“An unexpected discovery at an estate sale sends Hannah Prentiss and her best friend, Lacy Minyard, on a search for a champion horse and her jockey who disappeared on the eve of the greatest race of the filly’s life. Trophies, a photo album, and other racing memorabilia bring back memories of Hannah’s childhood love of horses, and she resolves to find out more.
Hannah already has her hands full running the Hot Spot, but soon she and Lacy become consumed with curiosity about the fate of the missing horse, Kentucky’s Angel, and her rider, Mickey. As Hannah and Lacy dig into the past, they find themselves exploring the legendary racetracks and horse farms at the heart of the Kentucky Bluegrass region. But the longer the list of suspects grows, the more Hannah fears the answer lies closer to home.
Can the two best friends locate a missing person who may not want to be found?”
Series: Book #6 in the “Mysteries of Blackberry Valley” series. Reviews of Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, and Book #5!
Spiritual Content- Philippians 3:13-14 at the beginning; A few Scriptures are read, mentioned, & thought over; Prayers & Blessings over food; Church going & a sermon; Talks about God; ’H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God, Jesus, His will, & trusting Him; Mentions of prayers, praying, blessings over food, & praising the Lord; Mentions of churches, church going, services, sermons, pastors, & hymns; Mentions of morning devotional/quiet time; Mentions of blessings & being blessed;
*Note: Mentions of luck.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: Some eye rolling; Avoiding hitting a dog in the road (the dog is okay, barely-above-not-detailed); All about & many mentions of a missing horse and her jockey (including theories of possible foul play, a kidnapping, the horse being stolen, or throwing the race); Mentions of deaths & grief (including Hannah for her mother); Mentions of a father yelling often (including to his child) & not being a good father after his wife died (due to blaming the child for the wife’s death); Mentions of blackmail, threats, & betrayal/manipulation from family members; Mentions of fires & arson; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of accidents & injuries; A couple mentions of alcohol; A couple mentions of hatred; A mention of jealousy; A mention of a man drinking often;
*Note: Mentions of a young woman running off with a man her father disapproved of; Mentions of the controversy of allowing women to become jockeys (including women being mistreated and being told to stay in the kitchen & races boycotted because of women jockeys); Mentions of authors, books, & fictional characters (‘The Black Stallion’ by Walter Farley, ‘Black Beauty’, and ‘Seabiscuit’); Mentions of car brands; Mentions of football teams; A couple mentions of the controversy about horse racing & animals being treated as assets rather than living creatures; A couple mentions of Halloween.
Sexual Content- A cheek kiss; A few touches, butterflies, noticing, & staring (not-detailed); Blushes; A date; Hannah thinks about her feelings for Liam & if she wants there to be more between them; Seeing two couples share a kiss; Mentions of falling in love & being in love; Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, liking someone, dates, & dating; A few mentions of blushes;
*Note: Seeing a difficult foaling & concern for the mom and foal (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a woman hiding her gender because of her career; A few mentions of a mother dying in childbirth & the father blaming the baby for her mother’s death.
-Hannah Prentiss
P.O.V. of Hannah & a couple others
8 chapters set in the 1950s-1960s
253 pages
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
Despite not ever being a horse girl growing up, I found myself more interested in this mystery than I expected. I’ll admit it might be mostly because of the very light romance brewing between Hannah and Liam that really caught my attention, hahaha. :)
I did get confused a few times because of all the names and how some of them were similar to other names mentioned. The ending was a bit bittersweet, but was overall an interesting mystery.
For those wanting a Thanksgiving or fall themed mystery, this one would be a great option! You do not have to read the prior books in the series—I’ll always recommend to read those first personally, but it’s not necessary—this book can be read as a standalone as it only mentions prior mysteries, but does not give away the end of those mysteries. It definitely felt like a fall-ish book with the importance of community, reaching out to others, and family.
See y’all on Friday with a new review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
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