Kathrynn Dennis, Shadow Rider

Shadow Rider

Kathrynn Dennis

Zebra, Oct 2008, $4.99

ISBN: 9781420100488

In December 1390, Sir Guy of Warwick does not feel the cold as his heart is already frozen. He lives for one thing only to avenge the murder of his sister Roselyn and her newborn John by sending the vile villain to hell whether it was a demon or a mortal.

Unmarried and with no male protection, twenty year old Sybilla Corbuc knows the priest of her village Corbury will be irate if he catches her; as she explains to her companion young Etienne if caught she will be convicted as a Separist and tossed naked into the nearby woods. However, she has no choice but to help the mare give birth on a freezing night so that at least the foal survives. Sir Guy comes across them in the barn and offers to buy the colt that he believes will somehow tell him who his sibling's killer is. As they fall in love, the ambitious local sheriff wants his land, the priest wants her burned, and an aristocrat wants both dead; only a strange mysterious newborn horse can keep them alive if they believe in one another and in the power of the colt.

This is a fascinating medieval romance with a touch of mysticism that enhances the tale as readers will wonder early on whether the lead couple is simply superstitious or if the colt has special powers; the colt makes the storyline fresh. Guy is an interesting protagonist who until he meets Sybilla and the colt lives for vengeance only, but now that his heart is thawed has a greater reason to live. Fans will relish this fine look at late fourteenth century England.

Harriet Klausner