Horse of a Different Killer

Nattie Gold Mystery: 1

ISBN: 0913369535 Order from: Books on Tape

Reviewed by David on October 20, 2002

Genre: Mystery (Amateur Sleuth, Horse, Humor, ESP)

Synopsis: This is an unabridged recording of Horse of a Different Killer. Natalie Gold is a fashion reporter at a Charlotte newspaper, as well as horse-loving fanatic—something hard to manage on her modest income.

A throughly disliked horse trainer is killed at the stable houseing Nattie's horse. Nattie's insatiable curiosity, along with her desire to clear her own trainer who becomes the prime suspect, and an ambition to get into crime reporting, force her to ask many embarassing questions. The world of jumper competitions, so proper and money-drenched on the surface, hides much animosity, ambition, and downright crimes. Nattie's investigations place her in danger. Finally, it may be a choise between finding the killer—or becoming the next victim.

Full Review: The slightly zany, and very energetic first-person narrator gives this Southern mystery a feeling different from most generic mysteries.

while occasionally irritating, Nattie Gold's zany intensity also carries along the story with hardly a place to breathe. The book, full of colorful personalities, slightly exaggerated and many with their own secrets, make for an exciting but rather too intense fields of suspects. The latter part of the book contains some of the least believable, as well as most tense moments.

Combining humor, romance, danger, and a deep enjoyment of horses and horse shows, the mystery is enough fun to overcome its flaws and leaves one with a desire to hear more of Nattie's wacky career as a crime detective.

Overall: 6; Plot: 5.5; Characters: 6; Style: 6; World-building: 6.5; Originality: 6;

ISBN: 0913369535 Order from: Books on Tape