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Inside the Black Horse
Inside the Black Horse is a fast-moving thriller, a story of fate, and unlikely love story for our time. Pio Morgan is waiting outside a pub on a cold winter night. There is a debt he must pay and no options left. What he does next drags a group of strangers into a web of confusion that over the course of a few days changes all their lives. The young Maori widow just trying to raise her children, the corporate executive hiding his mistake, the gang of criminals that will do what ever it takes to recover what they've lost - and the outsider sent to town to try and figure out who did what. Time is running out for all of them as events take an increasingly dark turn.
- GenresCrime
Paperback
First published October 1, 2015
7 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Ray Berard
1 book5 followersRay Berard is a Canadian born New Zealand writer based in Christchurch. He immigrated in 1994 and had the fortune to live and work in many parts of New Zealand. Writing was always a passion but only through a change in circumstance did the time become available to devote himself full time to it.
Inside the Black horse is his debut novel released in 2015, The story follows a group of strangers over five days, thrown together after a young man robs a pub. It is both a thriller and an unlikely love story for our age.
Berard’s writing has been praised by critics as pacy and authentic: a snap-shot of modern-day New Zealand, unmistakably Kiwi in flavour and tone, and packed with real-life contemporary issues. The novel elbowed its way onto the NZ Listener’s 100 Best Books list for 2105, then won the Ngaio marsh debut Novel of the year for 2016. It was long listed for the Dublin international literary prize for 2017 and has now been adapted for the 2021 TVNZ series Vegas.
Inside the Black horse is his debut novel released in 2015, The story follows a group of strangers over five days, thrown together after a young man robs a pub. It is both a thriller and an unlikely love story for our age.
Berard’s writing has been praised by critics as pacy and authentic: a snap-shot of modern-day New Zealand, unmistakably Kiwi in flavour and tone, and packed with real-life contemporary issues. The novel elbowed its way onto the NZ Listener’s 100 Best Books list for 2105, then won the Ngaio marsh debut Novel of the year for 2016. It was long listed for the Dublin international literary prize for 2017 and has now been adapted for the 2021 TVNZ series Vegas.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
April 10, 2018
An armed robbery interrupts a drug deal, igniting a compelling crime tale powered by intriguing characters that has a good feel for life in rural and small-town modern New Zealand.
Toni Bourke is treading water, trying not to drown, as she operates the Black Horse pub in Rotorua. She's determined to keep the tills ringing as the months pass since the sudden loss of her husband, relying on the penchant of locals for both drinking and gambling while they socialise.
Outside in the dark, Pio Morgan nervously prepares himself. He's had a tough life and comes from a tough family, but he's not a tough guy. Duped by a local pot grower, he's backed into a corner, desperate for money. The lure of the Black Horse pub, with its treasure trove of pokie and TAB losings, is strong.
Gun in hand, Pio enters the pub. A moment of madness upends so many lives, lighting the fuse on a violent chain of events that pulls in locals and others from far away. Intertwined lives. Not all will survive.
Ray Berard's first published crime novel is a real cracker. An exciting beginning pulls the reader in, but it's the nice touch Berard has for a fascinating and diverse cast of characters, along with the way he evokes rural and small-town New Zealand life, that blends with the action and mystery to really elevate INSIDE THE BLACK HORSE to must-read crime novel territory. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started - Berard was a new author, a Canadian immigrant to New Zealand, setting a book in the central North Island. An area that combines tourist-enticing scenery with a blue-collar population and strong Maori influence.
For me, INSIDE THE BLACK HORSE started well and got even better as it went along, with Berard layering in depth to the characters and story as the action unfolded. I was curious at first, then intrigued, then enthralled. There was a good sense of balance between character and plot, with some interesting underlying themes and a well-evoked setting, sociologically and geographically.
This debut crime novel felt 'well-rounded', for want of a better phrase.
I understand that Berard is a former TAB supervisor (that's a New Zealand betting agency that has outlets all across the country, often attached to pubs and bars), and his experience and knowledge of the intricacies of that industry is well utilised. He does a great job evoking life in small-town New Zealand, including the focal point of the 'local', where various people from the community all meet to drink (and some to gamble), along with threading in the symbiosis between blue collar locals who keep the tills ringing and the 'corporate suits' in big city head offices who are focused more on numbers, bottom lines, and perceptions.
In some ways INSIDE THE BLACK HORSE feels like a snapshot of modern-day New Zealand, populated by a range of authentic characters: hard-working people, blue collar and white collar, bludgers, gang members, cops and criminals. The weak and the wounded, the courageous and the strong. Those trying to do right by their family and those willing to sacrifice others to get ahead. Everyone trying to survive.
Even when I thought I could see where INSIDE THE BLACK HORSE was going, plot-wise, Berard did a nice job at throwing in a few surprises, crafting an engaging story that felt fresh and unique even as it delivered the kinds of things fans of crime fiction expect and like to see from the genre.
Great characters, good action, some nice prose. A surprisingly excellent local crime thriller, and the best debut New Zealand crime novel I've read in a few years. Highly recommended.
This article was first published on Crime Watch: http://kiwicrime.blogspot.com
Toni Bourke is treading water, trying not to drown, as she operates the Black Horse pub in Rotorua. She's determined to keep the tills ringing as the months pass since the sudden loss of her husband, relying on the penchant of locals for both drinking and gambling while they socialise.
Outside in the dark, Pio Morgan nervously prepares himself. He's had a tough life and comes from a tough family, but he's not a tough guy. Duped by a local pot grower, he's backed into a corner, desperate for money. The lure of the Black Horse pub, with its treasure trove of pokie and TAB losings, is strong.
Gun in hand, Pio enters the pub. A moment of madness upends so many lives, lighting the fuse on a violent chain of events that pulls in locals and others from far away. Intertwined lives. Not all will survive.
Ray Berard's first published crime novel is a real cracker. An exciting beginning pulls the reader in, but it's the nice touch Berard has for a fascinating and diverse cast of characters, along with the way he evokes rural and small-town New Zealand life, that blends with the action and mystery to really elevate INSIDE THE BLACK HORSE to must-read crime novel territory. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started - Berard was a new author, a Canadian immigrant to New Zealand, setting a book in the central North Island. An area that combines tourist-enticing scenery with a blue-collar population and strong Maori influence.
For me, INSIDE THE BLACK HORSE started well and got even better as it went along, with Berard layering in depth to the characters and story as the action unfolded. I was curious at first, then intrigued, then enthralled. There was a good sense of balance between character and plot, with some interesting underlying themes and a well-evoked setting, sociologically and geographically.
This debut crime novel felt 'well-rounded', for want of a better phrase.
I understand that Berard is a former TAB supervisor (that's a New Zealand betting agency that has outlets all across the country, often attached to pubs and bars), and his experience and knowledge of the intricacies of that industry is well utilised. He does a great job evoking life in small-town New Zealand, including the focal point of the 'local', where various people from the community all meet to drink (and some to gamble), along with threading in the symbiosis between blue collar locals who keep the tills ringing and the 'corporate suits' in big city head offices who are focused more on numbers, bottom lines, and perceptions.
In some ways INSIDE THE BLACK HORSE feels like a snapshot of modern-day New Zealand, populated by a range of authentic characters: hard-working people, blue collar and white collar, bludgers, gang members, cops and criminals. The weak and the wounded, the courageous and the strong. Those trying to do right by their family and those willing to sacrifice others to get ahead. Everyone trying to survive.
Even when I thought I could see where INSIDE THE BLACK HORSE was going, plot-wise, Berard did a nice job at throwing in a few surprises, crafting an engaging story that felt fresh and unique even as it delivered the kinds of things fans of crime fiction expect and like to see from the genre.
Great characters, good action, some nice prose. A surprisingly excellent local crime thriller, and the best debut New Zealand crime novel I've read in a few years. Highly recommended.
This article was first published on Crime Watch: http://kiwicrime.blogspot.com
November 26, 2015
One of the great strengths of really good crime fiction is the exploration of big issues at a local level. INSIDE THE BLACK HORSE is set within a smaller community, revolving around life in the local pub / pokie venue, exploring the destruction and chaos that comes with illicit drug use, and distribution.
Setting the story around a Maori community also gives the author an opportunity to explore the good and the bad effects of drugs on those communities in particular. There’s an interesting comparison of elders trying to keep their traditions alive, a young widow trying to keep her business afloat and family together, and the havoc that the drugs, addiction, loss of identity, purpose and violence have created in the young, and the desperate.
Taking something as simple as a young man making a big mistake in the face of the threat of an armed robbery, the author draws the consequences of coincidence out in a complicated, and yet very believable manner. A robbery that was performed to get dangerous thugs to back off a young, gambling addicted idiot, suddenly lands him, the young man, the pub owner, the insurance investigator, the insurance executive and a heap of other people in a hell of a lot of bother for reasons many of them have no comprehension of. The way that this author has pulled together all those coincidences and “what the” moments is not just believable, it’s utterly and completely feasible.
There is also plenty of pace and threat, and some particularly nasty behaviour on the part of gang members, the leader of whom is dangerous, erratic and drug addled. The possibility that he could be just mad, bad and lunatic is nicely tempered by his love for his dog, granted his idea of love and care isn’t exactly mainstream, but it is there, as is a concern for family. The way that families interact and the care and concern that they show each other, as unusual as it may be for some, is a strong theme through INSIDE THE BLACK HORSE.
There’s corporate corruption, gangs, extreme violence, threats, crazy behaviour, bravery, care, concern, love and even romance, all of which are nicely balanced, all supported by strongly drawn characters and a great sense of pace and threat. Add to that some good dialogue and that strong sense of the community in which the action takes place, and INSIDE THE BLACK HORSE is a stonkingly good debut.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
Setting the story around a Maori community also gives the author an opportunity to explore the good and the bad effects of drugs on those communities in particular. There’s an interesting comparison of elders trying to keep their traditions alive, a young widow trying to keep her business afloat and family together, and the havoc that the drugs, addiction, loss of identity, purpose and violence have created in the young, and the desperate.
Taking something as simple as a young man making a big mistake in the face of the threat of an armed robbery, the author draws the consequences of coincidence out in a complicated, and yet very believable manner. A robbery that was performed to get dangerous thugs to back off a young, gambling addicted idiot, suddenly lands him, the young man, the pub owner, the insurance investigator, the insurance executive and a heap of other people in a hell of a lot of bother for reasons many of them have no comprehension of. The way that this author has pulled together all those coincidences and “what the” moments is not just believable, it’s utterly and completely feasible.
There is also plenty of pace and threat, and some particularly nasty behaviour on the part of gang members, the leader of whom is dangerous, erratic and drug addled. The possibility that he could be just mad, bad and lunatic is nicely tempered by his love for his dog, granted his idea of love and care isn’t exactly mainstream, but it is there, as is a concern for family. The way that families interact and the care and concern that they show each other, as unusual as it may be for some, is a strong theme through INSIDE THE BLACK HORSE.
There’s corporate corruption, gangs, extreme violence, threats, crazy behaviour, bravery, care, concern, love and even romance, all of which are nicely balanced, all supported by strongly drawn characters and a great sense of pace and threat. Add to that some good dialogue and that strong sense of the community in which the action takes place, and INSIDE THE BLACK HORSE is a stonkingly good debut.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
May 6, 2017
This book creates an interesting picture of contemporary New Zealand, particularly of a multi- layered drug culture, with a pyramid of users and pushers, with upper layers feeding off the misery of those below. The main characters in this pyramid are Maori born and their elders don't understand what has happened to the old values.
The possibility that the owner of the Black Horse Bar and Casino was somehow involved in the events that took place, gives Peter Butterworth a possible way of covering up the mistake he's made in not having the Black Horse's taking collected in the previous week. He brings in ex-US policeman, private investigator Brian Duncan in the hope that he can find some incriminating evidence.
A really enjoyable and carefully written book with strong and well depicted characters. I liked the way the final results were not entirely predictable.
The possibility that the owner of the Black Horse Bar and Casino was somehow involved in the events that took place, gives Peter Butterworth a possible way of covering up the mistake he's made in not having the Black Horse's taking collected in the previous week. He brings in ex-US policeman, private investigator Brian Duncan in the hope that he can find some incriminating evidence.
A really enjoyable and carefully written book with strong and well depicted characters. I liked the way the final results were not entirely predictable.
March 31, 2022
Maybe should be rated 5 - I just had a few preferences about the ending - just shows how involved I got. This is a great read, harsh and painful at times, but filled with life. Good and bad stuff altogether. An authentic view of NZ contemporary life, trust me, I lived where the book is set. Fabulous characters, great twists and turns and the reader is "in the know" which mostly the characters are not - which makes it hard to put this book down. Also pretty funny, and occasionally hilarious.
November 21, 2022
Set in New Zealand, a widow takes on big debt to secure a future for her and her 2 children. Her husband's dream to operate a gaming house has become her dream after he died. A Maori woman, she is fiercely independent and honest. When a robbery goes down in her casino, she has followed all the rules, but someone wants her to be the fall guy for her insurers negligence.
While the police are less than helpful, and independent private investigator sees the truth and tries to bring the guilty to justice.
While the police are less than helpful, and independent private investigator sees the truth and tries to bring the guilty to justice.
September 4, 2017
Love this book, gift from Yafei, bought it when he was in New Zealand with his parents. Robbery at the Maori casino, Toni Burke is the owner. Brian Duncan, the insurance investigator. All good fun, lots of good characters, well written, good story. Really enjoyed
June 5, 2017
A powerful read - a thriller where the characterizations and writing upstage the thrills and both are unpredictable.
June 6, 2021
Review can be found here...
https://www.nzbooklovers.co.nz/post/i...
https://www.nzbooklovers.co.nz/post/i...
August 1, 2021
A fast moving thriller.
The story brings together an interesting and unlikely group of people.
One of the best down to earth reads. A real page turner with a large dose of humanity.
The story brings together an interesting and unlikely group of people.
One of the best down to earth reads. A real page turner with a large dose of humanity.
December 6, 2022
Could use some tight editing, which I notice has happened for the heavily edited TV adaptation, but overall a strong first effort.
January 21, 2023
Engaging crime story that pulls all the threads together for a satisfying conclusion.
December 24, 2023
Easy reading, page turning Kiwi crime thriller.
January 12, 2024
Great holiday read fast pace good characters and easy to read enough turns to keep you reading
Enjoyable summer holiday read and really enjoyed it being nz centric
Enjoyable summer holiday read and really enjoyed it being nz centric
April 22, 2025
Very enjoyable book. There are several storylines that merge at the end. Good read.
June 28, 2025
Awesome book
December 8, 2025
Probably should be a 5, just a few niggles about the ending, but an interesting NZ book set in places I know.
September 22, 2021
It’s a gritty story about gangs in New Zealand. He’s no Alan Duff, but it’s plausible. Well, most of the time it is. It’s exciting. But the writing is pretty clunky.
March 29, 2017
Bravo Ray Berard.
This story seems so simple and yet it twists and surprises. All the characters are strongly drawn and nuanced. It is a clever story teller who can make the truly bad guys sympathetic and Kingi, Pio, Tamati and Henry and their fates will stay with me. I think I found the bad guy's story lines even more satisfying than the well telegraphed ending of the good guys. (One medium level baddie didn't get what he deserved but I live in hope that karma will catch up one day.)
It is extremely hard to write a story with multiple protagonists and Inside the Black Horse is a master class.
This story is set in and around the tourist town of Rotorua, but is definitely not an advert for visiting. It feels real. It feels like the dark side of New Zealand society, but it's hopeful as well. Having an American outsider as on of the characters gives some balance and outsider perspective to the setting.
This book won the best 1st Book in the Ngaio Marsh Crime Awards. It is a very deserving winner.
I've raced through this book and had had no idea how it would end. This was an excellent read.
This story seems so simple and yet it twists and surprises. All the characters are strongly drawn and nuanced. It is a clever story teller who can make the truly bad guys sympathetic and Kingi, Pio, Tamati and Henry and their fates will stay with me. I think I found the bad guy's story lines even more satisfying than the well telegraphed ending of the good guys. (One medium level baddie didn't get what he deserved but I live in hope that karma will catch up one day.)
It is extremely hard to write a story with multiple protagonists and Inside the Black Horse is a master class.
This story is set in and around the tourist town of Rotorua, but is definitely not an advert for visiting. It feels real. It feels like the dark side of New Zealand society, but it's hopeful as well. Having an American outsider as on of the characters gives some balance and outsider perspective to the setting.
This book won the best 1st Book in the Ngaio Marsh Crime Awards. It is a very deserving winner.
I've raced through this book and had had no idea how it would end. This was an excellent read.
February 5, 2017
I am really glad that my husband came across this book - I found it both entertaining and interesting. The subject-matter does not sound like it would be of interest to me (gangs, drugs and gambling) but the characters are really well drawn and the plot kept me wanting to turn the pages as quickly as possible. I only have one tiny niggle, and that is that the ending is a bit too neat - everything finished off a bit too happily for it to feel like real life, especially bearing in mind some of the horrors that the book deals with, but I guess that sometimes things do turn out well, and I feel a bit mean for even pointing it out as an issue.
July 28, 2018
Well written NZ yarn if you are into P and gangs
NZ author on prize list - deserves 3 as well written story set in NZ but based on Maori gang life so not my thing, who wants to read the effects of P and gang rivalry=2.
NZ author on prize list - deserves 3 as well written story set in NZ but based on Maori gang life so not my thing, who wants to read the effects of P and gang rivalry=2.
December 13, 2015
A great read! Gripping from start to finish. Gnarly in places, and entirely absorbing. Nice twist or two, and great pace. Recommend.
September 11, 2016
A really good Kiwi novel dealing with a very gritty and topical issue. Loved Annie, the sort of friend everyone should have.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews