British investigator Jefferson Hinkley is back in this compelling Dick Francis thriller by the New York Times–bestselling author of Crisis. In his role as an undercover investigator for the British Horseracing Authority, Jeff Hinkley is approached by a multi-time champion jockey to discuss the delicate matter of losing races on purpose. Little does he know that the call will set off a lethal chain of events, including the apparent suicide of the jockey and an attempt on Hinkley’s own life. Never one to leave suspicious events alone, Hinkley begins investigating the jockey and the races he may have thrown. But there are others out there who intend to prevent his inquiry from probing further...at any cost.
Even Money is the gripping Dick Francis novel by Dick Francis and Felix Francis. Royal Ascot's first day, and bookmaker Ned Talbot watches helplessly as a string of favourites come in. With the punters totting up their winnings, he counts his losses. Then an old man steps forward with a very different claim. The father Ned never knew - long ago believed killed in a car crash - is standing before him. Barely an hour later, Ned's newly-found father is dying in Ascot's car park. Stabbed by an unknown assailant, he warns Ned 'be very careful'. But of whom? Of what? Ned races to discover the truth behind his father's disappearance and sudden reappearance. It's not just money on the line now. It's lives. From Felix Francis and Dick Francis, the bestselling co-authors of Dead Heat comes Even Money, the latest Dick Francis novel. Packed with all the hair-raising suspense and excitement readers know and love from Dick Francis, Even Money is the most thrilling yet. Praise for the Dick Francis novels: 'The Francis flair is clear for all to see' Daily Mail 'Spare, efficient and unflashy . . . inexorably draws you in' Daily Telegraph 'The master of suspense and intrigue' Country Life 'Still the master' Racing Post Dick Francis was one of the most successful post-war National Hunt jockeys. On his retirement from the saddle, he published his autobiography, The Sport of Queens, before going on to write forty-three bestselling novels, a volume of short stories and the biography of Lester Piggott. Dick Francis died in February, 2010, at the age of 89, but he remains one of the greatest thriller writers of all time. Felix Francis is the younger of Dick's two sons. Since 2006, Felix has taken a more significant role in the writing, first with Dead Heat and then increasingly with the bestsellers, Silks and Even Money. Crossfire is the fourth novel of this father-and-son collaboration.
Felix Francis continues his father's New York Times- bestselling legacy with another edge-of-your-seat read that's classic Francis. Nicholas "Foxy" Foxton, a former jockey who suffered a career- ending injury, is out for a day at the Grand National races when his friend and coworker Herb Kovak is murdered, execution style, right in front of him-and 60,000 other potential witnesses. Foxton and Kovak were both independent financial advisers at Lyall & Black, a firm specializing in extreme-risk investments. As he struggles to come to terms with Kovak's seemingly inexplicable death, Foxton begins to question everything, from how well he knew his friend to how much he understands about his employer. Was Kovak's murder a case of mistaken identity...or something more sinister?
Jefferson Hinkley is back in the newest thriller in the Dick Francis tradition, this time on a special mission to the United States to investigate a conspiracy involving the biggest horse races in the country. Jeff Hinkley, investigator for the British Horseracing Authority, has been seconded to the US Federal Anti-Corruption in Sports Agency (FACSA) where he has been asked to find a mole in their organization—an informant who is passing on confidential information to those under suspicion in American racing. At the Kentucky Derby, Jeff joins the FACSA team in a raid on a horse trainer’s barn at Churchill Downs, but the bust is a disaster, and someone ends up dead. Then, on the morning of the Derby itself, three of the most favored horses in the field fall sick. These suspicious events can be no coincidence. In search of answers, Jeff goes undercover as a groom on the backstretch at Belmont Park racetrack in New York. But he discovers far more than he was bargaining for: corrupt individuals who will stop at nothing—including murder—to capture the most elusive prize in world sport, the Triple Crown.
New York Times--bestselling author Felix Francis returns with his newest edge-of-your-seat horseracing thriller in the Dick Francis tradition. Harrison Foster, a crisis manager for a London firm, is summoned to Newmarket after a fire in the Chadwick Stables kills six very valuable horses, including the short-priced favorite for the Derby. There is far more to the "simple" fire than initially meets the eye...for a start, human remains are found among the equestrian ones in the burnt-out shell. All the stable staff are accounted for, so who is the mystery victim? Harry knows very little about horses, indeed he positively dislikes them, but he is thrust unwillingly into the world of thoroughbred racing, where the standard of care of the equine stars is far higher than that of the humans who attend to them. The Chadwick family is a dysfunctional racing dynasty. Resentment between the generations is rife and sibling rivalry bubbles away like volcanic magma beneath a thin crust of respectability. Harry represents the Middle Eastern owner of the Derby favourite and, as he delves deeper into the unanswered questions surrounding the horse's demise, he ignites a fuse that blows the volcano sky-high. Can Harry solve the riddle before he is bumped off by the fallout?
In the tradition of Clive Cussler and James Lee Burke, Iced, the latest in Francis's fictional world, is a heart-pounding thriller that will keep you racing to the next page. Seven years ago, Miles Pussett was a steeplechase jockey, loving the rush of the race. But after an unfortunate event, he left horseracing behind and swore he would never return. Now he gets his adrenaline rush from riding headfirst down the Cresta Run, a three-quarter-mile Swiss ice chute, reaching speeds of up to eighty miles per hour. Finding himself in St Moritz during the same weekend as White Turf, when high-class horseracing takes place on the frozen lake, he gets talked into helping out with the horses. Against his better judgement, he decides to assist, but things aren’t as innocent as they seemed. When he discovers something suspicious is going on in the races, something that may have a profound impact on his future, Miles begins a search for answers. But someone is adamant about stopping him—and they’ll go to any length to do it.
***Thrillers that race from the very first page*** 'Felix Francis' novels gallop along splendidly' Jilly Cooper ‘From winning post to top of the bestseller lists’ Sunday Times It is said that everyone over a certain age can remember distinctly what they were doing when they heard that President Kennedy had been assassinated, or that Princess Diana had been killed in a Paris car crash, but I, for one, could recall all too clearly where I was standing when a policeman told me that my wife had been murdered. Bill Russell is acting as a volunteer steward at Warwick races when he confronts his worst nightmare – the violent death of his much-loved wife. But worse is to come when he is accused of killing her and hounded mercilessly by the media. His life begins to unravel completely as he loses his job and his home. Even his best friends turn against him, believing him guilty of the heinous crime in spite of the lack of compelling evidence. Bill sets out to clear his name but finds that proving one’s innocence is not easy – one has to find the true culprit, and Bill believes he knows who it is. But can he prove it before he becomes another victim of the murderer. Guilty Not Guilty is a journey of greed and jealousy set against the grief of personal tragedy and loss, with many a twist and turn along the way. Praise for Felix Francis's novels: ‘As usual with a Francis, once I opened the book, I didn’t want to put it down… Felix’s resolution is darker and more shocking than his father would ever have contemplated, but reflects grittier times and changing tastes in fiction. Now, what am I going to do for the next 12 months until the next one?’ Country Life ‘He has become his own man as a purveyor of murder mysteries' The Racing Post 'The Francis flair is clear for all to see' Daily Mail 'From winning post to top of the bestseller list, time after time' Sunday Times 'The master of suspense and intrigue' Country Life 'A tremendous read' Woman's Own
A superbly crafted collection of thirteen tightly plotted tales that treats readers to murder, mystery, and mayhem in the world of horseracing. “Few things are more convincing than Dick Francis at a full gallop.”—Chicago Tribune With his remarkable blend of unrelenting suspense, finely tuned narrative, and lean, stylish prose, New York Times bestselling author Dick Francis proves that he is as much a master of the short story as he is of the novel in this thrilling collection.
Incomparable New York Times bestselling author Dick Francis offers a compelling tale of fine living, fast horses, and shattering suspense... Wine merchant Tony Beach has expertly catered his latest society soiree, but the fun’s over when a team of hit men crash the party...literally. The event leaves Tony with a bitter aftertaste of suspicion—and sets off a mystery that’s an intoxicating blend of deception, intrigue, and murder.