Reviews for DEADLY HERITAGE

Deadly Heritage: Toni Leland’s Latest Equine Mystery

Those of us who read Toni Leland’s novels are always eager for her next one, and her newest equine mystery has everything we liked in her previous work. In Deadly Heritage, not only is there an intricate plot to enjoy but many fascinating characters acting out their roles in a setting with lots of local color. And of course, for all of us who love horses and care about their welfare, plenty of horse information and wisdom. In Deadly Heritage, Leland dedicates the book to “every horse that ever suffered at the hands of man.” It is a pleasure to read.

This time, the setting is Oklahoma. Kellie Sutton, from a prominent Oklahoma family, breeds quarter horses at her Rocking S ranch near Guthrie. To Kellie, heritage is all-important, the central consideration in every decision she makes. She is devoted to preserving history in the state in which the Sutton family has played such a long and prominent part, and opposes land developers who are buying up failed farmlands to replace the good earth with “steel and concrete.” She has promised herself that she will never lose the Rocking S, the symbol of her Oklahoma heritage. But others in her family don’t share Kellie’s love of tradition: Frank Frazier, her farm manager and ex-husband, and father of nine-year-old Sara, has his own problems with which to contend, and Kellie’s twin brothers, Clarke and Cliff, want to make their own destinies. And in another complication, Ed Campbell, a Gulf War veteran, has come back to Guthrie to take over the sheriff’s office. He’s the man Kellie originally wanted to marry but for her own reasons, she chose the flashy, ex-football hero, Frank. When Kellie meets Ed again, sweet memories of their former love are overwhelming.

At the beginning of the novel, Kellie discovers a terrible horse problem in one of her barns. It is immediately clear that a malevolent person is at work. As the problem grows worse, she is relieved that veterinarian Dr. Hyde Browning of Osage heritage and Ed work tirelessly to help her. But things rapidly get worse, and Kellie must respond to one new outrage after another. As the story moves toward its resolution, everything becomes more complex and dangerous. Mysteries multiply. And Kellie and her family and friends are plunged into ever-growing jeopardy.

Deadly Heritage is one of those books where the reader is taken over by the same mounting tension that the heroine feels. Don’t be surprised if once you get the book, you read until you find out everything, even if it is an all-nighter.

Deadly Heritage was reviewed by author Marilyn Fisher on Amazon, October 09

Toni Leland's latest novel delivers rip-roaring romantic suspense with scenes so vivid you can almost hear the hoofbeats as her characters negotiate a finely crafted web of depravity, deceit and family tragedy.

Robbee Huseth~Blue Ribbon Books

Why is heroine Kelly's Sutton's successful Quarter Horse breeding operation under siege? Who could be out to get her and force her off the historic Oklahoma ranch that has been in her family for generations? Readers will instantly sympathize with Kelley and aren't likely to put Deadly Heritage down until those questions are resolved. And the mystery isn't all the book has to offer. The author also expertly dangles before us the powerful pull of long lost love. Toni Leland has another blue ribbon book here.

Carolyn Banks, author of The Turtle's Voice