Matt McAvoy Book Review

N.L. Holmes is an outstanding writer of pedigree and quality.  Her historical fiction is authentic and well-researched, as she paints landscapes and locations onto the page like an artist, putting the reader right there in the story, and able to experience her portrayal of history with all five senses.  She is also a master at crafting layered, well-developed characters, who are simultaneously endearing and human, as well as being awe-inspiring and powerful.  Her action scenes – whilst very few and far between, it has to be said – contrast from poignant and emotional to epic in scale, even reminiscent of the visual palette of De Mille.

Sadly, though, I was not totally on board with this book.  I have recently read another from this author – whom I admire and like a lot, I should say – and it is true that I found it significantly more gripping than The Lightning Horse, this title feeling a little slower and less intense.  It still revolves in part around her tendency toward a whodunnit-type mystery – against a backdrop of political espionage and acts of war – but the mystery and suspense of this is somewhat subdued in comparison, and not entirely engaging; it seemed to take a while to gain traction – at least, in my case.  It is also very, very wordy and overflows with dialogue. 

But, all said, you may enjoy the book a great deal; its quality is undeniable, and for this reason alone I have to give huge, very well-deserved credit to the author in my star rating.  Whatever my personal taste regarding the story, this book is a professional and polished piece of work – and from Holmes I would expect no less; she is an example to us writers all.  She deserves recognition for the sheer amount of work and research she puts into her writing, which fuses fiction with a significant degree of fact – perhaps more proportionately in favour of the latter.  Any doubts or concerns you might have about the authenticity or source of her information (you won’t) are alleviated by her humble Afterword and conscientious glossary.  If you like historical mysteries, which place a lot of emphasis on the facts upon which they are based, as well as slow, cosy reads, I’m sure you will enjoy The Lightning Horse a great deal – and, indeed, any title by this author.  You could definitely do a lot worse – but, in terms of sheer quality, you’re unlikely to find much better.