Amazon PattiBrooksBooks.com Fame & Deceit Category:  Mystery/Suspense Publisher: Aberdeen Bay ISBN-10:  1608300064 Pages: 275 Copyright: April, 20098 ISBN-13: 9761608300068 It's all about the power of a dream. Driven by his Olympian goald of achieving world class recognition, Ike Cherny blocks out the world. Except for an occasional pretty woman or two, he tries to turn a blind eye toward the evil swirling around him. Someone is secretly Killing Connecticut clergymen. Is one of Ike's women carrying out a sick vendetta and dumping bodies in the manure pile? Ike is so caught up with the physical beauty of the women in his life, he doesn't grasp the evil in their hearts. Set in New England's horse world, "Fame & Deceit" is a tangle of sex, murder and blue-blooded horses. Excerpt Daniel sank farm below the river's surface, the current aided his escape as he swam down stream away from the crazy woman. He ached to fill his lungs, he heart thudded from the race across the hayfield. Unable to bear another second, he head broke the surface. Guplig air, he gave himself up to the swift current. He heard the woman galloping her horse along the far shore. No soon did he see a bridge up ahead than he heard the horse's metal showes ring out on the cement. The woman huled himto a sliding stop, the horse almost sitting down on his haunches. In an instant she slipped out of the saddle and peered oer the side of the bridge. The moon, three days past fgull, glinted off her revolver. When he flet his lungs would burst, he shot to the surface prayin ght e current had carried him under the bridge. Treading water, he turned to face the bridge and saw the woman, with her back to him search the river. Safe...for a moment.

A complicated hero
As a protagonist, Ike Cherney is not easy to love at first. He's the type of man mothers warn their daughters about. Good looking, arrogant and as much a stud as the stallions he profiles. While testosterone flows freely in this fast paced novel, our hero seems to care more for the horses in his charge than any of his numerous female admirers.

But as he strives to turn the blue blooded horses on his employer's stud farm into world class show horses while his stable of two-legged fillies keep on handing him problems, we begin to feel for him. First, Lisa, the one woman he may have truly loved, departs leaving only a note; then, Billie, his assistant trainer with a temper to match her red hair, starts coming on a little too strong; and finally the body of his newest conquest, is found floating in a nearby river. An autopsy reveals that she was two months pregnant and Ike wonders if the child could have been his. At this point we begin to understand this complicated man.

It's not only the women in Ike's life that give him trouble. He has reason to wonder if the owner of the stable is involved in something highly illegal and, as well, clergymen in the area are being murdered and the finger points to one of his women.

"Fame and Deceit" is a well-written and exciting look into the fascinating world of breeding stables and world class horsemanship--a world with which both the author and her husband are totally familiar. With her inimitable writing style, it's not only lovers of fine horseflesh who will enjoy this book.



fast-paced
“A tale that sets off at a gallop by an author who clearly knows her way around horses. It has intrigue and sizzle, and the descriptions of the horse world ring with authenticity.” Eileen Goudge, Best Selling NY Author of Mystery & Romance

Multi-facted characters
“Brooks weaves a complex tale that has it all: money, corruption mystery, sex and suspense. She keeps you guessing until the end with her intricate plots and multifaceted characters. Then throw horses into the mix, and you have a must-read for fans of mysteries and equestrian fiction.” Jami Davenport
Author of “Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed”