Alan York a trader in family business from Rhodesian. He lives while near London with Major Bill Davidson, wife Scilla and children. Major Bill Davidson steeple final jump is sabotaged by a wire stretched across that only AY later sees. Reports to Maidenhead racecourse and later the police. AY is 2nd to MBD and the suggestion by the police is put that he could want either or both wife and 1st position in amateur steeple jumping MBD is AY best friend.

Admiral was suppose to be a dead cert MBD ignored a warning to lose, and dies his death not the aim but to help lose the race.
AY meets Kate whose uncle turns out to be short on money and masterminfs the shole set up of protection rackett with the Brighton Taxis and then bookmaker above the taxi business in Brighton. AY is also knocked out by a wire and father comes to visit from Rhodesia. Next cheating Joe Nantwich is knifed. Another pal, poor but honest and handsome Dane, competes romantically, for novice owner hot Kate. An angry whisper masterminds racetrack fraud, and a protection racket conducted by Marconicar radio taxis. Blue Duck's new innkeeper Thomkins was a soldier, now organizing local resistance, including guard dogs.
Final showdown AY chased by taxis people with guns as he escapes on Admiral now given to him by wife Scilla of MBD
He knows the criminal from the first. Teasers vary in importance, but effectively hang us over a cliff at the end of chapters, such as "a lot of things became clear to me. But not enough" p208 Eight-year old Henry Davidson, son of Davidson, does not hold the answer p115 in either his habit of overheard phone calls p237, or betting slip collection, so why the wide-eyes? Stopping for lunch at the Blue Duck p172 provides a clue early, but the mass countryside chase would have given the cabs involvement away eventually.

A stolen custom tie from hourse box encounter early on worn by one of the attackers added clue to know the pickup police were fake. When Alan remembers who kicked him unconscious, and takes revenge, the step outside the law is troubling; the reunited friendship with romantic competitor hopefully permanent.)

Pete Gregory Trainer asks after Davidson and fall. Rider Mason looks suspicious and is the initial contact for Kate's uncle. He knew Fletcher of the taxis. Reported JN by David Stemp to father one of the Stewards. Dane helps unseat mason at book end in a race giving the initial informer his own medicine. Kate falls for AY finally and forgives hime for unmasking her uncle. He gives the uncle his gun back in the taxi place so he can shoot himself and save everyone a heap of trouble. Aunt dies soon after. But Kate is reminded of the school children having to be protected from her uncles's goons.

I love all of Dick Francis books, well written and always has an interesting story. Highly recommend!

This was not my first read-through of DEAD CERT and it probably won't be my last because...Dick Francis! He is literally incomparable! Case in point here: this is his first book and yet he is a master of the form already! All the way through, I was repeatedly impressed by his spot-on technique (that never felt mechanical,) along with his superb plotting which holds up extremely well even after 60 years! He was a man blessed with many diverse talents, all of which he developed to the highest achievements. The three I am most aware of are: Champion Steeplechase Jockey, award-winning sports journalist, and World-wide best-selling author and holder of many literary awards, including "Grand Master," given by Mystery Writers of America, and he's not even American, but British! I am sure his achievements in his homeland are just as great, if not more so!
To be sure, this was an outstanding mystery and all-around novel, but it had a few flaws in copy editing, which made it confusing at times. What was much worse, and a real error on the part of the author, was the overly abrupt ending. In fact, I thought my book must be missing a page because there was no real conclusion and it was a HUGE let-down. It took my rating down a full star.
The bright side, of course, is that there are 40-plus Dick Francis books where he honed his storytelling skills and nailed his endings as well as everything else!

Though this is an early Dick Francis novel, I hadn’t read it. It is a very enjoyable suspense story, what I expect from this author.

Vintage mystery that hasn't gotten stale, as low-tech action mostly relies on thinking and riding, and links to the specific decade are unobtrusive. The story could take place anytime since 1960s.

First read this in my early teens, just when I started horseback riding, so understandably I was hooked. It became my go-to book when I wanted or needed to disappear in a detective story, racing lore and world inhabited by Jaguars, Lotuses and thoroughbreds. 30 years later it retains all its charms.

Author Dick Francis knows his horses and steeplechasing, that much is evident by this book alone. Dick Francis was a jockey himself so his flair for horses comes naturally in this book. His ability to explain the racing world and speak authoritatively on the subject really made this book realistic and serious. Sometimes I have noticed some authors tend to over research their topic and it can come across as overkill and boring, while others don’t research a topic enough making it seem flimsy and lackluster. Francis paired his knowledge and experience in the sport perfectly making it easy for a non horse person to follow. Well done!

Even though this book was written in the 70’s, the time period seemed a little ambitious to me which I found distracting in some ways. There were things mentioned like cable wires but then they would talk about telephones. Other times they would talk about WWII and then they would talk about the Edwardian era. So I was a little distracted trying to decide when this book was supposed to be set. I guess it ultimately didn’t matter to the over all story but for me I was curious and distracted by it…..if I had to guess I would say late 1950’s. That was the reason I gave this one 4 stars….for some reason I was so distracted by the time period ambiguity and I just would have liked to have known….clearly I’ve been reading too much historic fiction.

What I liked was that all the pieces of the mystery were more or less presented to the reader right away but we had to try and put them all together and see how they fit. I really enjoyed that aspect of the novel. I also liked that we got into the murder right away!

Some murder mysteries wait a few chapters so that the reader is introduced to all the characters and gets to know everyone before something happens. While that is all well and good, it’s nice to just get right into things and get to know the characters throughout the book instead.

The murder happened literally like on the first or second page and then we got to know all the major characters after the fact. I really enjoyed that. I also liked that the main character, Alan, wasn’t your typical ‘arm chair’ detective. He had a day job and a hobby job….neither of which included being a detective. I thought that was different and refreshing.

See my full review here

A 2021 re-read - and I do hope I'm not about to embark on a binge re-read - I don't have the time. To some extent I agree with my 2018 'Regency' comment, but not that it seriously undermines enjoyment, because at the same time I have to admit my admiration of the plotting. Written in 1962, there is a lot in this that is of interest as social history - the police, the town and the communications - but Oh my palpitating heart, the love interest is positively Regency. Love declared by a presumably hot-blooded man on the strength of a glance and gentle, unawakened kisses - and as a result undermines the whole. Than said the plot, even if a little far-fetched, and the writing are superb.

When I was enrolled in a Detective Fiction class in the Spring of 1993, on top of a list of 15 different authors, we had to read one additional book, from an author our professor chose for us.
I was hoping for something good - I got Dick Francis.
And the book was "Longshot".
Well, my first impulse was "COOL!!! Longshot is an X-man" but realized that there was a 99.9% chance the book was NOT going to be about a comic book hero.
Nope, as I and my 2 of other team members learned, Dick Francis was horse mysteries. And Naayyyy- not ones where the Horse is a Detective. (Although that would be awesome. After all, Sherlock has Basil of Baker Street!!!).
As I was to learn - and point out - Dick Francis didnt have a regular detective in his stories.
"I thought this was a DETECTIVE fiction class"
"It is - but I know you know all there is about Sherlock Holmes, so you can handle a Non-Detective mystery". Bless Doctor Lacy and his ability to know what to say to me.
So, I read Longshot.
A book about a horse owner who races his horse. And has a guest, who turns out to be the detective, who is also a survival expert.
- - - - -
Side story - I had a passion for survival skills. When you are 5 years old, and almost drown when you are swept away during a flash flood - well, wanting to know how to survive things almost becomes second nature. I would read the forestry skills section of my Boy Scout manual. I con my Dad into getting me the U.S. Army Survival manual, which I read, and the Rangers Manual, which has plenty of other survival skills. I knew how to build a lean-to out of wood. I knew how to start a fire with a 2 sticks and a shoe lace. I knew how to find food from the animals in nature. I knew how to catch fish in a stream and how to get water from plants and other sources.
So, I was pretty excited to read a book about a person who also had similar skills.
- - - - -
Now, as part of the Additional Book, the teams had to give a quick lecture - 10-15 minutes - about the book, the author and some sort of visual thing to get people's attention. My first thought was - 'I will bring a horse to class".
Cuz I had friends who had horses.
"No... we cant bring a horse into the class room. What happens if it falls. Or kicks someone. Or craps on the floor...."
"Ok. Ill bring the class outside, to the horse in the common area. That way, we get out of the class, and let's face it- live animals will top EVERYTHING else that people will use for their demonstrations".
Again -I was told.
No. Horse. Period.
(To this day, I regret not having that horse. Talk about making an A, and getting on the front page of the paper).

But, I still wanted a live animal. So, I used some of my skills, and captured a turtle. A while, medium sized turtle.
I also got some random branches and other things from the nearby woods, and went to class, with it all in boxes.
So, I get up, before the class. The two ladies talk about the book, and the author. And I demonstrated how to make a shelter, with the branches, and how to start a fire (without starting a fire. Another "No Ross". #SpoiledSports
And then I took out the turtle from the box.
Everyone in class gasped and was "he...he....brought an animal to class"
Then, I had some fun. I "poked" around the book, with a stick and said "where are you.... where did you get to" as the turtle sat on the desk, in it's shell.
"Ok..folks. Not to panic, but... well, something go loose. People, please lift up your feet, and I am going to come around, and check your bags and purses..... Dont worry, the snake isnt venomous. I think....."
The look of panic was highly amusing, even as my teammates were "YOU BROUGHT A SNAKE TO CLASS!!!!"
Then, I started to laugh and say "No.. sorry. No snake. I only could find cottonmouths, and they are NOT what you want to bring to class. But now that I have your attention, lets talk about food in the wild. Talk this turtle...."
And I then talked about how one goes about capturing and preparing a turtle. While holding the turtle in my hands. (At one point, he stared to walk towards me, mouth open, ready to snap the nearest body part he could find. Which happened to be a part I enjoy having).
By the end of my demonstration, Dr Lacy, who was still standing in the back of the classroom, on a chair, thanked me for the "being the first person in all my years of teaching to bring a live animal to class for a demonstration").
My team got a perfect grade - 100 - for our work.

And the next year, when I had Professor Lacy (Doctor Lacy's wife) for a class, she said to me - 'Ross, please resist the urge bring a live animal to my class. No turtles. No snakes. No scorpions or horses or anything else" - during the first day of her class. Everyone in the class looked at me - I was already weird, being a Psych Minor in a class of Education majors - and I said "Only if I can read a Sherlock Holmes story for one of my reports."

* * * * *
If you are still reading this review - thank you for sticking around. But you are asking - "What does that story have to do with "Dead Cert"?
So, after reading the book, I picked up another Dick Francis that summer - and tried to read it. Horse racing. England. No Survival Experts. No regular detective.
Nope - pass.

But, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of taking the class, I am going back and reading another book in all the series we had to read for the class. And in this case, Dead Cert - the first Dick Francis novel - was the one I chose to read.

If you like horse races - heres the book for you. IF you like a mystery - yeah, this is one too. If you like both - well, you will DEFINITELY like this book.
When a fellow joke - and best friend- dies during an accident during a steeplechase, Alan York calls upon all his "Sherlock Holmes' skills he has picked up, to determine if it was an accident or murder. (Little spoiler - it's always murder. Accidental death would have been a waste of 277 pg). Along the way, he falls in love, and finds himself in danger from various people, all of whom want to prevent him from solving the mystery of who and why was his best friend killed.

And, unlike many mysteries, the action goes on to the very last page of the book. Like, the 2nd to last paragraph. Hows THAT for action and adventure?!?!?!

Will I read another Dick Francis - well, 2043 will be the 50th anniversary of taking the class. So, many I will try another one then...

Why read it? One reason is that you’ll be in better-than-usual reading company. Francis was a favourite bedtime companion for (one is reliably informed) Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother – and, as he told us aggressively, Kingsley Amis. Philip Larkin went on record to declare that Dick Francis was ‘always twenty times more readable than the average Booker entry’ (and, he implied, as good as anyone who won that prize). Presumably they have an exclusive reading group up there in the sky, when the hymns pall, where they discuss whether Whip Hand or Longshot is the better read.
Francis was late in leaving the starting gate as a novelist. He first achieved national fame as a jump jockey. He was reckoned to be in the top ten of his gruelling sport, and between 1953 and 1957 he was jockey to the Queen Mother. But in 1956 Francis’ life, as he liked to say, ‘ended’. It was a dramatic final act – although whether comedy or tragedy is a moot point. Leading the field by many lengths in the Grand National that year, his mount Devon Loch mysteriously collapsed only yards short of the finishing line. Francis had never won the National, the peak of a steeplechase jockey’s career, and his disappointment was bitter. Was Devon Loch nobbled? Perhaps – it’s a recurrent theme in Francis’ thrillers. But, experts suggest, the most likely explanation seems to have been a gigantic fart which was so explosive as to prostrate the unluckily flatulent beast. Francis retired at the age of forty-two, having ridden 2,305 races and 345 winners, and took to writing fiction.
Dead Cert draws on the unhappy race that so dramatically ended his career. It opens aromatically: ‘The mingled smells of hot horse and cold river mist filled my nostrils.’ It’s the 2.30, three-mile ‘chase’ at Maidenhead. Young Alan York is ten lengths behind top jockey Bill Davidson, who is leading the field on the favourite, Admiral. At the last fence, for no apparent reason, Admiral falls, mortally injuring its rider. Why? Some sleuthing by a suspicious Alan reveals the last fence has been ‘wired’. The trail thereafter leads, after much winding, to a sinister ‘Mr Big’ in Brighton. This mysterious kingpin runs a radio-taxi service, a razor gang, a protection racket and a bookie’s shop. He bumps up his income by fixing races. Hence the wire, hence the fall. But who is the arch-criminal? York, who narrates (all Francis’ novels had male narrators), is a white millionaire’s son from Southern Rhodesia – an area which was destined a couple of years hence to become very uncomfortable for white millionaires and their sons. Francis’ fiction is wholly uninterested in such things. Leave geopolitics to Freddy Forsyth. Romantic interest is generated by reader curiosity as to whether young York will marry Davidson’s widow, Scilla, or the delectable horse owner Kate Ellery-Penn, a beauty not yet fully bloomed. As the following indicates, Francis is stronger on four-legged fillies than the two-legged variety:
And there it was. Kate the beautiful, the brave, the friendly, was also Kate the unawakened. She was not aware yet of the fire that I perceived in her at every turn. It had been battened down from childhood by her Edwardian aunt, and how to release it without shocking her was a puzzle.
Will Alan succeed in ‘unbattening’ her? Who cares. The fascination in Francis’ first novel, and the many that followed, is the insider stuff about ‘nobbling’, the intricacies of handicapping, the mysterious mathematics of betting odds, the ambience of the weighing room. In short, the horsey smell evoked by that first sentence.
Francis was engagingly modest as to his narrative technique: ‘I start at Chapter 1, page 1, and plod on to THE END.’ His invariable practice was to begin a new book every 1 January, and deliver the manuscript to Michael Joseph on 8 May for publication in September. It has plausibly been suggested that his fiction was partially, perhaps entirely, ghosted by his wife Mary.

This was Dick Francis’s first novel written in 1962. I liked it but the story in places was repetitive. Alan York a Rhodesian steeplechase jockey see’s his friend Bill killed in a fall on the dead cert Admiral. He discovers it was not an accident and embarks on an investigation.

He meets Kate the love of his life and her Uncle George with his macabre collection of violent artifacts. Alan is then threatened to stop investigating Bill’s death which he ignores. A world of no cell phones, radio aerial taxis, protection rackets and very unappetizing food! Great to read about the racing of horses from an expert and the tricks jockeys do to lose races or nobble someone.

Encounters a gang who try to kill him part of a Brighton based taxi company called Macaronicars. There is a murder, a chase with a horse and overall an entertaining read worthy of a 3.5.

A reliable Dick Francis. This is his first novel of about 40, where he establishes what will become the outline of his recurring protagonist. Clever, calm, talented, distant family, insta- love interest, bad bad guys, physical danger, satisfying resolution. Yum!

Excellent read, one of Dick's best I think. The descriptions of the chase through the forest, and the controlled chaos of a steeplechase are expertly crafted.
I did however, guess whodunnit before the end, though not the second bad guy.