Girls and Their Horses - by Eliza Jane Brazier (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"The thriller of the summer."
--Today.com

Set in the glamorous, competitive world of showjumping, a novel about the girls who ride, their cutthroat mothers, and a suspicious death at a horse show...from the author of Good Rich People

When the nouveau riche Parker family moves to an exclusive community in the heart of Southern California, they believe it's their chance at a fresh start. Heather Parker is determined to give her daughters the life she never had--starting with horses.

She signs them up for riding lessons at Rancho Santa Fe Equestrian, where horses are a lifestyle. Heather becomes a "Barn Mom," part of a group of wealthy women who hang at the stables, drink wine, and prepare their daughters for competition.

It's not long before the Parker family is fully enmeshed in the horse world--from mean girl cliques to barn romances and dark secrets. With the end of summer horse show fast approaching, the pressure is on, and these mothers will stop at nothing to give their daughters everything they deserve.

Before the summer is over, lies will turn lethal, accidents will happen, and someone will end up dead.

Review Quotes

Praise for Girls and Their Horses

"Calling all former horse girls: This is the thriller you've been waiting for."
--Good Housekeeping

"In this whodunnit set in the elite show-jumping scene, new money clashes with old, while mean girls and competetive moms abound. Brazier gets everything right about how the horse world can go wrong."
--People

"The complex motives, class divisions and nice-nasty backbiting among the "horse girls" and "barn moms" brings to mind the competitive female environments in Megan Abbott's novels, but Brazier's experience as a horsewoman and deep knowledge of that world could make her the next Dick Francis."
--LA Times

"Tensions have always run high in the elite (and usually, rich) equestrian world. Girls and Their Horses dials up the intrigue by several degrees, embedding a new-money family into an insular and highly competitive horseback riding community--where deceit, romance, and even murder aren't out of the question in pursuit of a blue ribbon."
--Harper's Bazaar

"Brazier imbues her commentary on the elite snobbery of the equestrian community with universal observations of what it's like to be a young girl trying to fit into an exclusive club and how little changes once these young girls grow up."
--Glamour

"Big Little Lies goes equestrian in this lacerating, steamy thriller."
--Oprah Daily

"A propulsive, addictive read, there are moments where Girls and Their Horses feels like it was engineered in a lab to be read poolside by bookclubs everywhere."
--Paste

"Horse mothers put stage mothers to shame in this wildly entertaining thriller."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"[A]n engrossing read about competitive moms -- and horse girls...If in your youth you came across the intense energy of sports moms, then this book will certainly resonate."
--Shondaland

"I am obsessed with this fun and twisty read featuring gorgeous manes and dastardly deeds...Come for the diabolical intrigue and stay for the vicious infighting. And the horses. Did I mention horses?"
--CrimeReads

"[I]rresistible... enough mean-girl drama and emotion to fill a horse barn...a blue-ribbon story of the haves and have-nots."
--Kirkus

"A wickedly delicious deep dive into the world of horse-crazy girls, whiskey-soaked barn parties, and high-octane show-jumping circuits....But the cutthroat competition turns lethal when a corpse turns up at the summer show, and both mother and daughters must wrestle with what's truly important...a fabulous ride!"
--Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye

"At turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Girls and Their Horses has Brazier's razor sharp insight and blistering social commentary, combined with a plot so subtly tense you'll hold your breath for whole chapters."
--Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of Hide

"Does for horse girls what Megan Abbott's Dare Me did for cheerleaders...A powerful, searing novel of hierarchy, desire, and desperation, told by a brilliant storyteller unafraid to take risks."
--Ashley Winstead, author of The Last Housewife

"Dark and deliciously twisted, this is the thriller of my equestrian dreams . . . or nightmares. You'll never look at horse girls the same way."
--Jessica Burkhart, bestselling author of the Canterwood Crest series

"Deliciously full of soapy, simmering tension, manipulation, toxic female friendships, wealthy power dynamics and backstabbing a plenty...it's Big Little Lies meets Dallas, but even lustier and laced with Brazier's pitch-black humor. I couldn't put it down!"
--May Cobb, author of The Hunting Wives

"With stylish, incisive prose and laser-sharp commentary, this is a story that will draw readers in and hold them completely under its hypnotic spell...a reading experience as powerful, beautiful, and unsettling as the horses at its core."
--Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, author of The Girls Are All So Nice Here

"This recommended, well-written suspense poses questions about the cost of parents living vicariously through their children."
--Library Journal

"A slow-burn suspenseful read with plenty of drama."
--Mystery & Suspense

"If ruthless moms, tyrannical trainers, mean horse-girls and pimped-out heartthrobs sound like a murder-suspect dream team to you, you'll soak this book up like a self-medicated barn mom throwing back a flute of champagne. I certainly did."
--Tertulia

"Brazier's fine eye for detail and all-consuming passions does for the horse world what Megan Abbott's incisive behind the scenes novels did for ballet ('The Turnout'), gymnastics ('You Will Know Me') and cheerleading ('Dare Me')."
--South Florida Sun-Sentinel

"A deftly woven tale of families and horses, money and betrayals, emphasizes the constant abuse of young people and horses by those who seek money, fame, and power."
--Fresh Fiction

"...[B]rilliantly mixes a coming-of-age with a crime thriller where every character is the lead."
--Criminal Element

Praise for Good Rich People

"The rich live differently than the rest of us, and that's never more evident than this chilling account of one family that plays a sick and twisted game with their tenants."
--Good Housekeeping

"With writing that truly embodies the raw evil of greed, Brazier crafts cunning characters whom readers will be so excited to hate."
--Shondaland

"Taut, chilling, and completely original...elegantly explores the chasm between the haves and the have-nots."
--Ellery Lloyd, New York Times bestselling author of The Club

"A novel that's equal parts edge-of-your-seat suspenseful, bitingly funny, and wholly original."
--Chandler Baker, New York Times bestselling author of The Husbands

"[A] page-turner of the highest order."
--PopSugar

"Wickedly sharp, deviously hilarious, and flawlessly executed."
--Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of And I Darken

"Fizzy and hilarious, dangerous and outrageous. It's like chugging a flute of champagne that's been lit on fire. I loved the hell out of it."
--Stephanie Perkins, New York Times bestselling author of There's Someone Inside Your House

"The most vicious thrill ride I've been on in years--a satirical, dead-eyed look at class and money in a world frighteningly like ours, but with just enough askew to feel deeply unsettling."
--Amy Gentry, author of Good as Gone

"Dark, adrenaline-fueled, and wickedly funny...a compulsive tale of privilege and survival that grabs you from the first page and keeps you guessing breathlessly until the very last."
--Emma Rous, USA Today bestselling author of The Au Pair

"Full of fast cars, designer clothes, and pulse-racing cinematic thrills, this is a sharp-edged look into the lives of zip code 90210 residents."
--Library Journal

"[A]n intelligent and thought-provoking page-turner that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end."
--Criminal Element

"Fiendish...Readers with a taste for the idiosyncratic and the macabre will find much to relish."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A deliciously savage, viciously sharp-edged thriller."
--Jesse Q. Sutanto, author of Dial A for Aunties

"I dare you to not become obsessed."
--Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, author of The Girls Are All So Nice Here

"Haunting and ingenious."
--Amber Garza, author of When I Was You

"Meticulously plotted and masterfully executed, this story delivered on all its promise...Brazier's voice is killer."
--Justin A. Reynolds, author of Opposite of Always

"[A] little creepy, but in a good way."
--Betches

"This fresh, modern thriller hits the sweet spot between satire and horror."
--Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine

About the Author

Eliza Jane Brazier is an author, screenwriter, and journalist. Eliza entered the horse world at the age of five and has worked as a rider, horse trainer, and riding instructor. She lives with her horse and dogs in California, where she is developing her books for television.