A Horse of a Different Killer

Jaffe's debut features murder among the rich and horsey in Charlotte, N.C., as fashion writer Natalie Gold grabs at the chance the crime offers her to break into hard news. Nattie, a show rider whose horse is boarded at the farm where trainer Wally Hempstead was found beaten to death, has insider knowledge and contacts that make her invaluable to investigative reporter Henry Goode. Intuition tells her that trainer Rob Stone, the victim's former lover, who's been charged with the murder, is innocent. Rob may be one of the few who didn't want to kill Wally: cruel to man and beast alike, Wally beat horses viciously; over the last few years, some pricey animals under his care died suddenly, for no apparent reason. As Gail, Nattie's best friend at the farm, vehemently says, ``he was scum'': words that haunt Nattie when her friend verbally abuses another member of their small circle (who then also turns up dead) and begins behaving very oddly. An unconvincing and unnecessary strand of the occult and a leaning toward melodrama aside, Jaffe fully integrates the horse-show world into her satisfying tale. (Sept.)