The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley

 

‘”It might have been the wild weather, or the rough and rolling landscape that held traces of the harsh and violent past—the echoed din of charging hooves, of chilling battle-cries and clashing broadswords…”

 

With its dark legends and passionate history, the windswept shores of Scotland are an archaeologist’s dream. Verity Grey is thrilled by the challenge of uncovering and ancient Roman campsite in a small village. But as soon as she arrives, she can sense danger in the air.

Her eccentric boss is convinced he’s finally found the resting place of the lost Ninth Legion—not because of any scientific evidence, but because  a local boy had “seen” a Roman solider walking in the fields. Surprisingly, Verity believes in the boy, and even in the ghostly Sentinel, who seems determined to become her protector…but from what? (from the back of the arc) 

My Thoughts:

Mystery, history, ghost, and a handsome Scotsman…The Shadowy Horses has it all.

Arriving in Eyemouth, Scotland Verity Grey is not quite sure of the archeological job she is interviewing for yet that doesn’t stop Peter Quinnell, her soon-to-be boss, from hiring her nor does it stop her from accepting. When she learns that the dig she had signed on for is to locate a marching camp of the lost Ninth Legion, she is a bit skeptical especially when she discovers that Peter’s only evidence is forged surveys and the fact that young Robbie McMorran has seen a ghost of Roman soldier strolling the field.

Add in a lovely little love story that develops between Verity and David, a few ghostly encounters, an a handful of loveable characters and you have book that you cannot put down.

The Plot:

The plot was brilliant and bit different from the previous books that I have read by Susanna Kearsley in the sense that this book stayed in the present but it still had that unique quality that makes her books so intriguing. No matter the subject, Kearsley has a way of pulling you into her books, making you want what the characters want, and I often found myself fighting the urge to skip to the back of book and discover if they actually found what they were searching for, however I fought the urge and read the book in order.

The Characters:

The characters were all likable, even the ones that you occasionally wanted to chuck your shoe at had a likeable quality to them. I liked the fact that the book wasn’t teeming with useless characters used to fill space, each character in the book filled out plot and gave the novel a well rounded feeling.

The Paranormal aspect:

Occasionally when reading books with a paranormal theme the paranormal aspect of it is so out there that the book feels cheap, yet the paranormal aspect in this book was believable. I could see these events actually happening outside the context of a novel.

Features that I loved in the book:

-The setting of Eyemouth—the author truly brought the setting of this fishing town to life.

-The ghost of the Roman soldier—the ghost felt as though he belonged roaming the hills.

-The use of Scots—when reading a novel I want to read the dialect of the local in which it is set.

Today is the last day to enter to win a copy of The Shadowy Horses. To enter and also learn more about The Firebird, the soon to be released novel featuring a grown Rob McMorran you may do so HERE.

Book Details:

Title: The Shadowy Horses, Author: Susanna Kearsley, ISBN:978-1-4022-5870-1, Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca, Format: Trade Paperback $16.99, How I Read It: Trade Paperback ARC from publisher, Rating: 5 Crowns A ROYAL READ

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