The Gift Horse [Paperback]

Pamela J. Dodd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 11, 2003

When Angela Donalson is kidnapped by a ruthless team working for eccentric executive Marc Avery, her future is uncertain. Unable to secure her freedom, she trades morality for material gain. Will Angie escape, or will she even want her freedom?

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

If I have to explain this novel in a sentence, I usually say, "It's a Faustian anti-romance." What I mean by that, is that it takes the usual story line of a romantic suspense piece and twists it around a bit. The main character is a victim, from her youth, when first one parent then another dies. So this girl, at the tender age of seventeen, is forced to make a deal with her devil. She isn’t particularly happy with her choice, but it is her belief that she does the best she can with what life has handed to her. On the one hand, Angie is a victim, but on the other, she is also a survivor.

About the Author

Having grown up in a family of storytellers, Pamela J. Dodd finds writing a natural activity. She spent twenty years teaching English to high and middle school students in Georgia's public and private schools and reads widely. Pamela lives in Georgia with her husband and two children, and she drives a mini-van. She is at work on her next novel, which is also set in the deep south.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Booklocker.com, Inc. (December 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591134358
• ISBN-13: 978-1591134350
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,654,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pamela J. Dodd currently serves as an adjunct instructor of English at a local technical college. Her teaching career has spanned more than two decades and several subjects in grades six through twelve, as well as college. Her favorite way to begin a class is, "Have I told you this story?" Actually, some students claim to be horrified that they will end up in one of her stories.

Dodd loves stories, whether in print, on the screen, or just told at family gatherings. Her debut novel, The Gift Horse, is a contemporary suspense yarn and her second novel is a futuristic story with romantic elements entitled Trinity on Tylos.

Yes, there are several incomplete novels still occupying space on her computer's hard drive. Some days the muse sits on her shoulder and she writes. Other days, she finds something else to do.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ms. Dodd's writing skills are impressive!, July 12, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gift Horse (Paperback)

Pamela Dodd taught English to high school and middle school students for over twenty years. She has always loved telling a good story. She also has published TRINITY ON

TYLOS, which is a futuristic novel.

Angela Donalson is a young beauty from Georgia who is orphaned and living with an aunt who has little means herself. When Angela applies for a college grant, she catches the eye of a man who has more than subsidizing students in mind. Angela is kidnapped and held at Marc Avery's Tennessee estate. She tries to escape, but quickly finds that her life has been mapped out for her by Marc Avery and that he means to possess her:

"'Let's talk about that, then. At least indirectly.' The bantering tone was gone from his voice. 'I know that you've worried about your aunt. She's fine. By the way, she won a contest, held by a subsidiary of Avery Electronics, for $10,000. That should help her adjust to the loss of your Social Security checks. You're officially a missing person, but the local police think you're a runaway. Billie was careful. And it's no secret that you wanted to get the hell out of Adamsville. Angie, there was no evidence of foul play in your disappearance. The investigators realized pretty quickly that your home was something that one might want to escape. No one is looking too hard for you.'"

Not only is Pamela Dodd an accomplished writer, but her imagination knows no bounds. This is a highly original plot with social commentary on the rights of young women in our society. There is an obscure warning in all of this, but Ms. Dodd turns it around into a moral question. Is it worth it for a woman to subject herself to total domination by a powerful male in order to gain material security?

Dodd's plot moves along nicely, and there is always something happening to our poor, hapless beauty. But along the way she learns to be self-reliant, and in the end she gets what she wants, although the reader may or may not be sure they agree. At any rate, THE GIFT HORSE is a compelling read, and Ms. Dodd's writing skills are impressive!

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't Put It Down, February 27, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Gift Horse (Paperback)

Although I'm not a very fast reader - I read this book in one day. It was interesting from the very beginning and I couldn't set it down. I understand this is Pamela Dodd's first book - I hope she writes more.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Gift Horse, February 25, 2004

By 

Sarah Trippe (Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gift Horse (Paperback)

The Gift Horse was a book I could not put down. I missed quite a few hours of sleep trying to see what dilemma Angie would face next. This story has many twists and unexpected turns, keeping you wanting to read just a little more than you have time for. I found it intriguing and original. I highly recommend The Gift Horse to those readers who are looking for a book they can escape into.