When Penny Marcus was a kid, she loved her pony. She had a special connection with her pony and nothing could break that. Or she thought that nothing could break it. Then she decided to go to the abandoned house in the forest with Alex. Penny and her pony and Alex and his horse, and everything changed. She never saw her pony again.

Her parents sold the pony and moved her away. Penny grew up, finished school, fell in love, got married, had a kid, and lived her life. Her daughter Tella has an extreme anxiety disorder, so Penny and her husband Laus found her a boarding school that would be easier for her. But that took up all their savings and some of their retirement, so now Penny can’t afford a lawyer. And she really needs a lawyer, because 25 years after that afternoon in the forest, Penny was arrested for murder.

The pony has been angry since that afternoon in the forest. He’s been enraged at how Penny just abandoned him, and he’s been acting out ever since. He’s not afraid to kick or to bite, whatever it takes to make his unhappiness known to all around him. In the days and months and years since Penny abandoned him, he has worked hard. He’s had to give pony rides to kids, sometimes with a stupid unicorn horn on his head. He was an emotional support animal. He was a pet. He got bought and sold, over and over. But he never forgot Penny. He never forgot how she smelled. And he’s been looking for her ever since.

But when he tells the story of that day in the forest, of how he had untied the ropes for Alex’s horse and for himself, of how he got scared and ran from the forest, back to the farm where he lived, his friends point out that he’s wrong. The goat Circe and dog Caya both think that the pony got it wrong. He was the one who ran away and abandoned Penny. He doesn’t have any reason to be so mad at her.

Once the pony realizes his mistake, he wants to see Penny again. He can sense that she’s in trouble, so he sets out to find her. He remembers what she smells like, and he meets other animals who have clues about what actually happened that day at the abandoned house and maybe where he can find Penny. So he sets out to find her. The pony uses all of his wiles to find rides across the country, to find a way to Penny. He bounces around the country, chasing down clues and sniffing the air for the scent of Penny. He makes sacrifices for her. He would sacrifice everything to get back to hat magical relationship he had with Penny.

Penny was arrested in California, but the crime happened in New York, so Penny is detained until her trial. She’s not allowed bail, although she couldn’t afford it anyway. She has only a public defender, and mostly only talks to an intern in the defender’s office who is still waiting to see if she passed the bar exam. Penny is alone, and she can’t even help with her defense, since she doesn’t have a way to investigate anything about what happened that day at the abandoned house. She thinks about her daughter and her husband. She thinks about her pony.

The days go by, and Penny’s trial gets closer. Will those who care about her be able to figure out a way to save her from a lifetime in prison? Or is Penny’s fate sealed, with both her and her pony being trapped in a small metal cage for the rest of their days?

Pony Confidential is the most unusual mystery I’ve ever read. Author Christina Lynch takes readers on a journey, from anger to understanding, from loneliness to love, from mistrust to the truth. As these characters travel from one side of the country to the other, the search for answers brings up more questions that must be answered. But they don’t give up. They keep moving forward. And that ending is such a surprise.

I wasn’t sure of what to think about Pony Confidential for quite a while. It’s a bit of a slow start, with a angry pony narrating his frustration over and over. It takes a chunk of the book to figure out what’s happening with Penny and with the pony, but it’s an exceptional ride as long as you stay engaged with it. There are many interesting surprises throughout the book, with things coming together in lovely ways. I don’t think this book is a good fit for a typical mystery fan, but if you’re someone who likes something a little experimental (more literary fiction than a cozy mystery), and if you are willing to believe in a pony who is willing to stand in for an emotional support chicken to get what he wants, then Pony Confidential just might be the next book you fall in love with. I certainly did.

Egalleys for Pony Confidential were provided by Berkley through NetGalley, with many thanks.