
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This cosy murder mystery from Diana Febry is set within the English countryside and has a strong horse riding theme throughout. The reader is led through an investigation by two well-drawn characters, detectives Fiona Williams and Peter Hatherall, and there are plenty of twists and turns in the complicated plot to keep you guessing. I have very little knowledge of the horse riding fraternity and, apart from one or two references to illegal fixing of races, unfortunately I did not discover much more about it through this novel.
There is a large list of other characters, with plenty of colourful descriptions from a talented writer, such that it was a simple task to believe in each of them with ease. Without spoiling the plot I found the description of the final scenes around the dénouement of the story most realistic, tempting me to reach for a glass of water to soothe my dusty dry throat!
There was a curious twist towards the end just when you thought it was all over, but for me it was somewhat confusing and I’m still not sure of the motive for the murder(s). This could have been because we do not see enough of the innermost thoughts and reasoning of the characters, particularly the detectives and the suspects. However, the author had me guessing then doubting my own theories and kept me engaged throughout the book. There is an undercurrent of a relationship between Fiona and Peter against the background of their own troubled personal lives, which was interesting enough to retain one’s attention.
The story had pace and the tempo was definitely increased appropriately in the last few scenes to an exciting pitch. If I have a negative criticism at all it is merely one which I think would improve the practicalities of reading an e-novel of well over 60 chapters: there should be a digitally working Table of Contents in the front matter of the book as it is an expected feature nowadays.
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