A review by lizzillia
Sixteen Horses by Greg Buchanan

4.25

Wow! Such a dark and claustrophobic read. I don't think the sun shone once. This is a debut novel and WARNING for animal abuse. It opens with the discovery of 16 horses head buried in a circle with one eye left uncovered to gaze up into the sky. The tails have been removed and are nearby. With something so bizarre a forensic vet in called in, Cooper Allen and she works with DS Alec Nichols. Alec's wife died of cancer and he lives with his teenage son. And that's where we start. As time progresses more and more layers are revealed in this dying seaside town of Illmarsh. This is a town where the people are broken, there is a history of abuse and killings - human and animal. There are poisonings and contamination and everyone that you meet seems haunted. It is impossible to get close to any character - not even the main two. It will not appeal to some for two reasons - one is the dark subject matter and the second is the fragmented writing style as the reader is switched from different places, times - almost like watching a dark film. However, I found it engrossing even thoiugh at times it was very uncomfortable.