THE SHADOWY HORSES
Susanna Kearsley
Sourcebooks
October 2012
Sourcebooks is doing readers a service by reprinting Susanna Kearsley's backlist (along with new titles), most of which have been next to impossible to get for a while, at least in the US. I read The Shadowy Horses in an old, musty dog-eared paperback edition a number of years ago and was delighted to get a bright shiny new ARC at Book Expo this year.
Verity Gray is an archaeologist who travels to Eyemouth in Scotland from her London home after hearing about a dig that her old flame, Adrian Sutton-Clark, is working on. Adrian is charming but somewhat immature when it comes to relationships. Verity decided that they were much better as friends than lovers. She is somewhat dismayed when she discovers that the object of the dig is the fate of the legendary 9th Roman Legion that disappeared in Brittania hundreds of years ago. She is charmed by the eccentric head of the dig, Peter Quinnell, and decides to sign on at the dig. It's a pity that the only basis for Quinnell's belief that the 9th Legion might be found at Rosehill are the visions of Robbie, a 9 year-old "seer". Verity is also intrigued by David Fortune, a Scots archaeologist who is working with Quinnell and is decidedly frosty to her. Rounding out the workers at the dig is Quinnell's granddaughter Fabia, a teenage femme fatale with a bad attitude and an agenda of her own. As work on the dig progresses Verity begins to have eerie experiences which convince her that Robbie has the second sight and can talk with a ghostly Roman Sentinel. She hears horses hooves thundering in the meadow every night (the shadowy horses of the title) and often feels that she is being followed by the Sentinel. When real evidence turns up pf a Roman marching camp it becomes evident that someone wants to sabotage the dig. Whether it is a ghostly or real enemy, she doesn't know.
As usual Susanna Kearsley gives us a supporting cast of wonderful characters. David's grandmother "Granny Nan", Robbie and his mother Jeannie are vibrant and alive. The atmosphere is just brooding enough and the slow building romance between Verity and David Fortune entirely believable. My only objection is that the ending feels a little rushed. I would have like to hear more of the story of the Sentinel and his beloved Claudia but will have to be satisfied with an ending that is very romantic in a quiet and understated way.
Many people have compared Kearsley to Daphne DuMaurier or Mary Stewart. I have to agree. Her novels have a kind of quiet romance that you don't often see in current novels. There is almost no sex- certainly not graphic- and no real violence. Kearsley's novels are the perfect reads for a cold fall or winter day spent wrapped up in a blanket.
Rating- 4 Roman Eagles
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