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Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
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Summary
Summary
The award-winning author of more than 40 books, including the "New York Times"-bestselling "Under Orders" and "Shattered," returns in prizewinning form with his latest mystery.
Author Notes
Dick Francis was born in Wales on October 31, 1920. Because his father was a professional steeplechase jockey and a stable manager, Francis grew up around horses, and after a stint as a pilot in the Royal Air Force during World War II, he became a steeplechase jockey himself, turning professional in 1948. He was named champion jockey of the 1953-54 racing season by the British National Hunt after winning more than 350 races and was retained as jockey to the queen mother for four seasons.
When he retired from racing in 1957 at the age of 36, Francis went to work as a racing correspondent for the Sunday Express, a London paper, where he worked for 16 years. In the early sixties, he decided to combine his love of mysteries with his knowledge of the racing world, and published Dead Cert in 1962. Set mostly in the racing world, he has written more than 40 novels including Forfeit, Blood Sport, Slay-Ride, Odds Against, Flying Finish, Smoke Screen, High Stakes, and Long Shot. He wrote his last four books Dead Heat, Silks, Even Money, and Crossfire with his son Felix Francis.
He has received numerous awards including the Silver Dagger award from Britain's Crime Writers Association for For Kicks, the Gold Dagger award for Whip Hand, the Diamond Dagger award in 1990, and three Edgar awards. He died on February 14, 2010 at the age of 89.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
After collaborating on Dead Heat (2007), bestseller Francis and his son, Felix, deliver another gripping thriller with a thoroughbred racing backdrop. Soon after London barrister Geoffrey Mason, an amateur jockey by avocation, starts receiving a series of threatening messages from a former client, Julian Trent, whose conviction for assault was overturned on appeal, Mason reluctantly accepts the defense of a jockey, Steve Mitchell, accused of the pitch-fork murder of fellow rider Scot Barlow at a steeplechase event. Mitchell and Barlow had fallen out over Barlow's sister, a vet and Mitchell's former girlfriend, who took her own life just a short while before. When unknown parties order Mason to lose the case, he must balance his professional ethics and his sense of self-preservation. The solid writing and engaging lead will carry readers along at a brisk pace, though some may find the dramatic courtroom revelation of the murderer overly theatrical. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved All rights reserved.
Library Journal Review
Three-time Edgar Award-winning author Dick Francis's first collaboration with his son, Felix, was the 2007 mystery Dead Heat, which debuted at No. 3 on the New York Times best sellers list. This is his second such partnership, also set in Francis's tried-and-true world of British horse-racing. Actor/narrator Martin Jarvis voices all the characters distinctly and believably; with the undercurrent of wry humor and masterful pacing, his narration nicely complements the character-driven writing. A wonderfully successful package for all popular fiction collections. [Also available from Books on Tape on CD (ISBN 978-1-4159-5962-6. $100) and as a digital download (ISBN 978-1-4159-5963-3. $NA); audio clips available through us.penguingroup.com and library.booksontape.com; the Putnam hc was recommended "for all public libraries," LJ 9/1/08.--Ed.]--Don Wismer, Cary Memorial Lib., Wayne, ME (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.