Deadly Heritage by Toni Leland

Review: What I liked most about “Deadly Heritage” was that from the opening paragraph the author achieved a strong narrative which was both knowledgeable and straightforward without being mundane or ordinary even though the introductory topic was what might be a common occurence with horse owners and lovers. There was a no-nonsense, direct tone which I found very refreshing. I felt the author’s belief in their story, characters and direction. There was no ambiguity about what was going on and the likely direction the story was headed. It did take me a number of pages to get used to the style of the writer, which for me was a little abrupt, as I found the descriptions somewhat unusual yet they were outstanding.

The main character was strong yet willing to admit having made mistakes in life. To me, this made her very believable and empathetic. I wanted to know what would happen to her. Her problems became my problems, and I wanted her to succeed in her fight against those intending harm for her and those for which she cared. As a rider myself, I enjoyed the descriptions of the horses, their definite personalities and the love with which they were presented. But even more so, though I personally found the heroine’s actions exasperating at times, the romantic factor was as poignant as anything I’ve ever felt when still caring for a former lover after choosing someone else.

I found that yet again, and I was not surprised, although a self-published title, there was nothing of “second rate” or “unacceptable” (as if to a publishing house) about it. “Deadly Heritage” matched or exceeded the basic standards I’ve observed in the thousands of books I’ve read.

Description: Somebody is stalking horse breeder Kellie Sutton, and the one person who can protect her is the man whose heart she broke 15 years ago.
A series of vicious attacks on Kellie s champion Quarter Horses brings devastation to her ranch and former sweetheart Ed Campbell back into her life, only this time as the new local sheriff.

Mystery surrounds the wounds inflicted on the animals, then a sharp-eyed veterinarian confirms that someone is out to destroy Kellie and everything she loves.

Publication Date: October 13, 2009

Publisher: Toni Leland

Genre: Romantic suspense, Thriller, Equestrian Fiction

Buylink: Smashwords

Source: Author

Author Bio

Toni Leland has been writing for over 25 years. She is the author of five equestrian novels, a paranormal romance, and two juvenile chapter books. Her short stories have appeared in Arabella Romance Magazine, True Story, Bylines Writer’s Calendar, From the Heart anthologies, and Horse Tales for the Soul.

Toni writes weekly articles for international gardening site, Dave’s Garden (http://www.davesgarden.com); as a spokesman for the Ohio State University Master Gardener program in Muskingum County, she produces the monthly newsletter Connections and has written a biweekly newspaper column on gardening; she writes feature articles for Grit magazine (grit.com), Over the Back Fence regional magazine (overthebackfence.com), Country Living, and Romance Writers Report (trade publication for Romance Writers of America).

In her day job as an editor, she assists authors with manuscripts and publishing, as well as scripting and producing educational DVDs about caring for Miniature Horses; she also writes and edits books about this unique height breed (http://www.smallhorse.com).

Visit Toni at http://www.tonileland.com and follow her writing blog at http://manuscriptmusings.blogspot.com