Whip Hand ; Rat Race ; Forfeit ; High Stakes ; Twice Shy
- 815 pages
- 29 hours of reading
Dick Francis Omnibus: Whip Hand; Rat Race; Forfeit, High Stakes, and, Twice Shy Francis, Dick
Dick Francis was a popular British crime writer and retired jockey, renowned for his thrilling novels often set against the backdrop of the horse racing world. He masterfully wove intricate plots with psychological depth, bringing the fast-paced and often dangerous milieu of racing to life. His distinctive style featured authentic details and compelling characters. He collaborated closely with his wife, Mary, on most of his work, forming a true literary partnership.







Dick Francis Omnibus: Whip Hand; Rat Race; Forfeit, High Stakes, and, Twice Shy Francis, Dick
This omnibus contains three stories from Dick Francis in one combined edition, involving the world of racing with plenty of action, suspense, greed and secrets.
Five million pounds has been laid out on a horse race. What is the Chairman and Board of Directors at the bank going to say when they find out that the money is gone? Includes questions as aids to understanding
For Kicks / Flying Finish [Hardcover] Francis, Dick
Three stories from Dick Francis in one combined edition, involving the world of racing with plenty of action, suspense, greed and secrets. The novels are "Long Shot", "Straight" and "High Stakes".
All three Sid Halley novels in one edition, for fans and new readers alike; Odds Against: Champion jockey Sid Halley gave up racing when his hand was smashed. As he soon discovers, life as a private eye could be a lot worse, especially when a ruthless property dealer has plans for Seabury racetrack - plans that set high odds against a novice detective staying alive... 'A plot that goes with the pace of a champion hurdler' Evening Standard Whip Hand: There are two worlds in racing: winning and losing. Sid Halley is on the trail of thugs who aim to win at any price. There's a syndicate of owners with a sideline in violent kidnapping and a bookmaker whose hatred of favourites goes one deathly step too far. Halley must return to winning ways. To lose is to die.. 'Superb...this is Mr Francis's best book. And that's high praise' Sunday Mirror Come To Grief: Sid Halley has uncovered an obnoxious crime committed by a friend. On the first day of the friend's trial, at which Sid is to be as a witness, something happens which leads to days of hard detection and heart-searching torment. Troubled, but courageous, Sid Halley is unwilling to admit defeat... 'Francis is firmly in the saddle, leavi
Break In: When steeplechase jockey Kit Fielding comes to the aid of his twin sister and her husband Bobby Allardeck, death threatens. A vicious newspaper campaign jeopardizes Bobby's career as a racehorse trainer. Combining investigations with riding winners for his patron, Princess Casilia, Kit makes some startling discoveries. But some powerful people think a jockey should mind his own business and are prepared to use violence to make sure he does.... Bolt: Princess Casilia is in trouble. Her invalid husband is being threatened by a business partner andall her best runners are being wantonly destroyed-shot with a bolt. The only person she can turn to is Kit, but he has problems of his own. His fianc Danielle appears to have changed her mind. And the old Fielding-Allerdeck feud has once again violently intensified. Wherever he goes, the champion jockey seems to attract bloodshed....
Peter Darwin, a young First Secretary in the Foreign Office, returns to England from Tokyo for some quiet leave before taking up a new post. On the way he stops briefly in Miami, and there becomes entangled in a fracas which involves his going back not just to England but to Gloucestershire, scene of the long-buried memories of his childhood. Walking unexpectedly into a veterinary surgeon's desperate troubles there, he begins to recall events from the past and comes to realise that if he stays around he can perhaps save a good many people from destruction. Trained to penetrate the truths from the facades, he has to use all his diplomatic skills to unravel not political shenanigans but the cruel fates which befall racehorses. The trick, as he progressively discovers, is not to suffer the same deaths. Comeback , which is Dick Francis's thirtieth novel, is as exhilarating, as gripping and as brilliant as any of his previous bestsellers.
Dick Francis has been thrilling readers for over thirty years with his stories involving the world of racing with plenty of action, suspense, greed and secrets. ENQUIRY: No jockey likes being labelled a cheat and Kelly Hughes' career seems doomed. He knows he's been framed, but finding the reason could prove dangerous. Especially with a killer on his tail... RAT RACE: Matt Shore, an experienced pilot, is expecting the quiet life ferrying high class punters around England's race courses. But then his plane explodes in a massive fireball and he's landed in middle of a nightmare world. Some quiet life. SMOKESCREEN: Film action man, Edward Lincoln, has been asked by a dying friend to find out why her South African racing stable were no longer winning. Now he's being forced to play the resourceful hero for real - or die in one easy take.
A reclusive painter, living in a bothy in Scotland, is beaten by a group of strangers and left for dead shortly after learning of the death of his stepfather. They are seeking something to do with his dead stepfather, but he knows nothing.
Derek is thrust into trouble and danger after the death of his brother. His only hope of survival is to identify the enemy.
Depicts the adventures of heroes who become involved in cases of crime and murder in the world of horse racing
A collection of stories including Slay-Ride, Banker, and Proof.
Multi-millionaire Malcolm Pembroke's colourful life has included five wives and nine children. When his fifth wife is murdered, he patches up a quarrel that has been simmering for nearly three years with his favourite son Ian, and asks for help. Ian Pembroke, who detested the fifth wife Moria, agrees to meet his father at Newmarket yearling sales. From here he is instantly whirled into a horrifying race against time to find Moira's murderer before the maniac can strike again. Greed, malice and lethal ploys lie ahead on the rocketing journeyings of father and son as they track the killer remorselessly. Yet they are still able to grab some enjoyment along with the peril as they find time to watch many of the world's top races.
Three stories from Dick Francis in one combined edition, involving the world of racing with plenty of action, suspense, greed and secrets. This novels are Forfeit, Risk and Reflex.
A computerized horse-betting system falls into Jonathan Derry's hands--and unless he returns it to the rightful owners, the odds of his survival are slim to none.
Shell-shocked and missing a foot-lost to an IED during his tour of duty in Afghanistan-Captain Tom Forsyth has been sent "home" by the army and, at loose ends, returns to his estranged mother's house for the first time since he joined up at seventeen. But Josephine Kauri, the "first lady of British racing," has always put the horses she trains first and her family last. Tom soon finds himself strained to the breaking point with his mother and stepfather. But there's another reason for the stifling tension at Kauri House Stables: Josephine is being blackmailed for a hefty sum every week-and forced to make her horses lose. Retirement is not an option, as she has been warned that it will result in the thing she most fears: exposure and ridicule . . . and prison, when the government finds out what she's been hiding. Tom sets out to discover and defeat this hidden enemy using his finely honed military skills. But can he save his mother's reputation and career, or will he find himself caught in the cross fire?
A charge of throwing a race for personal profit leaves jockey Kelly Hughes and trainer Dexter Cranfield barred from racing. When Hughes refuses to take the charge lying down, his personal enquiry may leave him lying down, permanently.
No jockey likes being labelled a cheat. Least of all by a Stewards' Enquiry. Kelly Hughes career looks doomed. He knows he's been framed, but finding the reason could prove dangerous. Especially with a killer on his tail... Hughes' own enquiry uncovers dynamite that could blow the racing world to smithereens. Only a few powerful - and violent - men know the sordid secret. And they'll go to extraordinary lengths to keep it that way. Murder is just one option... 'Highly ingenious' "Times Literary Supplement " 'Another winner' "Publishers Weekly"
Rat Race:Matt Shore is a substitute pilot assigned to fly four racing buffs to the track. They're nervous, but Matt's not. That is, until he manages an emergency landing minutes before the plane explodes. Matt doesn't think anything else can possibly go wrong. Then he finds himself caught up in a rat race of danger that puts him on the wrong side of the odds....To the Hilt:Alexander Kinloch found solitude and an steady income painting in a bothy on a remote Scottish mountain. Until the morning the strangers arrived to rough him up, and Alexander was dragged reluctantly back into the real and violent world he thought he'd left behind.Millions of pounds are missing from his stepfather's business. A valuable racehorse is under threat. Then comes the first ugly death and the end of all Alexander's doubts. For the honour of the Kinlochs he will face the strangers... committed up to the hilt...
A lawyer and amateur jockey defends a champion jockey accused of killing a fellow rider.
Gene Hawkins takes on the job of locating a missing priceless stud. But he gets more action than he bargained for from a group of horse thieves who want to put Hawkins out to pasture--permanently. Reissue.
Chronicles the life and times of a sports legend, whose racing career spanned almost four decades of valor and victory, controversy, pain, disgrace, and vindication
Excellent Book
Book by Francis, Dick
There are two worlds in racing: winning and losing. Private detective Sid Halley has gone from one to the other - fast. First his career as a jockey ended when he lost his hand in a fall. Then his wife said a cold goodbye. Now he's on the trail of thugs who crush losers with vicious pleasure. These are people who aim to win at any price.
Ex-champion steeplechase jockey Sid Haley is now a sleuth. As the story opens he has just been shot in the stomach during the course of his duties as a private investigator, working - or rather, idling - in a firm which keeps him employed, thanks tothe old boy network. Convalescing with indecent and painful haste, Sid finds the pace growing steadily hotter as he investigates the cunningly contrived decline of a racecourse, and comes to close and spine-chilling grips with the crooks responsible.
A newly reissued edition of this classic novel from the Champion Storyteller
Steeplechase jockey Christmas "Kit" Fielding has had more than his share of close calls both on and off the course. But trouble hits close to home when a grudge between his family and his sister's in-laws turns into a blood feud.
From "the best writer in the mystery genre" (Larry King) comes the story of a jockey who discovers that his losing streak is caused by something sinister. Reissue.
People who ride racehorses love the speed, the excitement, the danger - and winning the race. Philip Nore has been riding for many years and he always wants to win - but sometimes he is told to lose. Why? And what is the mystery about the photographer, George Millace, who has just died in a car crash? Philip Nore knows the answer to the first question, and he wants to find out the answer to the second. But as he begins to learn George Millace's secrets, he realises that his own life is in danger.
Young wine merchant Tony Beach is a professional taster, who can easily distinguish between different wines. When he stumbles across a liquor scam involving substituted wines, he becomes involved in the challenge of tracking down the culprits. However the mastermind has already committed one brutal murder to cover his tracks. Will Tony be the next?
One of the top women jockeys in world has been kidnapped and Detective Andrew Douglas is sent to negotiate her release. As more kidnappings follow, the Italian police bungle the case, and the victims' families begin to worry about their loved ones' safety.
A reissue of a classic mystery from the champion of English storytellers Malcolm Pembroke never expected to make a million pounds without making enemies. Nor did he expect his latest wife to be brutally murdered. All the clues suggest the killer comes from close to home - but after five marriages and nine children, that still leaves the field wide open. When he finds his own life in danger, Pembroke entrusts his safety to his estranged son, Ian, an amateur jockey; and through him discovers a compulsive new outlet for his financial expertise. Soon he's playing the international bloodstock market for incredible stakes. Not the safest bet for a man on the run from avaricious relatives. Particularly when one of them's got a bomb... About The Author: Dick Francis has written forty-one international bestsellers and is widely acclaimed as one of the world's finest thriller writers. His awards include the Crime Writer's Association's Cartier Diamond Dagger for his outstanding contribution to the crime genre, and an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Tufts University of Boston. In 1996 Dick Francis was made a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master for a lifetime's achievement and in 2000 he recieved a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.
James Tyrone, a racing reporter for a London scandal sheet, knew that fellow writer Bert Chekov was a drunk, but he always thought he was an honest one. But when Bert suddenly died in an "accidental" fall from a window, Tyrone suspected the clues to his death might be found in some suspicious columns he'd written touting can't-lose horses--who mysteriously failed to show up on a race day. In between trips to cover the next big race and secret rendezvous with his sensual new mistress, Tyrone knew he'd prove that Chekov had been murdered. But he didn't know the terrifying risk involved in proving it.
"In this chilling novel of vice and vengeance, a man suspects that his best friend was murdered— and joins a manhunt in which he himself is the quarry." --
Writer John Kendall travels to England to interview a racehorse trainer with something to hide--a secret that could threaten Kendall's life.
Architect Lee Morris inherits part ownership of the Stratton Park racecourse, and along with it a dangerous position among the warring upper-class family trying to settle its fate
The unexpected arrival of a new apprentice jockey at his father's racing stables heralds the beginning of a series of dark happenings for Neil Griffon. First his father suffers a grisly accident, and then Neil is brutally assaulted and abducted. The price for his freedom will mean the betrayal and deception of those who trust Griffon most. But he has no choice: a no-compromise crime czar has made an ultimatum--that his own eighteen-year-old son be hired by Griffon's stables to ride the superstar horse, Archangel, in the Derby. And the young man must be trained to win. Or else....
Sid Halley, the ex-champion jockey turned investigator who appeared in Odds Against and Whip Hand is back, facing new dilemmas, new dangers and new deeply demanding decisions.
The Transcontinental Race Train takes owners and their horses from all over the world across Canada to take part in a series of horse races. Tor Kelsey, an investigator for the Jockey Club, is on the train and he is watching Julius Filmer very closely indeed.
Movie director Thomas Lyon came to Newmarket to rake the ashes of an old Jockey Club scandel for a new Hollywood film. Too late, he found himself listening to a blacksmith's dying confession. Damaging allegations cost young Benedict Juliard his hopes of a career as a steeplechase jockey. Instead he'so join the ranks alongside his father, a high-flying businessman battling a Dorset by-election
First pub 1970. Thriller set in the world of horse racing.
When your horse has just sprinted past the winning post, racing seems a very cozy and civilized hobby. But the pleasure of the day at Sandown is spoiled for Steven Scott when he sacks the trainer of his horses, a man he once thought of as his friend. For although Jody Leeds seems a bright young workaholic, Scott suspects he's a crook. And the worst is yet to come...
Henry Grey is a reserved young man whose greatest problem is his mother's match-making plots and whose greatest joy is to ride as an amateur steeplechase jockey. But on a sudden impulse, he throws in his respectable desk job to join a firm which transports racehorses all over the world.
A classic mystery from Dick Francis, the champion of English storytellers. Edward Lincoln has scaled the Himalayas, survived deadly car chases and defeated scores of assassins. As a movie action man he's even suffered stoically at the hands of sadistic directors. After finishing his latest film, he's asked to visit South Africa to discover why a dying friend's horses are suddenly failing on the race track. Unfortunately, Lincoln's attempt to help a friend soon puts him in harm's way. From a nearly fatal interview to a dangerous accident in a gold mine, it seems only luck is keeping him alive. And in life, unlike the big-screen, there's no coming back from dead . . .
He didn't really want it, but ex-prize-winning jockey Jonah Dereham found himself bidding for a young steeplechaser--with someone else's money.
When the gloves are off it's very gritty indeed' Daily TelegraphCharles Todd makes a living as a painter of horses. Someone else is making a lot more, forging paintings by masters such as Stubbs and Munnings. And selling them to people like Charles' cousin and his wife. People who usually end up dead. When Charles arrives in Australia, he's not there for the surf at Bondi beach. He's right on the trail of the ruthless fraudsters, to whom violence and corruption are part of normal business practice. And he's right in the frame for murder...
Transporting racehorses is big business for ex-jockey Freddie Croft. But when one of his drivers breaks a cardinal rule--never pick up a hitchhiker--the results are fatal. Now strange nighttime stalkers and unseen conspirators are weaving a web of deceit and danger that Freddie might never escape.
Adventure fiction. Suspense fiction. This thriller involves a kidnapping of an amateur jockey and accountant and is written by the former National Hunt Jockey and author of many thrillers.
Gerard Logan finds that when his jockey friend dies following a fall at the Cheltenham races, he is involved in a desperate search for a stolen video tape which embroils him in more life-threatening hazards than does his work as a widely-acclaimed glass-blower.
Seventeen-year-old Benedict Juliard's ambitions of becoming a steeplechase jockey are dashed when he's falsely accused of taking drugs. For his estranged father, however, this is an opportunity. A wealthy businessman running for a parliamentary by-election in Dorset, Juliard Senior needs all the help he can get - especially when the campaign moves from mudslinging to something more deadly. Now young Benedict has to grow up fast, not only to find out who is trying to harm his father's chances of election but also to keep him alive long enough to stay in the race... A classic mystery from Dick Francis, the champion of English storytellers.
Halley is looking into a nobleman's permanent losing streak when he discovers a murdered jockey.
Randall Drew is sent to Moscow on a delicate investigation involving a mysterious woman who is threatening a royally-connected candidate for the Moscow Olympic Games.
The latest searing, intrigue-filled blockbuster from from the Champion Storyteller
A surefire computerized betting system draws desperate men who will do anything to gain control of it.
Movie director Thomas Lyon came to Newmarket to rake the ashes of an old Jockey Club scandel for a new Hollywood film. Too late, he found himself listening to a balcksmith's dying confession." - Backcover.
British investigator David Cleveland has come to Oslo to investigate a champion jockey's disappearance right before the National, a race he was certain to win. But he's almost drowned in a fjord for his troubles. David knows accident and coincidence couldn't begin to explain this little mishap or the oncoming gruesome string of deaths that David Cleveland would find was meant to include his own....
A superbly crafted collection of thirteen tightly plotted tales that treats readers to murder, mystery, and mayhem in the world of horseracing.
Dick Francis is the former steeplechase jockey who retired from riding while still at the top of his profession. He wrote a racing column in the Sunday Express for seventeen years but is best known for his racing thrillers, which are worldwide bestsellers. His awards include the Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger, for his outstanding contribution to the crime genre, and an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from Tufts University of Boston.
Ned Talbot has worked all his life as a bookmaker - taking over the family business from his grandfather - so he knows not to expect any sympathy from the punters as they count their winnings, and he his losses. Ned wonders if it's worth it any more. When a grey-haired man steps forward from the crowd claiming to be his father, Ned's life is thrown into far deeper turmoil
Flying in the eye of a hurricane, a plane carrying TV reporter Perry Stuart crashes in the Caribbean. In this manner Stuart discovers an island of uranium smugglers, a find which puts his life in danger.
Straight. No Roof But Heaven. The Evening News. The Courtship of Peggy McCoy
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A high-class, transcontinental horse-racing junket should be an idyllic getaway for the super-rich. But one passenger on this train is a sociopath, a genius at blackmail and criminal corruption—and he plans to take everyone for everything they've got.