Dark Horse

Weird book. Nowhere near as good as the Kovac/Liska books. What really struck me was how different the feel of the book was than Hoag's other novels. You can cut the atmosphere of the K/L books with a knife. This book started out feeling like an English cozy, but it devolved into a Quentin Tarantino bloodbath by the end. Very, very uneven. And the protagonist Elena Estes wasn't particularly likable; her character seemed destined to make the same impulsive mistakes again and again. The story was decent albeit a little convoluted, but I think I'll take a hard pass on the second book in the series.

I remember reading Harrold Robbins books one summer in college. They were filled with mostly wealthy people and 1 or 2 characters much lower in the rungs of society. The were mostly about nasty people doing nasty things to everyone around them.
Oh and a lot of raunchy or oftentimes kinky sex.
This book has almost all of these qualities and it is extremely well written. In this case it’s the horse show crowd in Palm Beach Florida.
You have kinky sex, murder, kidnapping, and a variety of nasty people behaving badly. What a fantastic book.

Elena Estes is an ex-cop with suicidal tendencies and a smart mouth. When she's approached by a precocious 12-year-old who wants Elena to find her missing older sister, a groom for a high class show barn, her first impulse is to say, "No!" Guilt, compassion, and what's left of her conscience won't let her, however. As Elena begins her investigation into the young woman's disappearance, little does she know that the truth will leave her battered, bruised, and disillusioned, but stronger.

Don't look for much romance of the hearts & flowers type here. Hoag paints a grim picture of the elite world of show jumping populated by wealthy owners, vicious, back-stabbing trainers, conniving horse dealers, and victims, both four and two-legged. show more Even her heroes are more than a bit tarnished. In spite of that, the overall effect is neither bleak nor depressing. Dark Horse is more tightly written than it's successor, The Alibi Man, and Elena is a refreshingly blunt, caustic heroine. I hope to see more of her. show less

Tami Hoag canters into the limelight with her suspense thriller, Dark Horse.

The title itself both refers to the main character, ex-cop Elena Estes, and the main plot that revolves around the exciting and sometimes deadly world of equestrian dressage--a sport of precision, skill and mastery.

Drawing from Hoag’s own skills and training as a competitive equestrian, and occasionally using the names of real people and horses, Hoag manages to propel you into the dark and often deadly world of professional equestrian sports. Step into a world of the ’’ultra rich and the very poor’’, where horses are exploited, misused, abused, drugged and even killed--all for the ’love’ of the sport.

Protagonist Elena Estes is a ’dark show more horse’, herself. Living in self-imposed exile after a life-shattering decision ruins her career, Elena finds herself drawn to the plight of a young girl, Molly Seabright. Molly’s older sister, Erin, is missing, and the twelve-year-old has come to hire Elena as a private investigator to find Erin and bring her home.

Masquerading as a spoiled socialite, Elena enters the lavish, decadent world of equestrian sport and encounters deception and murder along the way. Filled with rich, powerful men this novel will throw you into Elena’s past and present at a galloping speed...and if you don’t hold on for the ride, you may just be thrown off.

Tami Hoag has consistently and persistently come up with unique storylines, fast-paced plots and intriguing characters. She is one of the most talented female suspense thriller writers there is, and once you read one of her novels, you’ll be begging to read more.

This is perhaps one of my favorites! I found it truly interesting and very unique in plot.

Tami Hoag’s Dark Horse is an intense read...one you won’t WANT to put down!

Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
suspense author show less

Warning: possible spoilers peppered throughout

So, overall I thought this was a mediocre book, saddled with a subpar ending. Firstly, I noticed more than a few editing errors, and those kinds of things really get to me. For a few examples, I remember Estes grabbing "a scissors", and another time, she woke up at four thirty, did something at four, and then something else at four thirty, hard to do unless you are a sleep-worker.
I did find the action somewhat compelling, but I figured the end would have Estes saving the girl, being the hero and going back to the force, but that got spoiled when the kidnapped girl shows up three quarters into the book, which at first I thought was a interesting plot twist, but the rest of the events show more unfolding ruined all that. The other gripe I have is with the super cliched parallel between Estes and the Golam boys trailer and the trailer she finds near the end of the book. I thought maybe she learned her lesson from the first time, obviously not, no matter what, super cliched anyway!
There's a lot of murder mysteries out there, this is one of the ones I'd skip. show less

Enjoyable crime book from Hoag (who is also a romance novelist, but dont let that put you off).[return][return]This book is set against the back drop of the rich people and large money involved in high end horse world, showing the dark side involving drugs, payoffs, murder, and crooks

A fun, gritty, coarse with a hard edged private eye who is endearing. Definitely not for family reading or the church library, a strong restricted rating.