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Title details for Girls and Their Horses by Eliza Jane Brazier - Available

Girls and Their Horses

by Eliza Jane Brazier
Helen Laser
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
“The thriller of the summer.”
—Today.com
Set in the glamorous, competitive world of showjumping, a novel about the girls who ride, their cutthroat mothers, and a suspicious death at a horse show…from the author of Good Rich People
When the nouveau riche Parker family moves to an exclusive community in the heart of Southern California, they believe it’s their chance at a fresh start. Heather Parker is determined to give her daughters the life she never had—starting with horses. 
She signs them up for riding lessons at Rancho Santa Fe Equestrian, where horses are a lifestyle. Heather becomes a “Barn Mom,” part of a group of wealthy women who hang at the stables, drink wine, and prepare their daughters for competition. 
It’s not long before the Parker family is fully enmeshed in the horse world—from mean girl cliques to barn romances and dark secrets. With the end of summer horse show fast approaching, the pressure is on, and these mothers will stop at nothing to give their daughters everything they deserve. 
Before the summer is over, lies will turn lethal, accidents will happen, and someone will end up dead.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 6, 2023

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593684375
      • File size: 287234 KB
      • Duration: 09:58:24

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from March 20, 2023
      Horse mothers put stage mothers to shame in this wildly entertaining thriller from Brazier (Good Rich People). Texas transplants Heather and Jim Parker buy a $28 million house in Southern California, and arrive at the nearby Rancho Santa Fe Equestrian Center at the top of the heap. Heather will do anything to help her young teen daughter Maple win the annual horse show, including engaging in full equine combat with top “barn mom” Pamela and her vicious daughter, Vida. Meanwhile, rumors swirl around Kieran Flynn, the equestrian center’s charming owner and head trainer, and his “implausibly handsome” intern. Suspicious accidents pile up gradually—a horse spooked by spilled soda, a cut stirrup—until somebody winds up dead. Brazier cleverly heightens suspense by declining to reveal the victim’s identity until late in the novel, stacking motives and suspects before she finally hits readers with the gruesome murder. Her characterization impresses, too: the horses emerge as distinctive personalities in their own right as the author nimbly juggles the humans’ scandalous backstories. This is a sparkling addition to Brazier’s impressive career. Agent: Sarah Bedingfield, Levine Greenberg Rostan.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Helen Laser makes this horse-centered drama a devilishly fun listen. The story is set in Southern California's elite world of competitive jumping. Laser's deft narration shifts between entitled teenagers and the dysfunctional adults who surround them. Laser believably employs the upspeak of California teens while wisely refraining from that cadence when voicing the main characters, Heather, an over-involved "barn mother," and her two daughters, Maple and Piper. Although the audiobook's opulent setting is over the top, the characters as voiced by Laser never come off as caricatures. Listeners will be swept into the mystery when a body is discovered in a barn stall. J.T. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      June 10, 2024

      Newly rich, Heather Parker moves her family to Southern California so her younger daughter, Maple, can ride at the exclusive Rancho Santa Fe Equestrian Center. Once there, Heather meets a group of "Barn Moms" who drink wine, push their daughters to succeed, and pursue an opulent lifestyle. Soon, the Parker family is entwined in the messy lives of all who work at the ranch. With the pressure on, no one can escape the lies and lethal happenings. Mean Girls meets Dance Moms in this glittering novel about competitive horseback-riding. Helen Laser's narration perfectly balances Heather's nouveau riche mentality and the Barn Moms' cattiness, subtly hinting at the rot under the glitz and glamour. Told from various characters' perspectives and jumping from when the Parker family first arrives to the police interviews after a dead body is found, this novel will have listeners wondering just how deadly, twisted, and secretive this world can be. VERDICT Brazier's (Good Rich People) latest is part thriller and part coming-of-age story, exposing how money can and cannot buy happiness.--Elyssa Everling

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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