Sunday, January 18, 2015

Review of my mystery novel, To Catch a Horse Thief





My second book in the Masonville Mystery Series is now available as an e-book on Amazon!
See here: To Catch a Horse Thief

To Catch a Horse Thief includes all the teenage boy characters from the first novel: Luke, Shaq, Tony and Jason. Octavia, Shaq's cousin (and the boy's high school teacher), and her father, Detective Gordon Vintara are also included.

Amy, from California, spends the summer with her cousin Luke in the Pennsylvania mountains. While bike riding in the nearby park with Luke's three friends, they discover two draft horses and a pony being kept secretly in a temporary pasture on park land. When shotgun blasts are heard, they quickly head home.

 The first review is live!

5.0 out of 5 stars Short, Fun, and Action-packed Adventure, January 15, 2015
By 
This review is from: To Catch a Horse Thief (Masonville Mystery Series Book 2) (Kindle Edition)
Although this is book two in a series, it can easily stand on its own. The story revolves around a group of teens who discover some horses hidden away on public lands. It isn't long before more horses are reported stolen, a rich horse owner is found dead in her bedroom, and a groom is attacked. The kids "assist" (without putting them at risk) veteran detective Gordon Vintara and his rookie trainee, Anna Swan, to put together the clues as to what's going on in this small community. The characters are well drawn, the action is fast, and there's a twist at the end. I especially liked the few interspersed chapters from the stolen horses' point of view. Coming in at about 123 pages, it is a short, fun mystery and just the ticket for middle grade readers.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

False Gods by Lisa Trovillion






Cory knew she was a hard core quitter. After moving to Maryland with her mom and sister, Cory was not impressed with her new high school, and quits while waiting to try out for a music program. Then she meets a boy, and also finds stable that hires her to help out. She even gets lessons and a chance to show. But it wasn't until she helped to rescue a special grey horse at a horse auction that she realized she doesn't always have to be a quitter.

This coming-of-age equine story is a well written book, with interesting characters and a realistic horse show setting. For horse lovers in middle grades and up.