This book is thrilling and compelling. The setting and the story were eerie. The pace was off in the middle. A great debut

Trigger warning: animal abuse

It is tough for me to write a review for Sixteen Horses by Greg Buchanan because it was tough for me to read it.

It is an extremely dark story. Buchanan’s evocative writing transported me to the dark, lifeless town of Ilmarsh, where even the most vivacious of the creatures on Earth would shrivel up and turn into morose people.

This book also provided me with a tryst with a lonely, confused mind with no self-esteem. Buchanan does not hold back in the descriptions of such a personality.

Sadly, his writing is the only saving grace of this book.

Firstly, it is replete with scenes of animal killing/abuse. The premise itself is full of foreboding. Heads of sixteen horses are found buried on a farm with a single eye facing the sun.

I was, therefore, expecting a tense, nail-biting thriller. However, Sixteen Horses is neither tense nor nail-biting. It is also not a thriller.

It starts on a high note. Alec Nichols discovers the brutal crime. He is joined by Cooper, a Veterinary Forensics Expert. What initially appears to be a site of ritualistic killing is soon revealed to be infected with a viral pathogen. This adds more layers to the mystery.

The author further throws in another mystery of an island where a depraved man killed his entire family.

Finally, a tragedy occurs. Alec’s son goes missing.

These would have made for an excellent mystery had all these loose ends been tied up.

Unfortunately, almost all these loose ends are left open, barring the greatest – who killed the horses. While I understood who killed the horses (a day after I finished the book) and the significance of the number sixteen, I didn’t understand the why, nor could I grasp the significance of assembling the horses in a circle with one eye pointing to the sun.

I felt that the brutality of the crime was only to shock the reader and added nothing to the story.

Moreover, the ending was confusing. The epilogue answers only a few questions and leaves many unanswered. To sum it up, I was expecting a lot from Sixteen Horses, but it under-delivered.

Many thanks to the publisher for my copy of the book. This does not affect my opinion on the book. I opted to provide an honest review.

Was the first book I had read by this author but will look out for more in the future. Full of atmospheric scenes and unlike anything I've read in the last 12 months

I enjoyed this mainly because of the despairing and hopeless atmosphere of a decaying seaside town (fictional Ilmarsh, not sure if it is based on a real place) and, of course, because of the striking and intriguing set up for the book where the heads of sixteen horses are found buried in a farmer's field. I don't think I ever really understood what happened and I definitely didn't understand why it happened, although I found the telling of the story quite gripping.

Thank you to the publisher for my eARC copy of this book. Unfortunately I didn’t love this book and therefore didn’t finish, I just didn’t connect with this one. Not for me, sorry.

In all honesty, I should have known when this was described as literary that it wouldn't be for me. It's bit too high brow. While I love a dark and disturbing novel, I cope better with the murder of humans than the murder of animals. This is dark and disturbing and very good as a first novel, but it wasn't for me.

I found this book to be a slow burn, compelling, and ultimately fascinating and taut thriller. It was well written, and though the pace stumbled a few times, I flew through it.
If the harm of animals bothers you, obviously, this book isn't for you, but it really is well worth the read.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

“ Near the dying English seaside town of Inmarsat local police detective Alec Nichols discovers sixteen horses’ heads on a farm, each buried with a single eye facing the low winter sun.” Now, the plot is , why? And till the last page I failed to understand why? The story I felt a bit confusing and disappointing. It was getting difficult to track what is happening , even why do things keep happening! Waiting to read something better from the author for the next time. Good luck!

Sixteen Horses written by Greg Buchanan is a unique crime thriller. Set in the seaside town of Ilmarsh where a local farmer has a devastating finding of 16 horse heads half buried on his land. Alec Nichols, the local detective is tasked with investigating the occurrence with help from a forensic vet Cooper Allen. On investigation, everyone seems to have some secret they are hiding and when these become apparent people start to disappear. With bodies starting to pile up, Alec’s son disappears and the police can’t find him so Alec has to take things into his own hands.
I liked the characters in this book, Alec the single dad copper trying his best; I did have sympathy for him. Cooper, the theorist getting her hands dirty in a mass animal torture then a potential murder case was a strong character. She is a capable individual who ended up getting a lot on her plate. The relationship between them worked well I thought.
The plot was unique. The first third of this book is a well written crime drama, explaining what has happened, describing the scene and what the police have done and introducing lots of characters for the audience to get suspicious about, a good well-paced start. The middle of the book gets a little odd, a lot of random things happen, half the cast die or vanish and the lead detective is in an accident leaving him in hospital. This leaves Cooper as the head detective in this now query murder investigation? I ran with this, not for any other reason than why not! The rest of the book goes through historical events that are to explain what has happened and adds clarification to some of the characters. Cooper’s investigation and Alec’s recovery to the final conclusive section where the who? is answered but how and why are still a little bit woolly.
I thought it was a really good premise and enjoyed the writing style. Short chapters told in the third person with small poems and extracts weaved through to build more intrigue. However, I’m still not entirely sure I know why this all happened. The conclusion seemed very quick and the use of an epilogue to repeat some of the final scene seemed a bit pointless, when it could have been used to explain why. Despite this I really enjoyed the read and would recommend for those after a different take on a crime thriller.
Overall, a unique take on a crime thriller, an enjoyable read with plenty of characters to suspect. 4*
Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC.

Sixteen Horses was a pretty gruesome thriller about a Forensic Veterinarian who is called in to investigate the discovery of sixteen horses heads, buried in a circle on farmland. If you find dismembered animals upsetting, then this won’t be the book for you, but I found the way that Cooper Allen undertook her investigation fascinating.

There is a really bleak, moody atmosphere throughout this book, that brought The Smiths song ‘Everyday is like Sunday’ to mind: this IS the coastal town that they forgot to close down, and everyday does seem to be grey - if not silent!

Ilmarsh is a town that has seen far better days, full of the unemployed and displaced, and even though it’s not a pleasant thought, it’s no surprise that it should be the setting for a series of disappearances, arson and mutilations. There is someone in this town with a lot of time on their hands. And no better way to spend it.

The writing is mesmerising - I found it hard to drag myself away, even though I found it profoundly unsettling. And that’s the big thing about this novel: I’m still not 100% sure who the culprit was, but I found myself not too upset by that. It was such a breathtaking journey (however, if anyone would like to message me with the answer to that, I wouldn’t be at all put out!)

Many thanks to the publisher who provided me with an e-copy of the book through both NetGalley and Jellybooks (because I forgot I already had it from NetGalley 🤦🏼‍♀️).

Sixteen Horses sounded like an interesting novel and has had lots of good reviews but sadly it wasn't for me. It took me several attempts to get into it and it was a slow and forced read for me. I couldn't connect with the writing style or the plot. Others have loved it so if you like a gothic thriller that's a bit different give it a go !
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC

This is very much a "It's not you, it's me" situation. I never warm to literary fiction, and this is literary fiction in the guise of a gothic crime with a difference of the murder victims, at the start of the novel, being sixteen horses.

This didn't work for me, sadly. But I know the TV rights to this have been bought and I think this will adapt really well to something like Vera or Broadchurch.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel.
It took me two attempts to get going, as many other reviewers have said, if you are an animal lover this is not for you - I am and I persevered.
What a strange book......interesting, baffling and I am not sure what happened in the end - many unanswered questions. This makes me wonder why I committed my time to read it. I think it could doo with a few subtle reworkings.
Not sure I would re-read it but maybe if it answered all the missing bits !!!

This haunting debut beautifully recounts aspects of trauma, and I loved it. It's a story that will stay with me for a while. For a thriller/crime/mystery it has an intriguing premise from the start with the sixteen horse heads, and Buchanan cleverly works through the details to reveal a town with deep dark secrets that are unsettling, to say the least.

The descriptions were vivid and I found myself easily imagining the town. Sometimes in thrillers/crimes, it's easy for what is essentially world building to be left out as focus remains on the drama. But the dramatic nature of the plot was beautifully supported by this world. It really elevates the despair that seeps through the whole of the plot. Very well done.

This dark and gothic book was well written, with some poetry within, but a difficult read with the torture of animals. Based in an out of season decayed seaside town, with bleak lyricism.
There is a theatrical gothic crime going on in the book which would be ideal for a TV drama series!
A bold book for a debut writer. If you enjoy a dark thriller this is the one to read.
Thank you to #netgalley#sixteenhorses and the publishers allowing me to review the book.

The cover design for 'Sixteen Horses' is dramatic and lulls you into reading this book. Despite the challenges of reading about animal cruelty (as an animal lover I must admit to really struggling) this is a creative narrative, dark at its core, but a contemplative thriller to pull the reader in. I think, as a debut, it is impressive despite some of the obscurities and gaps.

Sixteen Horses by Greg Buchanan is a book to read slowly and think about, until you come to the answer of why sixteen horses. Alec Nicholls is the police detective called out to investigate when sixteen dead horses are found in a circle and Cooper Allen, a forensic veterinarian is asked to assist in this deeply disturbing case. Ilmarsh is a seaside town that is slowly dying and soon the sea will finish the decline. The whole investigation is centred around the area and it is a bleak story with a dark and disturbing ending.
Highly recommended

Having just finished reading Sixteen Horses, I feel I need to cleanse my mind. One of the most unusual and deeply disturbing stories I've read and I honestly don't know what I think. So far-fetched and yet written with such attention to detail that I found myself somehow convinced. Dark with no let up, this is not a story for the faint hearted. But there's no doubt it is written with great skill, and the description is outstanding.

I think this is certainly a niche book that some readers will love and others will abhore. The plot is weird, it's complicated and I felt the ending was somewhat confusing and less than satisfying. But then again, I don't think this writer is all about neat and tidy conclusions. Certainly fascinating, certainly haunting and certainly a book sure to provoke discussion.

Sixteen Horses, Greg Buchanan’s debut novel is affecting, challenging, haunting and compelling and I can tell you now that he is an author to watch out for. Set in a fictional town named Ilmarsh on the English coast, Sixteen Horses is a novel about harrowing events, decay and trauma and it got firmly under my skin.

Ilmarsh is one of those quintessentially British seaside towns which has seen better days. I live near a town similar to Ilmarsh, which was once *the* place to holiday but over time became run down and somewhere to avoid, in recent years though, it has received investment and is now a lovely place to visit and tourist trap once again. Those run down days though were something to behold, amusement lights flashing to empty streets, shops, bars and restaurants standing empty and a promenade with pot holes. Ilmarsh brought these days to mind, its depiction conjuring up an image of a desperate and empty town filled with sadness and lack of hope. Put it this way, I don’t think I’ll be visiting anytime soon.

On the outskirts of Ilmarsh is Well Farm and it is here where the book opens, with DS Alec Nicholls examining the sixteen horses heads which have been partially buried in the fields, one eye exposed to the elements. A veterinary expert, Dr Cooper Allen is called to the site to help aid the investigation. She is told that she has four days to uncover what happened to the horses, but investigating what initially seems like a cruel and senseless crime soon reveals darker deeds and surprising turns.

This is one of those towns where if you scratch the surface you uncover dark behaviours and secrets. Ilmarsh is filled with people who have something to hide and nothing is quite as it seems. I was transported to the town, I could hear the music blaring from the amusements, smell the fish and chips and feel the rain battering against my coat. An increasingly unreliable narrator throws shadows and doubt over what we’re reading and the mystery is less, what happened to the horses, and more, what on earth is going on in Ilmarsh?

This isn’t a crime novel in the traditional sense, it is far darker than that and takes the reader in unexpected directions. At times it has an almost post-apocalyptic feel; the desolation and desperation seeps from the pages. Its fractured, staccato writing disorientates and there were times I had to re-read sentences to make sure I had understood. It is unsettling and unnerving and I had to put the book down on more than one occasion to take a breather as the writing was just so overwhelmingly powerful. I loved it, I really did. It has been an absolute age since I read a book with writing which has affected me so hugely.

This is a bleak read filled with despair, but what a read it is. An inventive narrative structure coupled with characters I believed in and a plot which made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end make this a book which is a cut above. One caveat though, and I really hate to say things like this in reviews as I want as many people as possible to read a book I have loved (it is on my books of 2021 list), but this book will not be for everybody. Clearly, those who find animal cruelty difficult to read about will not find this an easy read and I think that some may just find it too harrowing – cosy crime it isn’t. But, those who do read it will be richly rewarded with an impressive debut novel which I promise you won’t regret.

Freakishly good, haunting from the outset - creepy, melancholic and gets under your skin and into your dreams! Ive never read anything like it before, Unforgettable reading, I wonder where he's going to go next