Horse of a Different Killer

By Jody Jaffe

Book Overview

When a quarter-million-dollar show horse and a top trainer are found brutally murdered side by side, Natalie Gold, a reporter for the Charlotte Commercial Appeal, seizes the chance to get out of the fashion beat she so detests. Though Henry Goode is the paper's star investigative reporter, it's Nattie who knows the rich, competitive, and devious world of the show horse circuit. After all, she scrimped and saved to buy her own hunter, Brenda Starr. In Horse of a Different Killer, Jody Jaffe, herself a former journalist and an enthusiastic equestrienne, takes off on a dazzling new career as a first-class mystery writer. Moving between the emerald green paddocks of the Southern gentry and the raunchy newsroom of Charlotte's bustling daily, Nattie (a Yankee from Philadelphia) has gotten a crash course in the manners and morals of old Carolina society. She's discovered the dirty little secrets of families who mingle with the super-rich but are not above partaking in dark, shameful scams. She knows that Wally Hempstead, the stiff in the stable, was not only a talented trainer, but also an A-one cheat, skilled in blackmail and extortion. And she knows at least a dozen people who wanted to see Wally very dead, including her best friend Gail. The question is--which one of them actually did it? Teamed with Henry and watched over by Detective Odom, who stars in her dreams, Nattie makes the rounds of the Carolina show horse circuit, pumping society matrons for scandals, tracking down trainers and braiders, chatting up the slim, blond girls who paid Wally Hempstead major bucks to make them winners. But as she closes in on the truth, Nattie becomes the target for a series of increasingly savage death threats, not only to herself, but to her beloved horse, Brenda Starr.... As sleek and stylish as a thoroughbred, Horse of a Different Killer races to a climax that will leave readers gasping in surprise. Dick Francis and Bill Shoemaker, step aside. With Horse of a Different Killer, Jaffe has a big winner on her hands her first time out.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0449909972
• ISBN13: 9780449909973
• Release Date: September 1995
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 279 Pages
• Weight: 1.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Realistic horse scenes a must!

I loved this book. It is very rare to find mysteries (or any type of novel) that present knowledgeable writing with regard to the 'horsey' end of the story. This book has great descriptions of A circuit shows, people, horses, equipment, etc. I especially like the jumping play-by-play. I eagerly bought Jody Jaffe's next two books after reading this one and was disappointed that she's drifted away from the horse and riding scenes that appear in this first try. Still, I highly recommend this particular book and I hope she'll continue writing in this vein sometime in the future.

A couple of plot holes, but a very fun read

Overall "Horse of a Different Killer" is great fun, and I really enjoyed it. I found it hard to put it down, and raced to the end. Maybe that was the problem..after it was finished, I still had several questions about some of the motivations behind the murders. For instance, who would have really stood to profit from Ruskie's death? As a mystery, it may be a little flawed, but as a rollicking good fun horse story for grownups, it is a winner. I would particularly recommend it to equestriennes. I really look forward to the continuing adventures of Nattie and Brenda.

Awesome, gripping book!

What a great story! Finally another book written by a true horse-person! I read it straight through, couldn't put it down, was late for work...and it was worth it! Wonderful writing.

A wonderfully funny and suspenseful horse crazy book

I bought this book to read with my 14 year old cousin as a Chistmas gift. She read it to me, to her father and anyone she could get to listen to her. For a horse crazy girl to give to another it was the perfect gift. It is well writen, fun and suspenseful. We can't wait to read the next and the next.

Great book if you love horses or just excellent mysteries

Super first book by an author as exiting and fun herself as the character in her book. During a recent visit with this interesting horse-women, I found out that her books are almost autobiographical!(she does "say" the only difference is that she HAS NOT been involved with any murders!) Right. Like her main character, Ms. Jaffe is a horse-person and previously a journalist; her handsome hubsand is a accomplished news reporter. And she does have a horse called 'Brenda Starr' that she shows when ever she can. One might mistake this book for a cozy but it's not. We have a strong, gutst female lead who I feel like Muller's will just become stronger and stronger. Ms. Jaffe is as clever and funny as her character. Both would make a great best friend! Read and be delighted!!!