Sixteen Horses by Greg Buchanan (Mantle, 2021)
Greg Buchanan’s debut novel Sixteen Horses packs as powerful a literary punch as you could wish for. It’s a dark disconcerting tale which is perhaps not for everyone but I thought it a remarkable story, albeit not an easy read. When the heads of sixteen horses are discovered, carefully positioned in a circle, in a field outside the dying town of Ilmarsh, a forensic vet is called in to help the local police solve the case. She enters a world of secrets and lies, of taking one step forward and two steps back, and the unsettling conclusion is certainly thought-provoking and will make you want to read this book twice.