Title: Acid and Bribery
Author: Jeanne Ann Off
Publisher: Xulon Press
ISBN: 9781498432832
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 153
Reviewed by: Arthur Thares
Hollywood Book Reviews
With so many stories filled with action and adventure in faraway lands, it’s sometimes easy to forget that a story more grounded in reality can still be just as entertaining. A title like Acid and Bribery doesn’t give you much to go on, but it does offer some mystery and mystique. Though this is a primarily human story focusing on the behind-the-scenes relationships at a horse track, there is little acid and bribery to spice up the story.
The story follows Kelsey, a young woman who cares for horses at Derbyrun Downs. Horses are falling sick in the stalls, including Kelsey’s favored horse Tomar el Oro and it may not be as natural as they initially thought. While Kelsey is trying to figure out what has happened to Tomar and other horses, she also has to deal with a father who has recently returned to her life, her growing interest in romance, and a potential threat to her life. For the horses’ sake and to keep herself safe, she must figure out who is behind all the turmoil behind the scenes at the track.
Author Jeanne Ann Off is an imaginative writer who tells a compelling story about a topic that many would find pedestrian. Readers will find themselves invested in the mystery surrounding Derbyrun Downs and all the chaos in Kelsey’s life, which is a direct result of Off’s writing style. One of the many significant strengths of this book is that there is no fluff, not a single wasted word. The book is still a perfect length, leading readers to feel like they got a fulfilling story that leaves everything on the table. The book ends with the first chapter of Off’s next book, which will excite readers who are fans of her writing style.
Usually, horse stories are marketed toward a specific group, but this is truly a story for everyone. It does tackle some mature content, but it does it in a way that is not graphic, opening up a larger audience for the story. Jeanne Ann Off found a great niche and spun a great tale with Acid and Bribery, and readers should look forward to anything else on which she is currently working.