Rating: 
Summary: Solid thriller!
Review: "Dark Horse" was the first Tami Hoag novel I have read---and I will be back for more.It is deeply plotted and richly written. The characters are well defined. You get to know them all extremely well. It is written in the first person. That allows the reader to learn plot point before the protagonist (ex cop Elena Estes.) Elena was let go from the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office after her aggressive action on a bust got a fellow cop killed. So, she has her demons to wrestle and begins the healing process of personal redemption in a kidnapping case. There are enough twists and turns and false leads that at one time or another I was certain of whodunit and was wrong on all occasions. Great deceptions. It is a great thriller set in the world of competitive horse jumping and dressage. I have zero interest in those equestrian sports, but the book is so well written I could not put it down. A solid "Bee Plus."
Rating: 
Summary: slow plot with no twist.
Review: "Dark Horse" centers on Elena, a ex-cop kicked off the force after a drug bust goes bad. The story begins 2 years after the bust, when Elena has become a bit of a recluse and is hiding out in the guesthouse of an old friend and is confronted by a young girl who believes that Elena is a private investigator who can help find her sister. While it starts off at a gallop, the plot tends to do little more than plod along after the first few chapters. While the final "whodunnit" was a surprise, it wasn't a huge plot twist that seems to be typical of this author.
There are a LOT of characters in this story, and only 3 of them are likeable. Many of them are very under developed, and after a while I didn't care who was the villian at the end of the book, I hoped they were all were guilty and put away for life.
However, the bright spot in the book is the incredible accuracy that Hoag describes the "horsey set". Hoag uses her own experiences with this group of notoriously snobbish and backstabbing folks to give the story a very realistic feel.
Rating: 
Summary: Get it if you work/show at the Winter Equestrian Festival
Review: ..Otherwise I thought it was mediocre.
Fun to see our stomping grounds included in a novel, but generally not great reading. I will pass my copy on to an interested WEF participant, so they don't have to buy a copy.
Rating:
Summary: Not her best, but still pretty good!
Review: A lot of people have nightly rituals. So does Elena Estes. She takes out her stash of pain medication and does calculations. She could take one and ease her physical pain, or take them all, and end everything.
A former narcotic detective, Elena was badly injured when an arrest went sour, killing another cop. Now a outcast, she flees to the home of a close friend, and is taken in, and given a job caring for horses. Which is how she is drawn into a case that could break her out of her depression... or just plain break her.
Eleven-year-old Molly Seabright is the only one worried about her missing sister, eighteen-year-old Erin. At first, Elena resists Molly, not wanting any part of it... but is sucked in when she realizes that Molly may indeed be right that her big sister has fallen into deep trouble. Now, Dark Horse is a little slow going, and may lack a little depth, but still manages to be entertaining. I reccomend it to anyone who likes horses... and Tami Hoag.
Rating:
Summary: Not Hoag's Best...
Review: Although I generally liked this book, it isn't of the caliber of Hoag's past books. The characters are very flat, especially the lead character, Elena. Hoag tries to write her as a strong character, but fails; she confuses emotional void with inner strength. The story and its development are impressive, but it lacks the depth and color one expects of her books. I view Hoag's books as romantic suspense, as many do. Although this book is cleverly suspenseful, it isn't very romantic.
Rating: 
Summary: A stay-up-late mystery!
Review: As a huge fan of Dick Francis, I've been looking for another author who could capture the professional world of horses and write with suspense and edginess. In Tami Hoag's book Dark Horse, she has accomplished that goal and, in my opinion, taken a huge step forward in her writing. I found the main character of Elena Estes to be complex and interesting, with shades of Carol O'Connell's Mallory or J.D. Robb's (Nora Roberts) Eve Dallas, but more real. The story had enough complexity to keep it unpredictable and me up until 2 a.m. to finish it. Although it had a hint of a possible romance, there is nothing light or romantic about this book. I believe her previous books have been stand-alones, but I should love to see this as a start of a series. Dark Horse will definitely go on my mystery keeper shelf.
Rating:
Summary: A raw, emotional tale of hard choices
Review: Dark Horse by Tami Hoag is a complete and unabridged (15 hours, ten cassettes) audiobook thriller introducing Elaina Estes, a reckless female cop who is cast out of the ranks when her tactics cost the life of a fellow cop. Dispirited, Elaina retreats to Florida horse racing country, where she stumbles across a murderous intrigue of power and drugs behind an international riding competition. Yet proving her case could bring about the death of another innocent person - or quite possibly, herself! A raw, emotional tale of hard choices and insidious corruption is brilliantly narrated by Beth McDonald and enthusiastically recommended for anyone who enjoys a deftly written tale of crime and suspense.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but not her best work
Review: Dark Horse was not a bad book, but it did take me an awful long time to read, which in my terms basically means that the story wasn't intriguing enough for me to not want to put it down. I liked the main character, Elena Estes, but it also seemed like more of the same as in many of her other books...female in a role of law enforcement that did something that has turned all her colleagues against her so she is now an outsider and must try to do her job while dealing with their animosity.. does anyone else feel like this formula is getting kind of old in her books. I'd like to maybe read something a little different for once. Aside from that fact, the story wasn't bad, it just wasn't that intriguing; and the ending was not very satifying to me. I'm still a fan of Tami Hoag, but I really did not find this to be her best work.
Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing!
Review: Elena Estes has given up her career as a detective and taken up living the quiet life in Florida. But her peaceful existence is about to get shaken up when twelve year-old Molly Seabright comes to her for help. Molly's step-sister was working as a horse groomer among Palm Beach's wealthiest when suddenly she disappears, a victim of kidnapping. Elena does not want to get involved but a few questions for her curiosity plunges her deep into a nightmare where a killer will stop at nothing to get what they want. Now, forced to face the painful memories of her past, Elena must follow the trail of the killer if she is to bring a young woman back alive. 'Dark Horse' is a departure for best-selling author Tami Hoag, while it remains a thriller, it is not like her usual gritty thriller, but more a thriller in the Archy McNally vein. I was disappointed with this book, most of the novel was boring, and even the shocking, surprise ending couldn't pull it back from a time waster of 400 pages. Tami Hoag writes excellent suspense novels, 'Dark Horse' not being one of them. Where Ms. Hoag usually writes dark police procedurals, she has opted to try something lighter, and the result is a slower, glitzy type thriller...one that does not succeed in thrilling as her previous novels have. Nick Gonnella
Rating:
Summary: Page-turning Suspense
Review: Elena Estes is a former member of the Palm Beach Narcotics Squad. Leading a life of solitude at the guesthouse of a friend, she has spent the last two years reliving the nightmare that ended her police career. Her unauthorized move at a drug bust resulted in the death of a colleague and life-threatening injuries for Elena. But when twelve-year-old Molly Seabright asks for Elena's help locating her missing sister, Erin, Elena reluctantly decides to come to the young girl's aid. Finding herself once again immersed in the Palm Beach equestrian world of her youth, Elena reinvents herself to become a woman in the market for a horse. Her inquiries lead her to Don Jade, a trainer suspected of misdeeds in the past, and the man for whom Erin worked as a horse groomer before she disappeared. Ms. Hoag's deft skill in creating mysteries provides readers with a whole host of suspects, all of whom seem to have something to hide. Tomas Van Zandt is a Belgian horse dealer who preys on the naiveté of young innocent women as well as older lonely ones. Paris Montgomery is the too nice assistant trainer to Don Jade with pieces missing in her story. And there is the dysfunctional Seabright family, Molly's stepbrother Chad who had a fling with Erin, much to the disappointment of his domineering father, Bruce. Molly's mother, Krystal, is a blonde kewpie doll woman who defers to her husband's every wish. As Elena explores the various avenues available to her, she makes the acquaintance of a Detective Landry, who at first dismisses her interest in the case because of her past history with the police department. As the clues and the body count mounts, he develops a reluctant respect and attraction for the brash Elena. Ms. Hoag's first-hand knowledge of the bright and dark sides of the Florida horse world lends a unique credibility to this read. As she develops the characters as possibly suspects, the suspense mounts carrying the reader on a quest for the answers to Erin's kidnapping. Beware, the tale isn't over until it is over, with enough twists and turns to keep the reader up long into the night. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title
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