Saddled with Trouble is the first book in the Horse Lover’s Mysteries. On the scale of one to ten I would rate it a three.
The story revolves around Michaela Bancroft, a woman in her early thirties who trains quarter horses and is going through a nasty divorce which is souring her whole life.
When she finds her uncle run through by a pitchfork and very dead her problems begin to multiply. What did her best friend, Ethan, have a fight with her uncle about? Why is her father acting so oddly? How did the wrong semen get shipped to customers who paid a $3500 stud fee? What does the real estate magnet who is dating her good friend and roommate, Camden, have to do with the murder? Who ran her off the road? Why is her soon to be ex-husband suddenly interested in her again?
Although the mystery part of the book isn’t too bad the characters leave a lot to be desired. Michaela is bitter, bitchy, and manipulative. Camden and Ethan‘s only function in the story seem to be as whipping boys for Michaela. The police officer is about as realistic as Michaela’s belief that a seven year old horse is too old for the show ring. Two of the characters, who worked for her uncle, are Hawian. They talk like they only recently learned English. Since Hawaii is a state and has a very good school system I found this insulting.
There are at least two more books it this series. If I can get it at the library I might try the second one to see if there is any improvement, but I won’t spend money on it.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Saturday, March 1, 2008
"The Black Dove" by Steve Hockensmith
“The Black Dove” by Steve Hockensmith is his third book about the adventures of the Amlingmeyer bothers. Like “Holmes on the Range” and On the Wrong Track”, it is as both funny and a good mystery.
It is the summer of 1893 and Gustav and Otto, better known as Old Red and Big Red, are job hunting in San Francisco. The two cowboys turned detective aren’t having a lot of luck finding a job but they have no problem finding trouble.
It starts when they run into Dr. Chan, an acquaintance from their short time working for the Southern Pacific Rail Road (On the Wrong Track). When he is found dead the police say suicide, but Old Red says murder.
Teaming up with Diana Curvus, another (possibly) ex-agent of the Southern Pacific and prevaricator extraordinaire, they set out to find the truth. What follows is a wild romp through China Town and that denizen of vice, the Barbary Coast. Their only clue is the missing “Black Dove”, which everyone is looking for. Their search puts them up against the tongs, a Chinese detective working for the “Six Companies”, and a crooked cop. They pursue and are pursued through back allies, cat houses, opium dens and other healthful places until everything and everyone comes together in a final shocking clash.
I have to say that I didn’t enjoy this book quite as much as the first two, “Homes on the Range” and “On the Wrong Track”. Although well written and fast paced it is written in the style of the hard boiled detective fiction of the pulp fiction era, which doesn’t quite fit the 1893 background. However, it is still an excellent read and well worth the price of the hardcover edition.
It is the summer of 1893 and Gustav and Otto, better known as Old Red and Big Red, are job hunting in San Francisco. The two cowboys turned detective aren’t having a lot of luck finding a job but they have no problem finding trouble.
It starts when they run into Dr. Chan, an acquaintance from their short time working for the Southern Pacific Rail Road (On the Wrong Track). When he is found dead the police say suicide, but Old Red says murder.
Teaming up with Diana Curvus, another (possibly) ex-agent of the Southern Pacific and prevaricator extraordinaire, they set out to find the truth. What follows is a wild romp through China Town and that denizen of vice, the Barbary Coast. Their only clue is the missing “Black Dove”, which everyone is looking for. Their search puts them up against the tongs, a Chinese detective working for the “Six Companies”, and a crooked cop. They pursue and are pursued through back allies, cat houses, opium dens and other healthful places until everything and everyone comes together in a final shocking clash.
I have to say that I didn’t enjoy this book quite as much as the first two, “Homes on the Range” and “On the Wrong Track”. Although well written and fast paced it is written in the style of the hard boiled detective fiction of the pulp fiction era, which doesn’t quite fit the 1893 background. However, it is still an excellent read and well worth the price of the hardcover edition.
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