Dick Francis could well have written this adrenaline-charged novel set in Maryland’s rich horse country where Steve Cline seems, at 21, much too young to be in charge of a major stable. His skills and stamina are sorely tested when he’s hijacked early one morning along with some of his horses. His escape turns him into a killer’s target in an environment where everyone courts risks...

Reviews

"Kit Ehrman's first novel, AT RISK, brings together all of the best elements of a Dick Francis novel. It's the first in a series featuring Steve Cline, the barn manager at Foxdale Farm, a training farm for jumpers in Maryland. Cline is twenty-one, a product of a wealthy, dysfunctional family and when he decides to drop out of college to work with his first love, horses, his family cuts him off.

When Cline walks in on a horse theft, is kidnapped and nearly murdered he may be questioning his career choice. Cline doesn't sit around and wait for the police to track down the kidnappers, he tries to do it himself. That's when the attack on Foxdale Farm gets personal. The crime is part of a string of horse thefts and as Cline gets closer to the truth the kidnappers decide he must be eliminated.

What particularly stands out about Ehrman's writing is the sense of place. Having held various positions at race tracks, worked in showbarns and as a veterinary assistant, Ehrman’s knowledge of the setting shines through and adds intricate details to an already interesting plot. The reader can smell, feel and taste Foxdale Farm.

Steve Cline is a great character. His strengths and weaknesses are evident giving him a multidimensional feel, something Dick Francis was so good at. His relationship with his girlfriend and his family are complex adding texture to the story. His personality is so well drawn he feels like an old friend by the end of the book.

Kit Ehrman's AT RISK is for fans of Dick Francis and anyone who likes an edge of your seat, fun, page-turning whodunit." -Al Blanchard, I Love a Mystery

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At 21, Steve Cline is among the youngest barn managers in Maryland's horse country, and he loves the job, loves being good with animals. It's the two-legged species that sometimes unsettles him. Steve's people problems get rapidly worse when, during a nocturnal break-in at Foxdale Farms, seven horses are hijacked along with one human—Steve, of course, attempting to forestall three men in ski masks who take turns whaling away at him before tossing him into a van, to be dealt with further at their leisure. But Steve, as resourceful and resilient as a Dick Francis hero, wriggles free of his bindings, overcomes the agony of broken ribs, and escapes his captors. Is it a case of plain unvarnished larceny? That's his question when Detective James Ralston of the Maryland State police comes calling. The answer isn't obvious, Ralston acknowledges, though it's clear the crime was not isolated. A few months earlier, he tells Steve, a nearby stable owner was beaten to death after having seven (!) horses stolen from him. It's hardly a stretch, then, Ralston says, to conclude that Steve is lucky indeed to be living and breathing, however painfully. Next, a favorite cat is hanged showily, and vandals strike and leave threatening messages aimed at Steve. Is all this a cover-up for some convoluted scam? Or is it, Steve wonders, as personal as it's starting to seem?

Ehrman's lively debut is not without its rough spots—mostly in the plotting—but the smart money could make the unusually likable protagonist a favorite in the Francis Stakes. -Kirkus Reviews

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“Both horse lovers and crime fans who’ve never stepped into a stirrup will relish Ehrman’s riveting debut, set on a Maryland horse farm. When his successful surgeon father disowns him after he drops out of college, 21-year-old Stephen Cline takes a job as barn manager of Foxdale Farm, which specializes in the training and boarding of thoroughbred jumpers. In the middle of a late February night, Steve visits the stable to medicate a sick horse only to stumble on a horse theft in progress. Haunted by the events of that night after barely escaping from being kidnapped and murdered, Steve resolves to track down the perpetrators before they find him. In spite of the warnings of state police detective James Ralston, he continues his search to unravel what becomes a suspenseful mystery, but not before he puts himself in grave peril. The cold, wet Maryland spring vividly turns to summer amid the smells of horses, hay and sawdust as the plot gallops forward. As a former groom, Ehrman treads Dick Francis territory with a sure foot. From Steve’s girl-crazy friend, Marty, to the motherly farm manager, Mrs. Hill, to the ruthless villains who leave more than one body in their wake, she has created a memorable cast. The sensitively drawn relationship between Steve and the alluring Rachel, a boarder at Foxdale, is one of the novel’s highlights. With his youthful zeal and perseverance, Steve Cline makes a captivating hero and sleuth, one readers will be eager to see again.” –Publishers Weekly

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“Deciding not to follow in the footsteps of his dad, Steve Cline drops out of college and accepts a job at Maryland's Foxdale Farm. Though he works hard, Steve feels good about his decision as he feels his future with thoroughbreds has just begun, as Foxdale trains and boards jumpers.

Steve nurses an ailing horse that he visits at night to see how the steed is doing. However, this evening, he walks in on a horse rustling and he is fortunate to escape with his life as the thugs try to abduct him too. Fearing they will return to insure he cannot identify them, Steve begins his own sleuthing over the objections and dire warnings of the police.

Though the villains are too nasty for this tale, readers will risk anything to peruse Kit Ehrman's entertaining amateur sleuth story. AT RISK gallops at a fast pace while providing insight into the thoroughbred business that will please fans of Dick Francis. However, the novel works because the "jockeys", especially those at Foxdale who propel the plot forward seem genuine and heroic. Readers will root for Steve Cline to reach the finish line before his foes and want him to perform in future ‘jumping races’.” -Harriet Klausner

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"At Risk by Kit Ehrman is suspense on steroids and one of the best debut novels to hit the crime literature racetrack since Dennis Lehane’s A Drink Before the War. Clear ample shelf space for a Steve Cline series because Ehrman, a real-life horse farmer, has hit for the literary trifecta!"

-Crimestalker Casebook

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Young Stephen Cline, barn manager of a horse farm in Maryland, stumbles on an early morning break-in. Several valuable horses are stolen. Since he was a witness to the break-in, he was kidnapped by the thieves and severely beaten for no apparent reason. He manages to escape from them.

In searching for answers to why he was almost murdered and what the thefts involved, he discovers that there had been a series of similar break-ins and murders. He is cautioned by police detective James Ralston to cease his inquiries but he continues, placing himself in peril.

This book captivates the reader's attention from the beginning and holds it in suspense to the end.

It is well written with a well-developed plot. The cast of characters is excellent; Steve's boss who takes a motherly interest in him; the veterinarian who services the horses; the ruthless thieves who will stop at nothing to achieve their ends; and best of all, Rachel, a boarder at the horse school with whom Steve develops a beautiful relationship..

The descriptions of the horse country and the horse farm and its workings are well drawn.

Stephen Cline is a very likable hero who should return for this reader's enjoyment. And even without Cline, any forthcoming books from this author will be welcomed and well received. This is an author with a great future.-MyShelf.com

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"...the country setting of a slovenly run horse farm in Maryland reeks of authenticity, and the hunters and jumpers that are boarded at this no-frills garage have personality to burn. When seven of these horses are stolen in the dead of night, Stephen Cline, the 21-year-old barn manager of Foxdale Farm, mourns each animal like a lost friend. 'I felt as if someone had kicked me in the gut,' says Steve, who, in the honored tradition of a Dick Francis hero, vows to track down the thieves after being kidnapped and beaten to a pulp during the theft. As a former groom, vet and barn manager, Ehrman knows her way around horses and show barns..."-Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review