Night Mares

In "Night Mares", we find again Kellen Stewart, the psychiatrist introduced in Manda Scott's excellent debut novel "Hen's Teeth", unwittingly involved in a mystery. Just like in "Hen's Teeth", Manda Scott is able to portray complex characters, in Kellen, Nina and Steff, and to introduce us to interesting secondary characters such as Sandy or Eric. The mystery plot is skillfully woven and the science details are quite accurate. However, the main strength of "Night Mares" is Scott's detailed writing and ability to deftly create a heavy, almost nightmarish, atmosphere, turning this mystery almost into a thriller. The quality of Manda Scott's writing is quite impressive, and she is without doubt among the best writers of lesbian fiction.

Originally, I picked up "Night Mares" simply because I love horses and literature to do with them in any capacity, which is one of the reasons why Dick Francis hardly ever dulled on me. But this is a good novel in its own right, tightly plotted, well-written and with engaging characters. A brilliant young veterenary surgeon runs into difficulties with an MRSA-like bug affecting horses in her surgery. Old stresses and traumas rise back to the surface as her sanity and composure beging to unravel. Her friend and therapist who serves as the narrator is not without issues of her own and the tension betwen the two carries the story well.

Manda Scott has managed to captivate her audience yet again in another Kellen Stewart mystery/thriller. Absolutely spellbinding reading...I could not turn out the light until the last page was read...

This was probably the best animal fiction I've ever read. As a breeder of horses, I found it riveting and impossible to put down. As did a friend of mine who is also a breeder. For someone not familiar with horses, and especially for someone not interested in veterinary medicine, I suspect it would be a hard read. I wonder if some of the people who were disappointed with this book bought it for the lesbian angle instead of the horse stuff - it's definitely written for the horseperson. If you've ever stayed up 24 hours a day for days on end nursing a sick horse or a foal in intensive care, you will relate to this book. I thought her other two books were good, but this book is a must-read for anyone facinated by veterinary medicine.

I am not a professional 'reviewer' and I am afraid that it is beyond me to do justice to this book. I am not particularly cognizant of undercurrents, themes, significant emotional threads, symbolism - when I took English Lit in school, it almost made me hate "literature". I just loved the book and the characters, and wished it didn't have to end. I know that one's enjoyment of art, music and books can be enhanced by being enlightened as to technique, etc., but I don't have time to go into all this - I am just guided in my choices re these "cultural" pursuits as to what gives off good vibes for me and enjoy them thoroughly. I "love" Kellen but please don't ask me why I do. I think this is to do with the skill of the writer - Kellen is someone I would like to know, have live next door, be friends with and someone that I would care what happened to. My daughter felt the same way and neither of us are lesbian (that we know of!) so this is not necessarily defined by our sexuality. The main characters in Night Mares (or in Hen's Teeth, the previous Kellen Stewart book) have to deal with conflicting emotions which gives a great deal of depth to the book, making it much more than just a really good "read". I couldn't put it down - enjoyed it immensely and I have the next one on order already (even though it has been published yet).