A Job With Horses is Josephine's final book that she wrote. It was first published in 1994 and was republished in 2022 by Jane Badger. It is currently available as an ebook and paperback.
The blurb reads:-
After her mother remarries, Kate feels uncomfortable in her stepfather's house, and then her baby brother arrives, working away from home seems more and more attractive. Having passed her BHSAI exam, a quiet summer with a family in a West Country stately home, improving the children's riding and assisting the Castle's jousting team, seems the perfect solution. But Kate does not bargain for mystery prowlers and a kidnapping....
As it is a J A Allen edition, the blurb is short as the back also contains information about Josephine. It is also available from Jane Badger Books, of which the edition has had a slightly different cover, but other than that it has not been edited. The Jane Badger Books edition came out in 2024 and is available in both ebook and paperback format.
It starts with Kate, having previously lived a life with her mum, having her life turned upside down as her mum starts a new relationship. It is to be noted that A Job with Horses is written for a slightly more mature and modern audience than most of her books. Her mum was previously single; something up until the 1970s was frowned upon on in British society. Until the publication of the Woodbury Pony Club series in the 1980s I cannot recall a single mother in any of Josephine's books. A sign of changing times.
Having arrived at the castle she meets Lisa; the person she shares the cottage with where she is staying. She warns her to keep her window shut due to prowlers. Kate then meets the riders/children she's supposed to teach and they are unconventional riders. She's told about the Knights including Mr Melville. He is supposed to be after the family's treasure buried in the English Civil War, a topic first visited in the previously published book Black Swift (by Josephine). I have previously reviewed Black Swift.
As per typical Josephine style there is the usual tips about schooling and the complexities of jousting. Jousting has never been something that has been tackled before or since in any pony book, let alone one with the PTs. In fact schooling appears fairly heavily in this book.
There is a touch of romance and the prowlers prove to be real. There is more to this story which I wont divulge as not to spoil it. There is a touch of mystery as there is a robbery in the castle. But it works out satisfactorily and believable.
Overall a good and fairly modern effort. If you like mystery combined with an historical place I urge you to give it a go.
