Silent Partner — Karen Jones

Fifty-two-year-old Jack Ramsden has spent the last five years trying to rebuild his life after a very public and very scandalous divorce. His ex, Josephine Jackson, is an ill-tempered Texas-bred heiress who made Jack's life miserable for nearly twenty years. Nonetheless, he has no one but himself to blame for the drinking and bad behavior that nearly cost him his career. After the divorce, he fled Florida for horse country, returning home to Kentucky and the only work he has ever known: training thoroughbred racehorses. Along with his longtime friend, Viet Nam veteran Nate Washington, his lazy dog Harley, and a foul-mouthed pet parrot, Jack spends his days at the helm of a small horse-training business in Lexington. Business takes a turn for the better when one of Jack's former clients, wealthy car salesman Sid Blackstone, hires him to train a promising three-year-old colt called Savant. After winning a prestigious stakes race, Savant is a favorite to win the Kentucky Derby, a triumph that could permanently repair Jack's sullied reputation. But when Sid disappears, Savant's ownership comes into question. Sid's wife, Bunny Lee Blackstone, is a former showgirl who hasn't made a decision on her own since the day she married Sid. Now suddenly she is tasked with deciding how to handle the valuable thoroughbred, a matter complicated by the attentions of a charming gangster who may know more about Sid's disappearance than he is letting on. As he delves into the mystery behind Sid's disappearance and Savant's ownership, Jack slowly becomes aware of just how dangerous his and Bunny's situation really is. Together with Nate, Jack's former flame Katy Alexander, and Katy's best friends Lauren and Todd Hendricksen, Jack will stop at nothing to uncover the truth, discovering along the way that no one is quite what they seem. With its roster of colorful characters and surprising plot twists, Silent Partner is an engaging and suspenseful must-read for literary mystery buffs.