Product Description

Elena Estes's stubborn risk-taking has cost her dearly: her job, her confidence, her career in the Miami PD and, most importantly, the life of a fellow cop. Now in retreat in Florida with only the soothing presence of horses for company, Elena begins to find some peace. But then a visitor comes calling. Twelve-year-old Molly Seabright believes something terrible has happened to her older stepsister. Erin, eighteen and trouble, is a groom at the Wellington show grounds but hasn't been seen for several days. Elena isn't interested in the case but Molly convinces her to make one trip to the show grounds. Elena finds herself in a world populated by the ultra-rich and the ultra-ruthless. She must find out what's happened to Erin before it's too late to save the girl - and herself.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #126492 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 496 pages

Review
REVIEWS'Ex-narcotics officer Elena Este's involvement in the disappearance of missing groom Erin Seabright ... Punctuated by flashbacks to the death of her partner - an event she feels responsible for - Este thinks she can somehowright this wrong by finding Erin. The trail of clues moves from the glitzy world of Palm Beach to the claustrophobic gloom of the nearby Florida swamps ... pithy writing.'CRIME TIME 'Hoag's narrative delivers pulse-racing excitemen

About the Author
Tami Hoag's novels have appeared regularly on the national bestseller lists since the publication of her first book in 1988. She lives in California.

Customer Reviews

An excellent book
A gripping thriller with multiple plots. Nail biting, but ultimately a story of redemption.

I can't praise it highly enough. One of my all time favourite books.

Great! I've discovered a new author to add to my Favourites.
After a very stressful week attending to family business, I decided to treat myself to the eighth Stephanie Plum novel to read on the train back home .. and as luck would have it, the station bookshop had an offer of "two for a tenner" so I mosied around for a while trying to decide on my other selection.

I chose Dark Horse despite knowing nothing about Tami Hoag's books because (a) the story revolves around the horse world and I'm into horses and (b) because she writes in the first person which I much prefer to the old "she gasped", "he stated", narration. Well, it's as good a way as any I know of to choose a new author.

I'd finished the book by the next night, and have just added several more of her previous titles to my wishlist at Amazon, so's I can treat myself to them on payday. Can't get a more sincere recommendation than that!

Dark Horse has a believable plot line, a heroine who's likeable, tough AND vulnerable (although I did get frustrated with her a few times, since I didn't think her guilt-trip, a central theme in the book, was altogether justified) and some really fine supporting characters.

Hoag draws a really sympathetic picture of the child in the story, involving her readers in insights to the psychology and dynamics of families and personality, but does it so light-handedly that you only realise after you've put the book down rather than finding it a distraction or patronising.

Some of the story was a tad grittier than I'd have liked, but as nothing was superflous to the needs of the plot, I can't really complain.

The tension really did build, and I was guilty of my besetting sin .. flipping a quick peek at the last couple of pages to make sure it had an ending I could live with ;-)

My only complaints would be that I'd have liked a couple of the supporting characters to be more fully developed, and I'd have appreciated a little more on the romance side .. but then I'm the sort of person who won't watch the news because it depresses me so much ...

In summary, I'd recommend Dark Horse as an intelligently written, engrossing story, with characters you'd like to meet again in a future book; plenty of action, one EXCELLENT demise of a bad guy (think Arnold Schwarzenegger movies & "over the top")and overall a really satisfying read.

Wow! What a great story.
I have been waiting for over a a year for a new Hoag novel and this one was definitely not a let down. This story was not what I expected, a change from her previous works but this made it all the more entertaining and unpridictable, so many red herrings I could not even guess who the bad guys were or where the story was heading. I loved the way the story was told through the main charactor, a very bolshy ex police officer trying to overcome her traumatic past, great idea, great read. Can't wait for the next one.