Stolen Horse International

I am honored to write a review of, "Mystery at Silver Key Stables" by Alexandra Gritta. This young girl reached into a world in which I have lived since my family became victims of horse theft in 1997, when our horse Idaho was stolen from our North Carolina pasture. It was an event that changed my life as it does for all the real victims of theft, just like the character in Alexandra's book.

This book is well written, easy to ready and intriguing to the end. "Mystery at Silver Key Stables" is an eye opener that challenges you, the reader, to be moved by what goes on throughout the world regarding this little known crime, which did not go out with the Old West days. In fact, horse theft is flourishing in the 21st century.

The descriptive profiles of the horses involved in the book made tears well up in my eyes as I read them. I deal with similar stories daily and was touched by the way Alexandra made them seem real. This young author's goal was to tell a story that brought this very real issue to life. Stepping into the shoes of the victims on both sides of theft, she was able to accomplish that.

I can only hope that the readers of this book understand that although these characters are fictional, the victims and criminals are very real. With that knowledge comes responsibility, and I hope readers then choose to act upon this knowledge to protect themselves and to help others. Alexandra demonstrates this objective in the pages of her book, along with donating the proceeds of her book to charitable horse organizations like ours. This child gets it. I hope her readers do as well.

"Never underestimate the power of one."