by Kaylie Seed
Content Warning: sexual abuse of a child, death of a pet, rape, graphic scenes
Susan Mihalic's debut psychological thriller Dark Horses is a twisted tale about finding our voices amongst chaos and learning how to overcome the darkest parts of ourselves. Mihalic has taken horses, a very innocent, innocuous topic, and has created a story filled with hurt, heartache, and malice. Roan Montgomery is an equestrian prodigy who plans to follow her father’s footsteps by making it to the Olympics, and she plans on not letting anything stand in her way. Soon, the reader will learn that Roan’s life is anything but the wholesome girl-next-door image that she portrays to her fans; Roan is living a life of pain, filled with a darkness that she compartmentalizes so well that she doesn’t even see the true evil that lurks in her life.
Dark Horses is written from Roan’s perspective and the reader will learn quickly that she is a lot more grown up than her age. What makes this even more layered is Mihalic’s use of the word “Daddy” that Roan uses for her father throughout the story. This truly shows that Roan has had to grow up a lot faster than she should have. Roan is a paradox in this case because she acts like someone much older than herself yet she is holding onto the childhood she was never given the chance to have, but desperately needed. Mihalic has crafted Roan to be both likeable and flawed; the reader will be rooting for her throughout Dark Horses.
Mihalic’s Dark Horses is not an easy read and it is not a book for everyone, yet it’s highly recommended. The topics brought up throughout the story can make it difficult for the reader if they aren’t mentally prepared, but Mihalic has crafted such an important story about resilience, particularly about surviving sexual abuse, that it warrants praise. Dark Horses is exquisitely written and Mihalic isn’t afraid to push boundaries, which is one reason why this book is so fantastic. Other themes that Mihalic has written about in Dark Horses include power, coming-of-age, unconditional love, and the father-daughter relationship. Mihalic’s prose flows incredibly smoothly, making Dark Horses a book the reader will fly through. As this is Mihalic’s debut, I’m very interested to see what she comes up with next. She is an author we need to keep on our radar.
Thank you, Simon & Schuster Canada for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review!