Death by a Dark Horse by Susan Schreyer - Blog Tour De Force Stop 12!

It's been awhile since I've read a mystery so when Author Susan Schreyer offered me an e-copy of her debut novel, Death by a Dark Horse, I was excited!  So, first and foremost, I'd like to thank the lovely Susan who's now become an on-line friend, for the opportunity to read a very good book and to post a review on it.

Death by a Dark Horse is the first in the Thea Campbell Mystery series.

Here's the back cover blurb of her book:

Thea Campbell goes out for revenge when the one person who is the most likely and least likely candidate for thief steals her horse. But Olympic hopeful Valerie Parsons is past caring about being arrested. She’s dead. At first Thea’s horse is assumed to have killed the woman, but when the coroner determines it was a human hand and not a horse’s hoof that ended Valerie’s life Thea becomes a person of interest. Now intimidating people with little regard for due process are showing up on her doorstep looking to even the score. Toss in her wrecked love life, a sexy geology professor who stirs up more than dust, and an alleged psychic horse, and it soon becomes apparent that Thea’s predictable life is now out of control. As she takes charge of clearing herself of the murder she discovers the victim had a knack for making enemies—one of whom is Thea’s ditsy sister. She pursues her investigation with more at stake than ever, and in a seedy biker bar comes face-to-tattoo with information that will lead the police to the real killer. She dutifully reports to the detective in charge. But Thea is wrong. As close to dead wrong as she ever wishes to get.

The book is narrated by Thea Campbell.  She is an accountant and amateur dressage rider.  Now, if like me, you don't know anything about horses, dressage means:

From dictionary.com: the art or method of training a horse in obedience and in precision of movement.   The story revolves around Thea and her seven year old Hanoverian gelding, The Black Queen's Bishop who she calls 'Blackie.'

Why I like it

The story will keep you guessing from the beginning to the end!  It's a total page-turner.  I love how Thea cares about Blackie like a friend, beyond caring for a pet.  At times, she almost even forgets about herself and the fact that the police may also consider her a suspect!

Thea is a magnetic character who you'd want to stick with in a book, you'd want to be friends with her if she was a person in real life, and perhaps even help her do the detective work!  I admire her braveness and can't forget the moment she saw Valerie's body, right there in front of her.  I gasped as I read this part and thought 'My God, if this was happening to me, I'd drop dead!'  Each time I guessed who the killer was, I was wrong.

If you are a mystery book-lover, this book is definitely for you! A book that is cleverly-written!  I'm giving it 5 stars!  I would certainly get the next book when it is out.  Yes, the next in the series, Levels of Deception, will be out in February 2011 so watch out for it! 

I'm sure you'd like to get to know Susan more and find out more about her books.  Please click here to see her website and check out her blog!

Author Susan Schreyer is the new mystery author to watch out for!

This book review is part of the Blog Tour de Force that I am participating in.  I hope you find the time to visit other blog participants as well. To view authors and books in the Tour, please click here. Win prizes, including a Kindle! Go!


You can also go straight to Susan Schreyer's Blog for details on how to win! Go!

Disclaimer:  I received a free electronic copy of the book from the author for an honest review and I was not compensated for this review.