What is there to say about Dick Francis? As I think about all of his books (yes, this review covers all of his books, and yes I've read them all) I think about a moral ethical hero, steeped in intelligence and goodness embroiled in evil machinations within British horse racing society - either directly or indirectly. The heroes aren't always horse jockies, they can be film producers, or involve heroes engaged in peripheral professions that somehow always touch the horse racing world.

But more than that, Francis's heroes are rational human beings. The choices made are rational choices directed by a firm objective philosophy that belies all of Francis's novels. The dialogue is clear and touched with humor no matter the intensity of evil that the hero faces. The hero's thoughts reveal a vulnerability that is touching, while his actions are always based on doing the right thing to achieve justice.

Causing the reader to deeply care about the characters in a novel is a difficult thing to do. No such worries in a Francis novel. The point of view is first person, you are the main character as you read the story (usually the character of Mr. Douglas). The hero is personable, like able, non-violent but delivering swift justice with his mind rather than through physical means. This is not to say that violence is a stranger to our hero. Some of it staggering and often delivered by what we would think of normal persons living in British society.

You will come to love the world of Steeple Chase racing, you will grow a fondness for horses, stables, trainers and the people who live in that world. You will read the books, devouring one after the other and trust me Dick Francis has a lot of novels (over 40 by my last count).

There are several series woven into the fabric of Francis's work: notably the Sid Halley and Kit Fielding series.

Assessment: Dick Francis is one of my favorite writers. I read his books with a fierce hunger that remains insatiable and I mourn his death.

I think that I read somewhere that this one won an award for Francis, although it wasn't my favorite of his works. Once again, Sid is on a case and his good hand's wellbeing is threatened and he has panic attacks about being left without any real hands. A tiresome trope from this series and it is only book number three. Anyway, the mystery in this one is not much of one since it is revealed in the first chapter who the guilty party is, a friend of Sid's and a former jockey named Ellis, and the motive is never really satisfactorily fleshed out other than some vague reference to a need for danger now that they can't chase it around the track and a theoretical turn to the dark side. The crime is animal cruelty where innocent colts are found with their foot lobbed off. I'm not sure why a former jockey would do that to the animal that once won him races and why he couldn't find some other way to satiate his need for a dangerous thrill. He claims that it was so that he could bolster his second career as a famous news reporter by doing a story on the maiming but that seems like a really flimsy reason. The rest of the story is about how Sid came to the conclusion that Ellis is the guilty party, how the newspapers all began a smear campaign against Sid and in support of their beloved Ellis, and how the motive of the smear campaign was to discredit Sid and avoid a trial so that a supermarket could air the commercials featuring Ellis that they had spent millions making. Once again, a really unsatisfactory reason to protect an animal abuser. I'll finish out the Halley series by reading the last book that Francis wrote himself, without his son, to say that I did it but I think that my fascination with Francis may finally be fading. His earlier works are brilliant but these later ones are disappointing.

Wow.
I still don’t know what to think of that ending. Sid is one of my favourite characters ever.

This is at least the third time I’ve read this book, the third in the Sid Halley series. Although there is a fourth which to this date I have not reread, it would be hard to beat this for being the best in the series. You get to see more of the “tungsten” strength of his character which seems to grow out of his biggest fear. No spoilers here since you know from the start who the guilty party is but as in most destinations, it’s the journey! Like Spenser, Longmire, Worf and Halley, to name a few, you wish that this type of honor was still around today!

My grandpa was a big reader, and he loved horse racing. So, I remember him reading Dick Francis books with joy. I am not sure why it has taken me so long, but what fun mystery, story, and characters.

Endlich wieder ein Krimi, den ich gerne lese! Dick Francis hat hier eine gute Balance zwischen Fachlichem und Allgemeinem gefunden. Leider war der Roman stellenweise sehr zäh und ließ sich nicht gut runterlesen. Die Charaktere waren eingängig, ich habe sie gut kennengelernt. Vor allem die Frauenrollen überraschten mich positiv durch neutrale Beschreibungen und mehrere Facetten zu ihrer Figur, als dass sie als romantisches Interesse herhalten mussten.

Nothing like a great Dick Francis book and a favorite character.

This was my first Dick Francis novel. As a full-time writer and horsewoman, I'm hard to impress, but I am totally blown away by the work of this master. Gripping, fast-paced, fascinating action with the ring of authenticity provided by his years of experience in the horse racing world. I also enjoyed the lack of gratuitous sex, profanity or gore.

Good read

Sid Halley has made a name for himself as THE detective is it is horse racing related...

and in big part, because of a girl with leukemia asks him to look into who hurt her horse...
2 year old horses are (with no pattern) being mutilated...

and he tracks down a horse owner, who is a friend of his, and many others, who found this evil part of himself enjoying hurting the horses.... hmmm odd

Another excellent thriller featuring steadfast Sid Halley. Classic Dick Francis writing, galloping to a tense finish.

A few words of warning: some of the violent acts in this story may be difficult for sensitive readers. It's a great book but do bear this in mind.

A well written book, but the plot was very disturbing, the mutilation of horses not a pleasant subject. The characters were very well defined and the Sid Halley character has more depth in each suqsequent book. The ending was sort of expected while still adding an unexpected touch.