Dick Francis Books

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.

When young investment banker Tim Ekaterin becomes involved in the cutthroat world of thoroughbred racing, he finds his life in business blown to smithereens. For suddenly the multimillion dollar loan he arranges to finance the purchase of a champion racehorse is threatened by an apparent defect in the animal. Then, as Tim desperately searches for answers, he falls headlong into a deadly deal of violence and murder. . . .

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....

With his 30th novel, Dick Francis proves without a doubt that he is one of the superstars among mystery-thriller writers.--Los Angeles Times Book Review. A globe-hopping diplomat comes face to face with a case of fatal corruption in Francis's new thoroughbred thriller.

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.

'"I don't think my stepfather much minded dying. That he almost took me with him wasn't really his fault."' Alexander Kinloch, artist, has worked out a good pattern for his life. His home is a small bothy on a remote mountain in Scotland; he paints on commission, from which he derives both pleasure and a decent income; he lives alone and likes it. One day, however, Alexander's peace is violently shattered when he returns home to find a group of strangers waiting for him. After a scuffle, he is left for dead with only the wind and words "Where is it?" ringing in his ears. And the days that follow contain more danger than he could ever have imagined. Once again Dick Francis proves that for sheer narrative pace and ingenuity of plot he is second to none.

Derek Franklin, injured steeplechase jockey, is coming towards the end of his career when he is thrust into chaos following the accidental death of his brother Greville who was an importer of semi-precious stones. He has to rely on all his stamina and endurance to stay alive.

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.

Captain Thomas Forsyth's tour of Afghanistan is cut brutally short when he's badly wounded by an IED - Improvised Explosive Device, a roadside bomb. Tom's world is torn apart by the injury - the Army is his life. Six months of recuperation leave is a daunting prospect - but not as bleak as the probability of never rejoining his regiment. Tom returns to Lambourn, to his childhood home, where his mother is a racehorse trainer and the 'First Lady' of racing. Never having seen eye to eye with his parents, Tom doesn't expect a hero's welcome - but even he's not prepared for the reception that awaits him. When his mother's prize horse finishes a disappointing last place in a race he should have won, Tom discovers that the training business is on the edge, and facing a threat far more dangerous than a run of bad form. Tom finds himself on a very different, but just as deadly, battlefield where his military skills are tested... kill or be killed?

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?

Andrew Douglas, working as a partner in the firm of Liberty Market Ltd, is used to kidnappers. But he is placed in danger when he becomes involved in the seizing of a victim which embroils the racing world from Italy to England to the United States.

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.

Bert Checkov, a racing correspondent, drunkenly confesses to fellow Fleet Street hack James Tyrone that he's been giving his readers bum tips for years. Five minutes later, Checkov's fallen out a seventh floor window. Tyrone has a nose for a story and he's convinced there's more to his friend's death than meets the eye.

"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." --

In England to interview a successful racehorse trainer, writer of travel guides and survival expert John Kendall begins digging for the truth and encounters danger. By the author of Straight.

Architect Lee Morris has plans to restore the Stratton Park racecourse to itsformer grandeur. But the combative Stratton heirs have violent plans of theirown. Reissue.

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....

Convinced that one of his closest friends, a renowned racer, is behind a series of violent acts, Sid Halley faces the most troubling case of his career and becomes the target of backlashing fans and media representatives.

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.

Steven Scott may have been a successful, wealthy inventor with no experience in horseracing, but with the inspired guidance of his trainer, Jody Leeds, and the prowess of a beautiful black hurdler named Energise, he has brought home several wins. But his winning streak is about to come to a fast end when he discovers trouble in his own stables—trouble that could bring about his own termination if he doesn’t watch his step…

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...

Jockey Freddie Croft discovers a high-stakes conspiracy that exposes the seedy underside of horse racing--and faces even deadlier odds of survival than in any steeplechase run.

A certified public accountant and amateur steeplechase rider gets his chance to ride a famous horse in a top race and jumps into an obstacle-strewn course of trouble and danger.

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.

At his best, Francis can make you feel the hot breath of horses on the back of your neck' Michael Dobbs, Express on SundayDamaging allegations cost young Benedict Juliard his hopes of a career as a steeplechase jockey. Instead he's forced to join ranks alonside his father, a high-flying businessman battling a Dorset by-election for a street level entry into politics. The campaign gets off to a flying start. But this time the obstacles ahead aren't just dangerous - they're lethal. Horses, politics, lies and treachery. They can all carry the maximum 10lb penalty. And, as any jockey knows, a 10lb penalty can be a killer...

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.

With his rising culinary career threatened by an episode of food poisoning at a private affair that he had catered, Max Moreton caters an exclusive luncheon at the 2,000 Guineas horse race, a party devastated by a bomb blast that kills many of the guests.

A surefire computerized betting system draws desperate men who will do anything to gain control of it.

Valentine, a blind, confused and dying old man, seeking his peace with God, makes his last confession to a visiting friend, Thomas Lyon, mistaking him for a priest. This puts Thomas in a moral dilemma. Wild horses wouldn’t drag from a priest the secrets of the confessional—but then Thomas is not a priest. Thomas is engaged in directing a film concerned with racing when he unexpectedly finds himself facing the old wild-horses dilemma. Should he tell what he knows from the confession—or not. He discovers that the solution to his quandary could mean the difference between life and death. His life. His death. Either way, he is in trouble. Accustomed as he is to making difficult choices and decisions, he needs to call on extreme courage and cunning to sort through the chaos and keep himself alive.

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....

In this collection of short stories the settings range from the national Hunt at Cheltenham, where a middle-aged owner falls in love with her jockey, to the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, where the demon drink and wilting willpower take their toll.

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.

The acclaimed best-selling father-and-son writing team of Silks and Dead Heat deliver another gripping thriller with a thoroughbred racing backdrop. 300,000 first printing.

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.

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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.