This is at least the second time I've read this story - second of the three novels about ex-jockey Sid Halley, who has a gift for finding out things others would prefer remained undiscovered. Sid is a human, relatable character, and it is a pleasure to renew his acquaintance. If you haven't read Dick Francis before, feel free to start here - it's a stand-alone novel - and enjoy.

An award winning Francis mystery, “Whip Hand” is not like many of the Francis books I’ve read recently in that the largest majority of the book revolves around the horse racing world. Francis has a knack for involving horse racing in his stories, but many, if not most of the stories also included some details about a job, a hobby, technology, business operations, or some other aspect outside of racing that is key to the story. This one is most all racing related, with a bit of a side focus on a specific method of fraud that is really just a side story. Since Francis seems to always include at least two non-racing themes, I suspect the other non-racing aspect of this book, and it’s a big part of the story, is our protagonist Sid Halley talking about his disability and new threats to cause additional disability. There is a lot of angst and self-reflection in this book, and like all Francis heroes, this one isn’t perfect. This book also has some violence and threats, which Francis includes in many of his stories, and which I find disturbing. Francis knows how to write, and here you really become concerned about Sid. I found the angsty self-arguing to be a bit confusing near the climax of the book. Overall, though, another wonderful Francis mystery, certainly one of his best.

Dick Francis writes exciting fiction usually focusing on the world of horse racing. In this one, the main character, Sid Halley, is a former top jockey who is now a private investigator. The situations he gets asked to look into involve betting scams and crooked officials.

Dick Francis is a sadly-missed favorite author, especially his knack for snappy relevant titles, and fascinating a non-horse reader (me). Hero Sid loses the use of his hand in the series, at least once a villain tortures him in his weakest limb. Ouch. I still get the shivers remembering.

This is my favorite of the Francis novels I've read, and probably the best mystery novel I've read this year.
Sid Halley, who retired from racing to become an investigator after losing most of his left hand, is a fantastic lead, with all of the intellect and dry humor of the average Francis hero but a great deal of pathos and insecurity, as well. The supporting characters are also great creations, especially Chico, Halley's partner, and the Admiral, his friend and former father-in-law.
This book has a great setup, as several smaller mysteries resolve into one central plot and one, more personal, subplot. The writing is crisp and assured, with snappy dialog and precise descriptions, and the pace is quick. There isn't much in the way of action, but there is a bit of brutal violence, heightening the tension and stakes without ever being gratuitous.
Altogether, this is a great effort by one of my "new" favorite authors. Luckily, I still have thirty or more of his books to read. Yay!

Dick Francis wrote a lifetime's worth of entertaining, suspenseful novels. He set the bar high every time. This is his best book.

I have always enjoyed Dick Francis and this book was no exception. I am trying to read all his books that I missed reading earlier.
Currently trying to finish the Sid halley series of 5 books-now I am only missing "Come to Grief."
A side story-Sid has an artificial hand and it is interesting to hear what the state of the art in prosthetics was 40 years ago.

Actually read the library book. All the while I heard Ralph Cosham in my head.
Two stories. First, Sid’s ex-wife Jenny is implicated in a wax polish scam. He finds Nicholas Ashe and convinces Jenny that he was a CAD.
Second, he is asked by the security chief to investigate some race horse syndicates and as usual he is kidnapped and beaten up. Chico is badly beaten as well. The Shummuck brothers schemed to inject Casper’s horses with pig virus to render the horses and their hearts Useless.
Sid doesn’t seem to take in his surroundings and is never armed in any way. At least Nicholas Ashe had a knife in his sock.
The bookmaker, Trevor Deansgate (formerly Shummuck), who threatened to shoot off Sid’s right arm, making him a complete cripple, changed his mind at the end. He decided he didn’t want to go to prison for either GBH or murder of such a beloved jockey.

From the start this grabbed the attention and never let go. Nicely interwoven story lines and a good mix of characters giving a richness to the developing plot line. Seemed to be heading for a predictable but satisfactory ending but a couple of twists made it better still. A very enjoyable easy read.

This was the first book I’ve read of this author. I liked his style of writing. The references to horse racing I didn’t understand but it wasn’t too much.

Book # 2 in the Sid Halley series. Sid’s career as a top-rated jockey ended when a horse rolled over onto him, crushing his left hand. The hand was later amputated, and he now wears a state-of-the-art prosthesis, but he cannot be a jockey.

The plot is intricate and includes a couple of different mysteries, both of which involve unscrupulous business dealings and which involve Sid’s two loves: his ex-wife Jenny and thoroughbred racing. One of these will seriously threaten Sid’s life and his psyche. Both are complicated and require all his skill to ferret out the truth and bring the perpetrators to justice. Sid is forced to face his greatest fears and answer for himself: Is there anything you’re afraid of?

I love Sid. He’s determined, inquisitive, courageous, and principled. He’s got a great sidekick in Chico, as well; and his father-in-law has his back, too

One of the major themes in Dick Francis’ novels is that of courage. His heroes are quite often jockeys who risk falling off their horses on a daily basis. They break bones and suffer other mishaps, yet continue to race at breakneck speed to earn their livelihood. Whip Hand is also about courage, but Francis tackles it by focusing on the intense fear of his hero, Sid Halley.

Halley is a retired jockey—forced out of the racing business when he fell and had his hand trampled by another horse. His mangled limb had to be amputated and Haley now makes his living as a private investigator looking into problems around the racecourse. Whip Hand starts out with Halley being drawn into four separate investigations—two of which are clearly connected—and one of which gets him abducted and threatened with having his remaining hand blown off with a shotgun if he doesn’t back off.

To his great shame, Halley breaks—at least in the short term—but his sense of self will not allow him to leave the matter alone and he finds himself picking up the investigation again despite a nearly paralyzing fear of being totally crippled by the villain of the story. Francis doesn’t have to hit the reader over the head with this fear, it just continually resurfaces in Halley’s thoughts and yet, he keeps investigating.

In addition to the investigative storyline, Francis gives a powerful subplot in which Halley is asked by his ex-father-in-law to investigate some trouble Halley’s ex-wife has gotten into. The ex-wife divorced Halley because she could not handle the risks involved in his profession as a jockey and could not stand the choice he made to move into another dangerous field after he lost his hand. Her anger often veers into hate and her interactions with Halley—her tremendous resentment of him and need for him to fail—make for a moving and disturbing subplot. She helps us see quite clearly the “defects” in Halley’s character that have made him so successful as both a jockey and now an investigator.

This is one of Francis’ more memorable stories and characters. It’s easy to see why he decided to write multiple adventures about Sid Halley.

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