Firehorse

As part of her paranormal/cli-fi series, Mallory O'Connor continues her exploration of psychic phenomena amid the ravages of climate change. In Chinese astrology, 2014 was the year of the horse. When the horse and the element of fire align, it is said to create the firehorse, also known as hinoeuma. In East Asian culture and astrology, women born in the year of the firehorse are considered unlucky; doomed to have poor relations with men. The last firehorse year was 1966, and the next will be 2026. As the story begins, a 54-year-old woman in Marion County, Florida owns a horse farm. She was born in 1966 (Fire Horse) and runs the farm with an iron fist. Someone has stolen a firehorse talisman that she believes protects her from the evil associated with that sign. She calls in Epiphany, who then contacts Maro Gaido, a PI and close friend of Epiphany who is an expert on art theft. Then, something starts killing her racehorses. Marion County is also suffering its worst drought on record. Epiphany has to establish a psychic link to a horse to find out what's going on. It turns out to be a rare viral disease, but the stakes rise when a stable hand falls ill with it. Then comes a wildfire… From a reader: "O'Connor creates a vibrant world of contrasts, pitting the polluted garden against the purity of the wilderness. She doesn't let humanity off the hook, arguing that they are irresponsible gardeners at best and, in their worst moments, avaricious and downright evil villains. The novel is lush with descriptions of the sensations and visions Epiphany experiences. Art history and literary buffs will revel in Epiphany's deep dives into both Asian mythology and the internationalist crimes cartel as she draws fascinating connections between these prophetic works and the world's current climate crisis. The emerging genre of climate fiction, sure to become more and more mainstream, dovetails nicely with paranormal mystery in this intriguing fourth novel of a series."