Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - Girls and their Horses

Girls and Their Horses is a character study that successfully masquerades behind a thriller novel. If Brazier was a less adept author, many of the choices her characters made would have seemed nonsensical. Yet Brazier crafts her characters with histories, motivations and senses of self that clash wonderfully, maintaining tension throughout a novel that winds at times before reminding us that we are witnessing the fallout that culminated in a person's murder. I found this story fascinating, especially because it zeros in on a competitive world that the average person will never view from the inside.

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lindsayerin's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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eeamiller's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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goldenbeebookshop's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book isn’t really about the glamorous world of rich moms putting their daughters through the elite world of competitive horse riding- that’s just the stage on which we see the challenges of family and growing pains play out on.
While there is a mystery- who is dead and why is a threaded needle piercing through the whole story, so you can’t forget about it, the story is more about people searching for family and belonging. There are two moms and their respective daughters at the center of the story. Each is struggling to find their place in the world and to receive the kind of care they need in order to feel like a whole person. It’s steeped with generational trauma and questions about what kind of happiness money can buy.

The ending makes it feel a little bit slice of life- some things are figured out, some threads are tied off, but the futures of the women and girls feel uncertain and deeply malleable.
An interesting ride for this non-horse world person.

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