Dark Horse

By: Tami Hoag

Narrated by: Beth McDonald

Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

In a trailer in a Florida swamp, time is running out for Erin Seabright. A pawn in a kidnapper's terrifying game for a ransom no one can pay, her last hope is a washed-up ex-cop who has already lost it all - not once, but twice.

The wealthy world of the Palm Beach horsey set seems a long way from a cop's world in the narcotics division. A lifetime ago, undercover sheriff's detective Elena Estes worked the mean streets and back alleys, living by her wits and playing the long odds until she took one risk too many. Now Estes lives on the ragged edge of lost hope and self-hatred, hiding from the past and believing she doesn't deserve to have a future. But the past is about to come back with a vengeance, and the future is about to become a race between life and death.

A young woman is missing and her 12-year-old stepsister comes to Estes for help. No one but serious, studious Molly Seabright seems concerned about what's happened to her troubled older sister. Estes has no P.I. license, and no desire to break her self-imposed exile. But the more she learns about the people Erin Seabright was involved with, the more her long-dormant cop instincts come back to life.

One trip to the showgrounds where Erin worked as a groom, and Estes is quickly pulled to the dark side of a glamorous sport. Behind the ultra-rich facade is an ultra-ruthless world of drugs, payoffs, and dirty deals. And in that world stalks a killer who will lead Estes down a twisted trail of mayhem and murder to a final showdown that could cost her everything. A race against time and evil. A race in which Estes is the dark horse...and no one is betting on her to win.

©2002 Tami Hoag (P)2002 Random House Inc., Random House Audio, a Division of Random House Inc.

Critic reviews

"A definite winner." (Booklist)

Wonderful

What did you love best about Dark Horse?

Dark Horse had a gripping plot with an unpredictable yet satisfying end.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The main character Estes was interesting- a gritty character with a dark past, yet realistic and never cheesy.

What about Beth McDonald’s performance did you like?

The narrator did well and gave a gritty, exciting feel to the story.

Any additional comments?

I would recommend this audiobook to anyone who wants an exciting mystery thriller within the backdrop of a realistic horse-person theme.

great

love Tami's work. narrator has a way of pronouncing her Hs that bothers me. but great nonetheless

Horses and privilege has a dark underbelly.

A tough woman who has learned lessons the hard way. Just when her life is at the lowest a light comes from a 12 year old girl asking for help to find her sister. A pretty good mystery with a heroine not willing to take crap from anyone in order to get her answers. I will be getting the second book to finish out the story line, but since I have read it before it might be a while for me to get to it. Narrator is pretty good.

Great book!

The book was great. My first Tami Hoag novel. Picked it up in my car while traveling and Pilsner stop listening to it.

Worth your time and your money!!!

Narrator has an exceptionally clear voice, excellent punctuation and her accents are fantastic. Worth the credits or money completely!!! Fantastic!

didn't expect any less

llike all Tami's books. excellent story line with a twist. only expecting it towards the very end.

Another good one!

Tami Hoag bats a thousand! Another great story with twists and turns. Just when I think I know who who the villain is, it turns out not to be so. Great character development and I learned a lot about the show horse industry! I can’t wait to hear another story by this fabulous author!

My favorite book!

Great Story Of redemption, Great mystery. Well developed characters, Some you will love, Some you will hate.

Entertaining and well written

Excellent story line and character development. Hoag really knows how to make her characters interesting - you connect with them and understand what makes them tick. The plot twists will keep you guessing, and the ending is NOT predicatable. Very enjoyable... my second book by Hoag. I would also recommend "Kill the Messenger"

Narration

She speaks too fast, hard to understand so u miss a lot of the story.