Review: “Sixteen Horses” by Greg Buchanan

Welcome back, it’s been a while! Hopefully to stay this time.

Before we dive in, when picking up “Sixteen Horses”, readers should be aware of the strong animal abuse theme throughout the book. None in my review, but just something to keep in mind if you’re interested in reading it.

Heads of sixteen horses are found in a small English village, with one eye facing the sun. Cooper Allen is a forensic veterinarian asked to help Alec Nichols solve the case. As they investigate this matter, they come across multiple other crimes, big and small, which have occurred within the village. Anyone could be a suspect, but can peace ever return to the seaside village of Ilmarsh?

I believe this is Greg’s debut novel, I have picked it up at random while browsing the selection in a local bookshop. This thriller could have been far more impactful if the writing didn’t leave so much to be desired.

The more I read, more I liked the concept of the story but it felt drawn out. There wasn’t enough mystery in it or suspense build and towards the end, it became just a dump fest; it’s not a good indication when author feels they have to explain everything in details, it should be the plot that does so gradually. There’s no reasons to do that for readers unless he himself felt that the situation wasn’t well explained in the novel to begin with.

The characters didn’t seem to be fully developed either. Not sure if there’s any plans on having a sequel, but the stand-alone it is now, it didn’t do good enough job to make them remarkable in any way or interesting, sorry to say.

Thank you for reading my review, albeit short and a bit on the negative side, but it is what it is.