Sixteen Horses

About the book

“Dark, visceral and disturbing, this highly suspenseful and beautifully written thriller is totally gripping from start to finish. A hugely impressive debut.” -Alex Michaelides, author of The Silent Patient and The Maidens

A literary thriller from stunning new talent Greg Buchanan, Sixteen Horses is a story of enduring guilt, trauma, and punishment, set in a small seaside community the rest of the world has left behind.

In Ilmarsh, England, local police detective Alec Nichols discovers sixteen horses' heads on a farm, each buried with a single eye facing the low winter sun. After Veterinary Forensics expert Cooper Allen travels to the scene, a pathogen is discovered lurking within the soil, and many of those who have come into contact with the corpses grow critically ill.

A series of crimes comes to light-disappearances, arson, and mutilations-and in the dark days that follow, the town slips into panic and paranoia. Everything is not as it seems. Anyone could be a suspect. And as Cooper finds herself unable to leave town, Alec is stalked by an unseen threat. The two investigators race to uncover the truth behind these frightened and insidious mysteries-no matter the cost.

Praise for this book:

"Original, beautifully written, terrifying and haunting. I won't forget this novel." - Sophie Hannah

"Unlike anything else you’ll read this year, Sixteen Horses is a deeply disconcerting ride. Irresistible." - Val McDermid

"Dark, visceral and disturbing, this highly suspenseful and beautifully written thriller is totally gripping from start to finish. A hugely impressive debut." - Alex Michaelides

"Poignant, chilling, eerie, and gruesome, Sixteen Horses is a thriller with a literary soul, perfect for fans of Netflix's Dark or BBC’s Top of the Lake. Buchanan impressively balances horror and empathy, showing real evil while also exploring the human cost of economic collapse. A unique, ambitious debut that left me shocked and enthralled." - Sara Sligar