Publisher's Weekly
A potent mix of sex, money, politics and murder propels the plot of Kilian's action-filled Washington-based suspense thriller. Ambitious White House chief of staff Robert Moody, working to win Senate passage of an environmental treaty, has failed to deliver on a promise he made to his billionaire best friend Bernie Bloch to bid on a thoroughbred horse in Bloch's behalf. The horse goes instead to Moody's disaffected daughter May, who buys it as a gift for David Showers, a rider who has impressed her with his sportsmanship. Showers realizes that the animal's papers are phony and decides to investigate the previous owners, especially since the Queen Tashamore bay is clearly worth far more than the price May paid. Showers's job at the State Department involves the aforementioned treaty, a complication as Moody pressures him to sell the horse to Bloch. Ensuing events produce a wake of dead bodies, human and equine. Although many of the characters are stereotypes (the horsey set is insufferably WASPy) and much of the action is based on real events that have lost their timeliness, Kilian's ( Looker ) depiction of the political arm-twisting is dead-on and the powerful resolution delivers a strong surprise.
Library Journal
In his seventh suspense novel, the author of Looker ( LJ 12/90) plunges into the heart of Virginia horse country and Washington politics. When May, daughter of the White House Chief of Staff, mistakenly buys a thoroughbred intended for a New Jersey mob, the mannered world of steeplechases and Southern breeding erupts into violence so intense that neither horses nor humans escape the relentless pounding. Disaster looms, not only for May, but also for the all-important Earth Treaty and her father's goal of becoming the next secretary of state. The eponymous gentleman farmer, who discerns the scam behind the thoroughbred deal and falls in love with May, unleashes a chain of events only a master plotter like Kilian can control. Ablaze with local color and alive with Washington innuendo, this horse story for adults conveys excitement, nobility, and human corruption in gargantuan proportions.-- Barbara Conaty, Library of Congress
Genre: Mystery
A potent mix of sex, money, politics and murder propels the plot of Kilian's action-filled Washington-based suspense thriller. Ambitious White House chief of staff Robert Moody, working to win Senate passage of an environmental treaty, has failed to deliver on a promise he made to his billionaire best friend Bernie Bloch to bid on a thoroughbred horse in Bloch's behalf. The horse goes instead to Moody's disaffected daughter May, who buys it as a gift for David Showers, a rider who has impressed her with his sportsmanship. Showers realizes that the animal's papers are phony and decides to investigate the previous owners, especially since the Queen Tashamore bay is clearly worth far more than the price May paid. Showers's job at the State Department involves the aforementioned treaty, a complication as Moody pressures him to sell the horse to Bloch. Ensuing events produce a wake of dead bodies, human and equine. Although many of the characters are stereotypes (the horsey set is insufferably WASPy) and much of the action is based on real events that have lost their timeliness, Kilian's ( Looker ) depiction of the political arm-twisting is dead-on and the powerful resolution delivers a strong surprise.
Library Journal
In his seventh suspense novel, the author of Looker ( LJ 12/90) plunges into the heart of Virginia horse country and Washington politics. When May, daughter of the White House Chief of Staff, mistakenly buys a thoroughbred intended for a New Jersey mob, the mannered world of steeplechases and Southern breeding erupts into violence so intense that neither horses nor humans escape the relentless pounding. Disaster looms, not only for May, but also for the all-important Earth Treaty and her father's goal of becoming the next secretary of state. The eponymous gentleman farmer, who discerns the scam behind the thoroughbred deal and falls in love with May, unleashes a chain of events only a master plotter like Kilian can control. Ablaze with local color and alive with Washington innuendo, this horse story for adults conveys excitement, nobility, and human corruption in gargantuan proportions.-- Barbara Conaty, Library of Congress
Genre: Mystery
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Used availability for Michael Kilian's The Last Virginia Gentleman