Wild Horses, A Novel — Amy Pendino

What strings are attached to easy money? Dani Holden has lived in small-town Crestview, Iowa, for almost two years, but she won't be able to stay without a new source of income, especially now that she's adopted an old racehorse. Her good friend Donna introduces Dani to Jim, a trucker who's become a regular at Susie's Café, the town's local meeting spot. He's got an opportunity for Dani, a way for her to earn some easy money. As she wrestles with the trucker's offer, Dani learns some exciting news-former resident Lilly, now 80 years old and in poor health, thinks she's located the child she gave up years ago. But time is running out: she may not make it through her diagnosis in time to meet him. The shocking secrets Dani unearths around town and across the highways cause residents to second-guess the place and people they thought they knew. Vivid depictions of friendship, small-town customs, and rural scenery are a stark contrast to suspicious drug activity in the Crestview area and the treatment of food stock animals on the dusty roads that transect it. Wild Horses is a moving, page-turning story you won't want to put down.