I just finished reading this book and want to write the review while it is fresh in my mind.
The genre for, “The Old Woman & the Mad Horse…”, by Cage Dunn and Rose Brimson, is action thriller. It takes place in the sparsely populated town of Brimpaen (that actually exists but is being used fictitiously here) in Australia. The story starts out pretty calmly, where Hella Solaris, a six-foot plus tall woman who is an “ex-operative” of a secret organization, plans on settling down from her previous top secret job. She’s had her boss find the perfect little out-of-the-way ranch for her and he’s taken care of all of the paperwork.
It doesn’t take Hella, who is a sharp, trained fighter long to start catching on that something is amiss about the property and the location itself. There is a mystery to be solved, and if it isn’t solved and solved properly, more people will die.
There is a varied cast of support characters, including the local police officer, Senior Sergeant Cameron Becher (Cam for short); Cella, Cam’s precocious 16 year-old daughter; Piotre, Hella’s ex-boss and the one who found the property for her; Reeni, The Old Woman; Big Boy Bad, the Mad Horse; and Reese, Thug, and Lump, unsavory characters Hella comes up against.
There are several things I like about this book. One is Hella herself. I like the way she thinks. The format of the book is a lot of Hella thinking inside of her head and sorting things out. Her mind doesn’t plod along the usual paths, as she has a wide variety of experiences and training that allows her to have an edge on many different circumstances. Such as staying alive. Hella has a lot of “special ops” knowledge and equipment that she uses, especially in the realm of surveillance, alarms, and encrypted communications.
Cam is a very interesting character. Big cop in a small town that I think he’s lived in all of his life. One of the things I like best about Cam, besides his tremendous love for his daughter, Cella, is that he knows the terrain and his turf in the town intimately. Knowing your turf can keep you alive when you’re being hunted.
Cella and Cella’s interactions with Hella and Cam are very enjoyable to read. Cella is a sharp teenager and she’s no pushover when it comes to being quiet and obedient when the adults talk. You might say she is the typical oppositional teenager but has a high IQ.
The final character I really enjoyed was Big Boy Bad, aka Bee Bee. There are many fun scenes around Bee-Bee, who has a mind of his own.
The chemistry between Hella and Cam is another fun part of the plot.
Without giving away too much, several lives are in danger when big corporations think there is a way to capture a market for a high tech product that will give them global dominion. The story here revolves around the frantic endeavor to obtain such dominion and the heroes trying to keep it from happening.
I thoroughly enjoyed, The Old Woman & the Mad Horse – Case File for: the Big Three Mining Investigations. Readers who like high tech equipment, thrillers, thugs, women who are smart and tough, precocious teenagers, within an interwoven romance (it is not too heavy on romance as they are too busy trying to stay alive!) will enjoy this book.
Favorite quotes from the book:
Prioritise. If it was a mission, the choices were easy.
*
“Don’t you know what ordinary people do to protect each other?”
“I’m not ordinary, Cella.” That should warn the girl.
“No one is truly ordinary. But you could be. You know what it takes to put on the mask of ordinary, but you don’t seem to understand that under the mask is the real thing — got one of those in your kit bag? A real person who’s more than a mask for the job?”
*
His brain spun out into the speckles of stars, wandered like a lost soul for a few seconds.
*
The first time, she’d done it off her own instincts, and he’d ripped her to shreds for not including the team in her decisions, but since then, he’d asked her what she’d have done if alone. This was why. There would always come a time when no one could help. Working alone meant making those choices, taking those chances.
Tao Talk 
You have an excllemt talent for weiting a review. I loved this!! And the book is right up my alley. Thank you. It is bow on my list to read.😊
P.s.
A busy day at work so working on the story tonight and in the morning.
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Jordy, your kind words are appreciated. There is no rush on that story! Take it easy!
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Oh good!! I am doing some research, fsscinated with the group behind the photo. So traveling up Sequoias now.
😳
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oh my gosh, can’t wait to find out what you discover! that’s awesome! ❤
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Quotes look good… I’m interested
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It is available in kindle/e-format also. I don’t prefer reading it that way but I did with the kindle for pc and it wasn’t too bad. I much prefer hard copy books. Speaking of which… I’m into the 2nd story on the Murakami book…
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Oh yes? Enjoying Murakami’s style?
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He’s meticulous and I like that. I can’t quite explain it but there is an underlying dread while reading what he writes. After getting blindsided by The Strange Library, I’m a little gunshy. Is he known for writing horror?
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No, I don’t think so…he flickers in and out of reality but any horror just seems expected and not scary….i have to read that book you’ve got!
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Just finished the 3rd story tonight. That guy is a trip. It’s like he throws out a bunch of stuff to see what sticks and some always sticks 😦 I will keep reading because I also LOVE the way he writes!
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That’s great to hear. Strange to get a writer who can write so simply and strangely at the same time lol
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I am so humbled to be the storyteller behind Hella and Cella and Cam’s story. Thank you for enjoying the tale they had to tell. Of course, I have to reblog this … thank you.
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You are welcome! I was happy to read their story and do the review. Hoping there will be other stories with these characters in them?
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Maybe similar …
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Reblogged this on Cage Dunn: Writer, Author, Teller-of-tall-tales and commented:
the feeling is humble … the joy is sublime …
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That’s a lovely review for a fine book, Jade. I’ve enjoyed reading both.
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Thank you, Frank. Yes, the book was an enjoyable read.
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Thanks Jordy, working on it right now 🙂
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Li your review of this book was excellent. I enjoyed reading it and Cage has a way of keeping her readers in suspense till the end.
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Thanks Jim
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Good job on writing the review…I am not good at book reviews because I’m too scared to give something away…but I only usually read bios… but still I don’t want to spoil some of the surprises.
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What you might do if you want to write a review is to say spoiler alert at first, so people who haven’t read it have the choice of waiting or not to read your review… You’ve read quite a few of them, I know. It might be a nice weekly feature on your blog to review one of them?
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That is a good idea about the spoilers. That way I would not have to worry about it.
I need to go back and brush over them.
I have read many bios…the only fiction I’ve read is Harry Potter (all of them), Christine, and IT… IT being my favorite.
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oh my goodness I can’t imagine how scary the book IT is as I made the mistake of watching the TV movie years ago. Stephen King is one author I won’t read, too scary. I think that’s very awesome you’ve read many bios, as they really give you the insider info on the musicians. Do you read bios on people other than musicians?
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IT is not that scary…the reason I like it is because of the characters… Think “Stand by Me” with a monster in it… lol…you get to know the town and people…that is what I like about it.
Oh yes…I’ve read about the Marx Brothers, many baseball books…about Babe Ruth and other players… also books about Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Clara Bow, Harpo Marx, Orson Welles, Mary Pickford… Jim Jones, Charles Manson….all over the place.
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“The Witches of Eastwick” is a movie based on a Stephen King book I think. That’s one I’d like to read.
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I didn’t know that. The thing about his books…they are sooooo descriptive.
It’s not just a crack in the sidewalk… its a crack caused 20 years ago by Joe who had a wristwatch that feel off on wet cement after he was hurrying home to etc… That can get annoying at times.
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those kinds of authors are trying to implant those images into your mind, as if they were your own memories. that can be a good thing as long as the intent is benevolent….
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It got old at first but then I started to see the picture. I know what Derry looks like now.
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Max, the key word in your first sentence is “monster”. No thank you! As to your biography reviews, I hope you give it some thought on doing reviews for them…
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lol
I will pick some more out…sure will. Thank you
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❤
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