Dark Horse (Brown novel)

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Dark Horse
Dark Horse (Brown novel).jpg
First edition
Author Honey Brown
LanguageEnglish
Genre Crime fiction
Publisher Penguin Books, Australia
Publication date
2013
Publication placeAustralia
Published in English
24 April 2013
Media typePrint paperback
Pages280
Awards2014 Davitt Award for Best Adult Novel, winner
ISBN 9781921901539
Preceded byAfter the Darkness 
Followed byThrough the Cracks 

Dark Horse (2013) is a crime novel by Australian author Honey Brown. [1] It won the Davitt Award for Best Adult Novel in 2014.

Contents

Plot summary

On Christmas Day Sarah Barnard escapes her disapproving parents by taking her trusted but damaged black mare Tansy into the Tasmanian mountains. Trapped by a sudden storm she takes shelter but slowly comes to realise that she is not alone.

Notes

Where is the rich, dark earth, brown and moist?
Where is the smell of rain dripping from gum trees?
-John Marsden, The Rabbits

Reviews

Karen Chisholm in The Newtown Review of Books cited the novel's suspense as a major attraction: "There are a few authors out there who write books that just about guarantee that sleep will be lost, and lights will be left on for quite some time after finishing them, and as with Brown’s previous work, Dark Horse has this effect. The reader knows that not everything will be as it appears. The worry sets in early and doesn’t let up." [2]

Fiona Hardy, for "Readings" bookshop, found herself unnerved by the book: "You’ll second-guess yourself throughout while reading this, and probably never go camping again." [3]

Awards and nominations

References

  1. "Dark Horse by Honey brown". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  2. ""Crime Scene: HONEY BROWN Dark Horse" by Karen Chisholm The Newtown Review of Books, 7 May 2013". Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  3. "Dark Horse by Honey Brown" Readings
  4. ""Davitt Award Winners 2001-2025"" (PDF). Sisters in Crime. Retrieved 29 November 2025.