Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I really couldn't put this one down; it was a GREAT book!, December 29, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Death by Dressage (Mass Market Paperback)
The plot was excellant, as were the characters of this must-read book. I do many diffrent kinds of riding, mostly jumping and dressage. I really liked how Robin, the main character, wasn't a perfect rider or a perfect person, amd this made all the diffrence in my enjoyment of this book. Nika is a great character, too, and at first you think she is a really huge brat, until you read along and begin to realize that Nika might not be what she seems. So, this book takes you along a path of people, places, and a certain amount of danger. I loved it, and think both the horse lover or non-horse lover will enjoy it as much as I did.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, goofy fun, August 5, 2001
This review is from: Death by Dressage (Mass Market Paperback)
With a title like "Death By Dressage," I had to read this book. It's not the best mystery I've ever read but the character is believably insane on the subject of horses and I do like the flippant narration. There's probably more horse lore than story in this one, but the horse lore is pretty much right-on and I really, really enjoyed the description of the clinic. The method of murder is ingenious, although I am a little confused about exactly when the narrator figured it all out -- it's pretty clear what happened quite a while before the narrator cries "Eureka!" I like the ditzy, screwball heroine. I like her patient husband and her cranky mare, Plum. You can almost smell the horses, and the descriptions of their movement and bearing bring them right into focus. Maybe not the best horse novel ever written, but excellent reading when you're soaking in a bubble bath after a ride on a cold day!
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16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Death by Death By Dressage, June 2, 2000
This review is from: Death by Dressage (Mass Market Paperback)
Should really be 0 stars. I read Death By Dressage and will not be reading any of the other books in the series. My main grievance against the book is that it perpetuates bad stereotypes about equestrians, and that too many horse crazy people will read it just because it mentions a horse, which is a far greater disservice than being a bad novel (which it is). Good "horse" books are difficult to find, which is why I tend not to read many. I only read Death by Dressage because many of my literate "horsey" friends mentioned how irritating the novel was. As I am the most difficult to irritate, they felt I would be a good test case. I was irritated. Simpering, insipid, vapid, and inane were going through my mind as I read the novel. I would like to have put a DNR (Do not resuscitate) order on the character of Robin Vaughn so that unsuspecting readers would not be subject to sequels. Alas, sequels followed, but I exercised my right as a reader to avoid them. Ms. Banks bludgeons the reader with tedious lectures on horses and all things horsey, with an air of superiority, so one has to wonder what she likes about the sport. The final insult to the reader is the "deus ex machina" ending, as Ms. Banks wrote herself into a corner and couldn't get out. Side pass right past these books.
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