Red Horses

by Donna Lynch, Steven Archer (Illustrator)

Donna Lynch has returned with the prequel to her acclaimed debut novel ISABEL BURNING. This is the tragic and haunting love story of damaged Russian scientist Vladimir Millerovo, a Grace ancestor, and his gifted, beautiful Romanian bride Veda. The couple are forced to flee late 1800′s Moscow, along with their baby daughter Ana, across several continents and an ocean to escape Vladimir's crimes and the ghosts that seek their revenge. Finding sanctuary in the Caribbean paradise of Martinique, the family tries to repair what has been broken only to find that the horror they sought to leave behind has been irrevocably burned into each of their hearts, and ignited a terrible gift in young Ana.

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 19, 2013

About the author

Donna Lynch is a two-time Bram Stoker Award-nominated dark fiction writer, spoken word artist, and the co-founder—along with her husband, artist and musician Steven Archer—of the dark electro-rock band Ego Likeness (Metropolis Records). An active member of the Horror Writers Association, her published works include Isabel Burning, Red Horses, Driving Through the Desert; and the poetry collections In My Mouth, Ladies & Other Vicious Creatures, Daughters of Lilith, Witches, and the Ladies of Horror Fiction Award-winning Choking Back the Devil, among others.

Reviews

[Isla McKetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some families have issues and some families have incest, magic, and pure evil. This prequel to Isabel Burning delves into the mysterious and sinister origins of the Grace family. Reviewing a prequel is a tricky business if you haven't read the original book, but I enjoyed reading this saga from the beginning and might read more.

[J.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In contrast to the "first" book of this series (ISABEL BURNING), I devoured this novel in the course of one evening. To be fair, that had much more to do with me than the book: historical ghost stories are more my style than creepy psychological horror. Lynch immersed me in the history of the Grace family, with vivid settings around the world. The imagery and turns of language used in this book are beautiful, and it is easy to see why the author is also an accomplished poet.

Reading ISABEL BURNING first is not a must, but the background for many of the issues in that novel are foreshadowed in RED HORSES. Careful readers will enjoy following the leads and seeing where the two books connect.