The Dream of the Broken Horses

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Summary: At last... a new William Bayer suspense yarn!
Review: Being a longtime William Bayer fan, I eagerly await each new novel. The wait for "The Dream of the Broken Horses" was a long one -- but definitely well worth it. The book is beautifully written (as always), well crafted (as always), and keeps you intrigued to the very last page. Just when you think you've figured out who did it, how, and why, Mr. Bayer again proves why he's the writer and we're the readers!

For any fan of erotic suspense or psycological crime, or for someone just looking for a great read, don't miss this book. We can only hope Mr Bayer won't make us wait so long for the next one.

Buy it & read it...now!

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Summary: Dreams do come true ...
Review: I received "The Dream of the Broken Horses" as a birthday present. When I first started out I wasn't quite sure where it was going ... about 100 pages in I realized that it had crept up on me and I was "caught up" ... I mean I was enraptured ... I couldn't stop reading ... I read till 3AM. The next day I couldn't wait to get home ... the characters haunted me ... I was "in and in for the whole ride" and I rode that "horse" all night and enjoyed every minute of it. If there was one fault ... It was the fact that there is no city in the midwest this "cool" ... beleive me I know ... I'm from the midwest.

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Summary: Unexpected plot twists and excellent tension.
Review: Several decades have passed since a wealthy socialite and her young lover/teacher were gunned down in the Midwest: now forensic sketch artist David finds himself returning to the scene of their crime, investigating other murders and discovering a new circle of intrigue and danger. Bayer's is a strong suspense story which moves at a different pace and provides unexpected twists of plot and excellent tension.

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Summary: Wonderful characters
Review: Since his childhood, forensic artist David Weiss has been obsessed with a society double-murder that implicated his father and drove the man to suicide. Now, Weiss is back in his childhood home of Calista (a mythical midwestern town) and intends to use his time to discover the truth. The murder may be decades old but Weiss is certain that the easy explanations are wrong--that something more profound remains to be found.

Weiss's investigations lead him to stories of sexual obsession, child pornography, and blackmail. There are plenty of motives for murder--and even after all the years that have passed, some still living are willing to take action to stop the investigation and protect their secrets. With the help of a case writeup by his father and one of the victim's intimate diary, Weiss learns a great deal about the people who were killed, but nothing points a certain finger at the actual killer.

Author William Bayer's strong writing makes THE DREAM OF THE BROKEN HORSES something special and something far stronger than the story that underlies it. In some ways, the actual story is frustrating and important loose ends remain. Bayer's use of diary to develop character and reveal clues would normally be a cheat. Somehow, however, Bayer pulls it off. The powerful character of Barbara Fulraine (one of the victims) dominates the novel and the lives of many of the survivors. Her dream of broken horses may have been a psychiatrist's wish fulfilment, but it is also a sad reflection of the painful life Barbara endured.

THE DREAM OF THE BROKEN HORSES is a hard book to put down. Although most of the action takes place in back story, Bayer's writing is so compelling that I found myself reading on compulsively. Very fine.

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Summary: Wonderful characters
Review: This is- no way around the word- a lovely read. Bayer has a style of character developement that is elegant and fluid. Try his two books under the pen name "David Hunt".

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Summary: William Bayer still has it, buy this book
Review: Typical of Mr. Bayer's books, it takes a dozen pages or so to really get into the story and then you are hooked. I have read every book that he has written, in both names, and I have never been disapointed, he is a master. The story just builds on itself and he has just the right amount of violence, sex and mystery. Not rauncy sex but a part of the story. To tell more would give plot away. Try it you love it.

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Summary: At last... a new William Bayer suspense yarn!
Review: William Bayer as a mytery writer is rather unique, in that his characters for the most part are more involved with an internal psychological mystery than they are with the solution of any particular case. There is plenty of action to be found in his books, his dialogue is sharp and clever and his plots are sophisticated, but beneath the flow of events, there is usually a hidden quest that is far more intriguing. The obsession of David with an ancient murder stems from obscure elements in his own psyche. The use of photography in Bayer's novels is telling, as it signifies the character of one who is consumed with human nature and yet who is compelled on some fundamental level to place the barrier of an artificial lens between himself and life. David, by exploring the history of a woman murdered long ago, forces her to strip and uncover all of her secrets. At the same time, in pursuing the mystery of her death, he exposes his own soul and deepest desires to himself and to the reader. All photographers are voyeurs to some extent; Bayer's character, however, is a voyeur of the deepest recesses and impulses of human nature. Needless to say, given the author's love of and affinity with film noir, those impulses and desires tend to be the darker ones, and the inevitable exposure of such impulses and acts usually does not occur as a willing
strip-tease.