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THE JAGGED CIRCLE by Shelley Peterson

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“The Jagged Circle is full of suspense and a perfect book for horse lovers.” - Amber Marshall, equestrian and star of CBC's hit tv series Heartland

Dundurn Press

Available now from Amazon.ca Paperback

ISBN: 9781459746947 - $14.84 eBook

ISBN: 9781459746961 - $7.19

Interview with Glenda Fordham

This new Y/A novel written by Shelley Peterson for young adults, especially those who own or love horses, is a spine-tingling adventure with as many twists and turns as a steeplechase course. It’s spring break and Evangeline Gibb is bored, stuck at her grandmother Mary’s farm mucking stalls while her friends are away on exciting vacations. She decides to spend the time training her horse, Kazzam, to ride cross-country to compete in the March Madness Steeplechase. But everything changes when Evie takes Kazzam for a gallop through the woods and makes a grisly discovery. In a hoof-pounding race against time, Evie and her heroic horse team up to solve a mystery that involves murder and deception, her troubled stepsister, a circle of runaway teen girls, and long-hidden truths about her family.

Amber Marshall, equestrian and star of CBC's hit tv series Heartland says of this new book: “The Jagged Circle is full of suspense and a perfect book for horse lovers.”

Author Shelley Peterson has written eight previous beautifully crafted novels targeting the young adult readership and focuses on horse-lovers and adventures with their 4-legged best friends. With this latest book, Shelley hopes she will soon be able to meet-n-greet her fans as the province opens up after 16 months of Covid lockdown. We’ll let you know when Shelley appears for readings and book-signings at a bookshop or tack shop near you. The Rider asked Shelley a few questions about her books and her love of horses….

Congratulations on the publication of your latest Y/A novel The Jagged Circle. You’ve written 9 books now involving horses so you must have been a pony club girl from way back…yes? Yes, you’re right. I went to Pony Club in London, Ontario. We had wonderful teachers who were thorough and demanding. For example, we were timed taking our bridles apart, cleaning and oiling them, then putting them back together. We learned every part of a horse, how to look after them from top to bottom, including how to feed and groom them. The riding part was just as demanding, but more fun! My favourite teacher was Dorinda Brickenden Greenway, who was an international show jumper. I admire her so much that I put her in ‘The Jagged Circle’ as a judge in the March Madness Steeplechase.

The Jagged Circle is the second book in your Jockey Girl series and this time your heroine, Evangeline Gibb, is up to her stirrups in solving a murder while training her steeplechaser, Kazzam, for a big race. Can you give us any more clues as to how Evangeline does…with the helping the police solve the crime as well as the race? Before the story begins, her grandmother Mary has been training Evie and Kazzam over jumps, and there’s already a very strong bond of trust between horse and rider which allows them to escalate their training over cross-country jumps with Piers Anders. And Evie’s love of her little sister, along with her curiosity and grit, won’t allow her to stop delving into the mysteries until they’re solved. The story takes place over a very short time, going from the boredom of being alone at Spring break to action overload as the drama unfolds. One reader told me he needed a nap when he finished reading my book!

I gather you’ve always ridden throughout your adult life, too, and now own a fabulous horse facility, Fox Ridge – can you tell us about it and how it allows you to fulfil any childhood dreams? I’ve been extremely lucky to have been around horses all my life. I had horses as a child in our backyard barn in London and then married a man whose father had a farm with Hereford cows. Pete loved horses and knew more about them than anybody else I’ve ever met. He’s a character in many of my books as Pete Pierson. He bought me my foundation mare, Sandpiper, and I’m now raising her great-grandchildren in Caledon where we live at Fox Ridge. I can think of nothing more fulfilling than guiding the journey from wobbly-legged new-born foal to a responsive, calm, willing adult horse.

The Rider highly recommends THE JAGGED CIRCLE for the horse-mad teen or young adult in your family. Ideal for summer reading, birthdays or put it on Santa’s Christmas list.

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