alternative. She was fascinated by the book and decided to turn her hand to adding to the genre. Her romance fiction evolved, adding some suspense to the love but it was not, to my mind at least - and I have read some of her earlier work in books re-released by her publishers and been disappointed by it - enough to appeal to lovers of suspense. Eventually Hoag made a successful crossover as proven by Night Sins, Guilty as Sin Dust to Dust, Ashes to Ashes, and A Thin Dark Line. The emphasis on love tinged prose seems to be decreasing still further in Dark Horse, a lack of emphasis which I feel is all to the good.
Elena Estes is a former cop. Her overweening self-confidence caused her downfall two years prior to the opening of the novel when her refusal to obey orders caused the death of a fellow cop and serious, near-fatal, injury to herself. Her name is now anathema to her previous colleagues as well as to newcomers to their ranks. Elena herself, estranged from her wealthy family, now suffers from depression and daily contemplates suicide. She has been given a make-work job by a wealthy horse owner friend, Sean Avadon who also provides her with a home. To make it quite clear to the reader that there is no possibility of a romantic liaison between the two, Tami Hoag has made Avadon a gay man. Into Elena's unhappy and fraught existence comes Molly Seabright, a very mature but very worried twelve year-old.
Unlike the rest of her family, stepfather Bruce Seabright and cowed mother , Krystal, Molly is very worried about the disappearance of her sister, eighteen year-old Erin. A magazine has printed a photograph of Elena, mistakenly in an accompanying story calling her a private investigator. Molly has seen the story and wishes to hire Elena. Elena is horrified at the notion and initially turns down the child's request but afterward regrets her action and begins to try to trace the former groom.
Elena is herself put in great physical peril as she adopts a false (though similar to her own) name and insinuates herself into the horsy society around her. The inhabitants of that world think nothing of murdering horses in order to claim insurance, falsifying horses' reputations, adopting skullduggery in order to advance their own ends, not even, at times, stopping short at murder either to gratify their own desires or to enhance their own fortunes. As her investigations proceed, Elena makes the acquaintance of initially inimical then later friendly Detective Landry. As Elena formulates possible hypotheses as to who has kidnapped Erin and who has murdered another groom, the mystery and the story become more and more complicated as she unmasks more and more rogues.
Tami Hoag is very familiar with the world she depicts in this novel. On the basis of her descriptions alone I would go a long way to avoid meeting members of that society! Hoag states that in real life that world is populated by villains as well as by some very nice people. She has certainly painted a very frightening portrait of the villains! Adding authenticity to the plot, the horses in her book are real horses of her acquaintance.
The story, told in both first (from Elena's point of view) and third persons is excellently plotted and filled with believable, al;though utterly ruthless, characters. Molly Seabright is a delight, a character I would like to watch were this book to be the first of a series, but I fear she has completed her purpose in this adventure. Elena's character itself is very moving and I found her road to redemption particularly impressive. The puzzle itself is convoluted but not beyond belief. The resolution is surprising. The touch of romance was nicely understated and while it advanced the plot it was far from overdone. No doubt it would be interesting to hear the reactions of Hoag's horsy contemporaries should they read the novel. Hoag's career is certainly one to watch should the improvement in her style of writing be maintained.
Note: This review is based on the Australian edition.
Published by Orion.
Reviewed by Denise Wels, September 2002
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