Dark Horse [Paperback]

Tami Hoag (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 3, 2003

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The professional horse world, as seen through Hoag's eyes, is full of intrigue, glitter and skullduggery. Elena Estes is a former cop whose bravado on the force resulted in a colleague's death; it also cost her her job and her self-esteem, not to mention the psychological and physical fallout from nearly being shot. She's been keeping a low profile at a friend's Florida ranch, but her world is disrupted when 12-year-old Molly Seabright, wise beyond her years, attempts to hire Elena to find her older sister, Erin, who has been missing for two days. As Elena digs deeper into Erin's disappearance, the dark side of the horse-show set is revealed. Hoag (Night Sins; Dust to Dust), herself an experienced equestrian, shows off her dressage-to-showing knowledge of the sport as she weaves behind-the-scenes tidbits about the training, competitions, horse brokers and grooms into a plot that gallops along. Though she is a master of suspense, the story falters when a major secret about the kidnapping is exposed. There are too many bad guys who may be in on the scheme, and readers will feel cheated by the improbable 11th-hour revelation. It's too bad Hoag felt the need to undercut her plot with schemes and counterschemes, since she finds plenty of tension in the equestrian world she examines here and doesn't need the contrivance. Nonetheless, she has enough skill and drawing power to propel this, her 10th book, onto bestseller lists.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Elena Estes leaves the Palm Beach County sheriff's office in disgrace after causing the death of a fellow copand gallops straight into trouble at an international riding competition in Florida's horse country.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Orion Paperbacks (July 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752849603
• ISBN-13: 978-0752849607
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,572,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tami Hoag is the #1 international bestselling author of more than thirty books published in more than thirty languages worldwide, including her latest thrillers--Deeper Than The Dead, and Secrets To The Grave. Set in the late '80's, this series explores crime fighting in the early days of modern forensic science and criminal profiling. Renowned for combining thrilling plots with character-driven suspense, Hoag first hit the New York Times Bestseller list with Night Sins, and each of her books since has best a bestseller. She leads a double life in Palm Beach County, Florida where she is also known as a top competitive equestrian in the Olympic discipline of dressage.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great read, September 11, 2004

By 

Tolana (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dark Horse (Mass Market Paperback)

I don't understand why other reviews say this book was disappointing or confusing. Once I got into the book, the characters were fairly easy to keep track of and there wasn't that much about the horse world to make it confusing. I will admit, I did figure out who the real criminals were before it ended. Nonetheless, it was a great read and I read it in a day or so.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but not her best work, November 30, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Dark Horse (Hardcover)

Dark Horse was not a bad book, but it did take me an awful long time to read, which in my terms basically means that the story wasn't intriguing enough for me to not want to put it down. I liked the main character, Elena Estes, but it also seemed like more of the same as in many of her other books...female in a role of law enforcement that did something that has turned all her colleagues against her so she is now an outsider and must try to do her job while dealing with their animosity.. does anyone else feel like this formula is getting kind of old in her books. I'd like to maybe read something a little different for once. Aside from that fact, the story wasn't bad, it just wasn't that intriguing; and the ending was not very satifying to me. I'm still a fan of Tami Hoag, but I really did not find this to be her best work.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great novel, September 8, 2002

By 

RachelWalker "RachelW" (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark Horse (Hardcover)

Tami Hoag is probably (alongside Ruth Rendell) my very favourite female author. I love her plots, i love the way she sometimes mixes romance and suspense, i love her range (she's written everything from straight-romance to serial killer novels) i love her punchy writing style (she can come up with some really glittering sentences) and, most of all, i love the way she draws her characters as realistic, fully realised people.

This novel tells the story of a simple kidnapping, which evolves into something altogether more sinister and complex. The heroine is one Elena Estes, an ex-cop who, once upon a time, made a bad decision that cost a colleauge his life. She has retreated to the world she knew before, the world of horse rearing which she so loves. But then, one day, a young girl comes to ask her for help, and Estes finds herself unable to refuse, drawn into a web of intrigue and crime which depresses her, but that she feels must be fought against.

Estes is a brilliant character...(this is Hoag's first novel in the first person, and it works very well, by the way. Some authorsd find the transition ahrd...Hoag has found the way with ease.) She is likeable, quirky, and extremely entertaining throught the adventure. She more than makes up for the intense unlikeableness of many of the other characters.

Another wonderful (and moving) aspect of this book is the delightful youngster Molly Seabright, sister of the missing girl. She is a wonderful, wonderful presence and brightens the book in every single scene in which she appears. She is brilliantly and emotioanlly. Her innocence contrasts frighteningly with the darkness and crulety of many of the other characters and events. (In fact, some may find that there are a few too many unpleasant characters in this novel, and would prefer some more nice, likeable ones. At times it would have been great to have a few more nice people to read about, instead of the selfish and insular indivudals which populate this novel). However, these nasty characters all help to create a sense of fear and tension which fairly ratchets up, and towards the end blossoms with a sense of inevitable awfulness about to occur.

I will admit that no, this is not Tami Hoag's best book (i myself will always think that that is "Cry Wolf", a masterpiece of a story) it's not even second or third, but it still gets five stars, which can only demonstrate the sublime quality of her books. The plot is complex and interesting, it is easy to understand, despite its complexity, there are some hreat characters and some nice twists to the story (particularly the one at the end...) which help keep it fresh and interesting. Her writing style is quirky and brilliant, eminently readable and entertaining. This novel is original (giving insights into the world of horse-rearing) and always manages to sustain interest by the fact that Hoag explores many plot-paths, (as she always does to marvellous effect and enjoyability, helping to build a multi-layered and full novel) down the lives of characters, who, by the end of the story, you will either love or loathe.