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Welcome to
the world of competitive dressage. According to Robin Vaughan, the
sport is “… a search for perfection:
for the horse’s perfect
walk, perfect trot, perfect canter, even perfect halt.” The
equestrian community of Austin,
Texas
is shocked to learn of the brutal death of Nika Ballinger, a stuck-up
socialite
and fellow rider.
The police
call it an accident, but Robin isn’t so sure. Nika had more enemies
than
friends, and any one of them would be glad to see Nika’s early demise. Things get personal when Robin’s best friend,
Lola, is questioned in connection with the crime.
In order to
clear her friend’s name, Robin must discover what really happened
to Nika. It is a quest that will take her to the
highest levels of equestrian society, where the competition is fierce,
and some
people will do anything to win.
Ms. Banks
has created an engrossing world full of detail and charm. Far from
being an
expert investigator, Robin Vaughan is merely a bystander, pushed into
events by
circumstance and a good deal of curiosity. Her reactions are
spontaneous and
real. She is all too human, with her own set of flaws and biases. Robin
is, at
heart, a sort of ‘Everywoman’. The reader experiences all of her
emotions—from
elation to fear. In an era of cookie-cutter protagonists, creating a
main
character that the reader can identify with is no mean feat.
Similarly,
the setting is rich in detail. Ms Banks’ knowledge and love of dressage
shines
through. With a few exceptions, I found her descriptions to be vivid
and
engrossing.
If there
was one flaw to in the novel, it was Robin’s tendency to go off on
mental
tangents. This technique occasionally resulted in paragraphs of awkward
exposition as Ms. Banks, through her character, attempted to fill the
reader in
on some bit of equestrian lore. These
‘information dumps’, while interesting, tended to halt the flow of the
story.
Despite this,
I highly recommend Death by Dressage
as an excellent read. Set aside a few hours and prepare to be
entertained.
Reviewed by Erika Sevea
for The Road
to Romance
December 13, 2004
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