Oh how I wish we could give half stars. I would definitely have given this 4 1/2 stars. Almost as good as the first. Although I did not like the fact, he was willing to give up so easily. Of course, I can say easily when it wasn’t happening to me. Truly an amazing read.

A bloody masterpiece

This was my first Sick Francis book. It won't be my last. Sid Halley is a character I must know more about. Compelling and crisp descriptions as well as complex plotting make for a great read.

The best of the Dick Francis. The series of Sid Halley books allowed Francis to dig deeper into his character's psyche, revealing his human characteristics--self doubt, loathing, fear--all deep-seated and hidden from most of the other characters in the book, but revealed in raw emotional glory to the reader. Plus, there was a darn good tangle of human greed and corruption that makes any Francis book worth reading. (Note: Anyone who hasn't read this yet: I recommend reading the Sid books in order, beginning with "Odds Against." I didn't realize Francis had written a series with a recurring character and read them as about out of order as is possible--beginning with the last, by chance.)

I've now read twenty-eight of the Edgar Best Novel Award winners, and one thing I've noticed is that the selection committee seems to favor the stand-alone novel over the series entry. Out of the 28 there have been 17 stand-alones as against 11 series novels (one of which, Ed Lacy's ROOM TO SWING, probably shouldn 't count as it did not become part of a two-book series until several years after the award). After what seemed like a zillion international thrillers all in a row, it was fun to read Dick Francis's series book, WHIP HAND, and to know that there are three more books in the Sid Halley series for me to enjoy.

WHIP HAND is the series' second book, continuing the story of Sid Halley, an ex-jockey turned PI with an artificial left hand. With the help of his judo-instructor friend Chico Barnes, Halley investigates primarily racing-related questions, at least in this book. However, he also goes after a conman who has involved Halley's ex-wife in a scheme that might send her to prison if the true perpetrator isn't found. By the end of the book, Halley has not only solved all the mysteries, but has learned a good deal about himself.

WHIP HAND is told in the first person by Halley. A lot of people don't like this POV and even say they won't read a book that uses it. I can't really imagine this book told any other way being as effective as it was. We learn so much about Halley's psyche that helps to illumine the character changes he goes through during the course of the book. Having the story told in third-person omniscient, for example, would just not be as powerful. I did find it difficult to read the portions in which violence is directed at the narrator, but they too were necessary to show the character's feelings.

As this is only the second Dick Francis book I've read, I'm still learning some of the ins and outs of British horseracing. I'm happy that Francis is so good at slipping bits of information into the story without stopping the flow of the plot. I expect I'll know a lot more before I'm done reading Francis.

The protagonists in Dick Francis novels rarely ever made repeat appearances, but one of the exceptions is Sid Halley who we see for the second time in Whip Hand. Halley is a former jockey whose career was ended when a horse rolled over on him, crushing his left hand. The hand was ultimately amputated and he now has a prosthesis. But it's impossible for him to continue riding under these circumstances.

Halley has thus become a private investigator and, not surprisingly, a number of his cases involve the racing world. In this instance the wife of a trainer approaches him and asks him to ensure the safety of one of her husband's prize race horses. In the past couple of years, two of his horses which were virtually guaranteed to win major races, fell way short and ultimately developed health problems and had to be retired from racing.

The woman is afraid that it's going to happen again with a horse that's set for a big race in a couple of weeks or so. She wants Halley to make sure that no one interferes with the horse, but she also wants him to do so without letting her husband know that she has hired him. Naturally, this might be somewhat difficult, but Halley accepts the assignment.

Inevitably, of course, there is something rotten, if not in Denmark, then at least in the racing world, and vicious, malevolent forces will attempt to prevent Halley from completing his appointed mission. As usual, Francis spins an entertaining tale and this book will appeal to his loyal readers and to others who might find a mystery set in the English racing world intriguing.

This is a very well done crime thriller, but I agree with those who find the protagonist annoying.

I always enjoy Dick Francis' books, the interaction with powerful thoroughbreds, the crime elements and the way he writes in the first person. Whip Hand is another good read and I was glad to see Sid survive more beatings and threats from the criminals.

I listened to this book more than twenty years ago and then gave it a re-listen on a road trip with my grandsons. Sid Halley is a former jockey who, because of the loss of his hand in a riding accident, must give up his love of riding horses. He soon distinguishes himself as a private investigator. In Whip Hand, Halley is hired to investigate three separate problems: whether foul play is responsible for the illnesses that befall a trainer's most promising horses, locate his ex-wife's boyfriend who has defrauded the public and left her holding the bag, and determine whether criminal elements have infiltrated a horse syndicate.

Like all of Francis's book, this is a wild ride with plenty of action and harrowing escapes for the protagonist. Sid Halley is one of Francis's most likeable characters. Smart, resourceful, and determined, he must conquer his own demons to succeed in the tasks ahead of him.

Always a fun read.

Entertaining and quick reads, perfect thrillers for a summer or vacation. This 1979 release was a sequel to a 1965 book, and while time passed, the character seemed to be a likeable as ever. Less dated than the first, the sequel takes the reader behind the curtains in the racing and betting industry in England, quite interesting to a non-horsey person nonetheless.

Sid Halley is one of two series written by Dick and later by Felix. His novels were made into a six-episode television series. The series was produced by Yorkshire Television and aired between November 1979 and January 1980.

This is the second book in the Sid Halley series and I enjoyed it even more than the first. I always had reservations about reading Dick Francis, since I am not that familiar with horse racing. However, that is not an issue with his books. The plot and the characters hold my attention. His portrayal of relationships and emotions is very well done.

The next book in this series was written decades later, so I am interested to see if it picks up in the same time period.

I am glad I finally started reading this author.

Winning was all. Winning was my function. What I was there for. What I wanted. What I was born for.
In the dream, I won the race. The shouting turned to cheering, and the cheering lifted me up on its wings, like a wave. But the winning was all; not the cheering. I woke in the dark, as I often did, at four in the morning.
There was silence. No cheering, just silence.
I could still feel the way I moved with the horse, the ripple of muscle through both of the striving bodies, uniting in one. I could still feel the irons round my feet, the calves of my legs gripping, the balance, the nearness to my head of the stretching brown neck, the mane blowing in my mouth, my hands on the reins.
There came, at that point, the second awakening. The real one. The moment in which I first moved and opened my eyes, and remembered that I wouldn’t ride any more races, ever.

Sid Halley is the quintessential Francis hero. It is no surprise for me that in a long list of stand-alone novels, he is the only one to be given a second and third chance in the limelight. He is probably the closest the author has come to talk about himself, about the former top steeplechase jockey whose whole life turned around the racing track, who was forced to give up the love of his life and start a new career. And who brought to this new career all the will to get to the top, all the dedication and the professionalism that defined him on the back of a horse.

This particular novel has an additional personal appeal to me, as it is the very first thriller by Dick Francis that I ever read, back in the early 1990’s. Twenty five years later, I am still one of the faithfull fans of the author.

Sid Halley has been forced out of his chosen profession by a horrible accident that mauled his ‘whip hand’. In his first novel (Odds Against), he is trying to deal with the trauma, and to find a new purpose in life by joining a private investigation agency focusing on the racing world. In the beginning of this second novel, Sid is still investigating crooks and liars around the racetrack, is self-employed, and rather too well appreciated for his success. This fame and his rate of success translates in the bad guys trying to drive him out by threats and physical violence.

As you can see from my opening quote, the thriller is written in the first person narrative, and a liking for the protagonist is key to the enjoyment of the ride. When I try to picture Sid in my mind, I’m thinking of one of those ‘tall-in-the-saddle’ cowboy heroes of the 50’s, like Jimmy Stewart, Gary Cooper or Gregory Peck. The quiet types, unassuming, soft spoken and serious, but unbending and relentless in the pursuit of justice. Sid may be viewed as bad news by the rascals he chases, but in his own mind he is daily battling with feelings of inadequacy, with loneliness and regrets over his broken marriage, with the empty places left in his life after he was exiled from the racetrack

-tWhen you look at me, what do you see?
-tYou know what I see.
-tDo you see a lot of fears and self doubts, and feelings of shame and uselessness and inadequacy?
-tOf course not, you never show feelings like that.
-tNo one does. Everyone has an outside and an inside, and the two can be quite different. [...] To myself, I’m a jumble of uncertainty and fear and stupidity.

I believe Sid is saved by this very insecurity, which pushes him to try harder and to fight back. I also admire his stoicism, his sense of humour, and his curiosity about the world and the people he meets. In a cynical world that eyes only profit and where the end justifies the evil means used to achieve it, Sid is a breath of fresh air and hope in the chance of the underdog to bring down the fat cats of business.

I will not go into details about the plot, it is good and clever but not exceptional. Three separate lines of investigation weave in and out of focus: the mysterious death of champion colts, an internal investigation of corruption at the top level of the Jockey Club and a private request from Sid’s former wife to unmask a confidence trickster. The obligatory scenes of brutality and physical injury are starting to annoy me a bit, after encountering them in every single novel by Francis that I read, but they serve their purpose in the plot and in separating the bad guys from the good guys.

In conclusion, my rating is a subjective (rabid fan) one, but I would recommend the first two Sid Halley novels as a great ‘entry drug’ for readers as yet unfamiliar with the books of Dick Francis.

Listening to this book was like watching the famous race where Francis was riding Devon Loch, leading the pack the whole way, only to have the horse inexplicably fall under him during the run-in to the winning post. Nothing proved to be wrong with the horse after the race, and the fall remains a mystery. This book is like that.

Ex-jockey, now detective Sid tries to save his wife from going to jail and find out why a certain trainer's horses all seem to run lacklustre races when they are tipped as hot favourites, as well as sorting out a crooked syndication ring and trying his hand (the only one he has left) at hot-air ballooning, and salvaging his battered self respect along the way. All these threads might or might not be part of the same pattern, and it led to some interesting situations. We were set to sail home winning by several furlongs, but the ending was lacklustre to say the very least. After all that buildup, Francis refused the last fence. I actually checked to make sure my batteries hadn't run down, because I couldn't believe the last sentence was indeed the end. It wasn't at all credible, nor coherent with the "evil genius" characters created in the first part of the book.

The moral appears to be that all you have to do is keep that upper lip stiff and show no emotion at any time, and you'll come up smelling like a rose.
Or, as in the case of this book, like organic fertilizer.

Simon Prebble's reading of the audiobook was excellent as always, but nothing could save that ending.