Gift Horse

Tucked away in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the village of Peshekee has more to worry about than the long winters and steelhead fishing. Scandal and a suspicious death or two visit the rural village, setting speculation and gossip into motion. After her post-college career collapses, Kat Wilde finds herself living with the family cat in her parents' basement. With no other prospects on the horizon, Kat is offered a gift she can't refuse: inheriting her late uncle's failed equine venture, Wildwood Stables. There, she sees hope for regaining independence from a pity job at Dad's accounting firm. Attracting the attention of Nikko Olsen, a local woods cop, leads to unconventional romance and adventure. The discovery of a corpse, along with disturbing encounters at the old horse campground, launches a spate of entanglements that unravel as Kat stumbles onto family sins and secrets. "I want to be Terri Martin's Kat Wilde in Gift Horse: the reluctant recipient of a run-down horse boarding stable whose spirit is exceeded only by her heart! Thrown by the discovery of a dead body in her barn, Kat is determined to solve the mystery, aided and abetted by a host of endearingly wacky characters. Martin's Gift Horse is a pleasure ride, with enough bumps, turns and twists in the trail to keep the reader glued to the saddle -- right up until a very satisfying ending." -- Nancy Besonen, author of Off the Hook "Kat Wilde, a Gen Z woman trying to find a life in the rugged wilderness of the U.P., stumbles into an unlikely inheritance that reignites the fire of her forgotten youthful passion for horses. She is a down-to-earth heroine I rooted for at every turn, as she and new beau, Nikko Olsen, unravel the schemes of a murderer and impostor." -- Victor Volkman, Marquette Monthly "I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Kat Wilde, our guide through the landscape of Gift Horse. Her humorous choice of language comes through - even during the most desperate events, of which there are many. Things start with a few signs of danger and soon grow into dead bodies and blackmail." -- Bob Rich, author of Hit and Run From Modern History Press