A Photo Finish

A Photo Finish is the second book in the Gold Rush Ranch series by Canadian author Elsie Silver. The series takes place at the eponymous Gold Rush Ranch, which trains race horses on the west coast of Canada, near Vancouver. The first book in the series, Off to the Races (2021), features horse trainer Billie Black as she develops a romantic relationship with ranch owner Vaughn Harding. The novel delves into their family histories and introduces readers to the intricacies of horse racing and ranch life. At the novel’s end, Billie accepts Vaughn’s marriage proposal. Other events at the end of Off to the Races overlap with those at the beginning of A Photo Finish: Violet wins the Denman Derby while riding Double Diablo (DD), Billie’s beloved racehorse. In addition, the flashback timeline in A Photo Finish alludes to various incidents in the first book, a tool that both orients readers to the timeline of the second book and offers a nod to those who have been following the series.

At the end of each novel in the series, Silver foreshadows the events in the next installment by highlighting characteristics of or mysterious circumstances surrounding minor characters that become central in the next novel.