This is a very interesting book, full of surprises. It keeps the reader guessing (and hyperventilating--as it has many moments where your hair is standing on end and you can't put it down).

The gist of it is that a young (twenty-something) wife volunteers to chaperone an older teenager to Austria to meet up with his dad (his parents are divorced) and hopefully get a job at the Spanish Riding School with the Lippizan horses (the fancy white horses that do all the impressive leaps and such). The wife is volunteering to chaperone the teen because she thinks she will catch her husband (who is on a business trip, so he says) cheating on her (he was seen as a bystander in a different country on a newsreel in the theatre, interestingly enough).

Because there isn't much difference in age between the chaperone and her charge, they become friends, and the boy helps the young wife look for her husband (he lied to his mom--his dad didn't actually send for him--so he is free to help her look). The husband is found, and the wife thinks she has 'caught him', but looks can be deceiving.

He is near a traveling circus, which is stuck in one town because of a suspicious deadly fire and the ensuing police investigation. While the young wife tries to figure out just what her husband is doing with the circus (or who . . .), she and her young charge get caught up in their own circus mystery involving an old circus horse and its tack, and a young circus trick rider and her bizarre lover. Unbeknownst to the two travelers, they are rapidly becoming involved in some deadly serious adventures and are directly meddling in the husband's business (though they are unaware of it--he is a spy, which is why he has to lie and be so secretive).

Interestingly enough, in addition to the original "crime" that the woman's husband is dealing with, the young wife and her charge uncover another, and they deal with that while helping her husband solve his.

There are many tense moments, life-and-death chase scenes across hotel roofs, face-to-face 'bad guy' meetings, and the kid almost gets run over by a train, but it's all taking place among serene Alpine villages, meadows and tourist attractions. Though the Lippizan horses play a minor starring role, the author did research them enough to write intelligently about them, so horse people won't be put off.

The book is well written and extremely detailed, so you have no problem seeing it in your head. It reads easily, and makes for a unique story. There is enough "horse" in it to keep horse people entertained, but not so much to put off non-horse people. Circus lovers should find it entertaining also, as well as people interested in espionage. I doubt there are very many books that mix the three together!!

Recommended: Yes