Apparently this is the author's first novel and it certainly shows great promise and literary style. This is the tale of Natalie, a natural horsewoman with a great gift of being able to communicate with horses but who has led an unsettled life, Roving from place to place, always running from her past.

Life has a habit of going full circle however, and she finds herself moving ever closer to the town where she grew up and experienced so much loss.... Natalie accepts a position on a Pennsylvanian farm working for a strange, lonely man who has recently lost his sister.

Natalie's job is to care for the horses his sister left behind, in particular, to 'start' a big black horse with suspect conformation but who turns out to be the horse of a lifetime. He also brings her further heartbreak. Natalie builds a closer relationship with the brother only to find that that too is seriously flawed and she makes her way back to the town of her youth and finally confronts all her painful memories. In the process she really walks out on the horses in her charge and frankly I felt that she would not have done this - that it was an uncharacteristic action and one which lead to further tragedy...

This is a good book but not a particularly cheerful read and I personally found it difficult to empathise with the heroine at tines. Nevertheless it is certainly one to read for yourself and I am sure the author will be heard much of in the future.

Review by Sue Wingate