Chorley Chronicals: Dark Horse (Elena Estes #1) by Tami Hoag {Audio}

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Dark Horse (Elena Estes #1) by Tami Hoag {Audio}

6:38 PM | Posted by Unknown

Dark Horse (Elena Estes #1) by Tami Hoag
My Rating: 3 of 5 Bookworms

Title:  Dark Horse
Author:  Tami Hoag
Narrator:  Beth McDonald
Length: Unabridged; 13 hours, 56 minutes
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: September 20, 2002
Genres: Fiction; Suspense
Subjects: Ex-Police Officer; Teenage Girls; Kidnapping; Florida

Synopsis:
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.

My Review:
This was my first read by Tami Hoag, and I must say that I wasn't disappointed, so I certainly will pick up more by her in the future. This was book 1 in the Elena Estes series, and I absolutely will (at some time) seek out book 2 to read!

The narrator does an excellent job of not only bringing the characters to life, but also distinguishing the characters throughout the book. There were quite a few characters to keep up with, but I thought that Beth McDonald did a great job of helping me distinguish which character was which while she was reading. I wouldn't hesitate to listen to another audio book narrated by Beth McDonald!

My favorite type of character is a strong, independent female, and I found just that in Elena Estes. That was probably one of my favorite things about this book, Elena's character and her ruthlessness and brutal honesty! I also couldn't help but fall in love with Molly Seabright, and have nothing but utter dismay and disgust at her mother and step-father!

Dark Horse did a great job of making me feel the emotions of the story that I was reading, although it felt like the story did drag on a bit at times, which is why I only gave this book 3 of 5 bookworms! The plot was suspenseful and was initially difficult to figure out the kidnapper was! I did enjoy the extra "drama" included throughout the story! I heard many people complain that they didn't care for all of the horse talk and reference throughout the book, but that didn't bother me a bit, but then again, I love horses! I just thought it was fitting, giving the kidnapping took place at a pretty prominent stable!

Overall, other than the story seeming to move a little slower than I would have liked, I don't have any complaints about Dark Horse and will absolutely eventually get around to reading The Alibi Man, Book 2 in the Elena Estes series, mainly because I loved Elena so much!

Would I Recommend This Book to Others?
Sure. I plan on reading Book 2 of the series! Then again, I hate to tell someone NOT to read something, because your taste may vary from mine! But yes, I would say try it!

Stand Alone or Part of a Series?
Part of a Series