When jockey Kelly Hughes and the trainer he rides for, Dexter Cranfield, are called before a commision of enquiry following a race that Hughes rode on one of Cranfield's horses, the two men assume that it's a minor matter of no concern. They both know that they did nothing wrong and so assume that they will simply have to answer a few questions about the race and be on their way.

Understandably, then, the two men are shocked when the commissioners exhibit evidence against them that Hughes and Cranfield claim has been clearly fabricated, indicating that the two men were guilty of serious offenses during the race in question. Although they protest their innocence, both are banned from racing in the future.

Their livelihoods and their reputations are at stake, and Cranfield withdraws into himself, assuming that nothing can be done about this situation. Hughes is a fighter, though, and is determined to discover who manufactured the evidence against him and Cranfield, and why. Hughes's mission brings him up against some particularly vicious people, and before long, his safety and his very life are at grave risk.

This is a fairly entertaining novel and a pleasant way to while away a flight from Phoenix to Chicago, or probably anywhere else for that matter. Hughes is a very typical Dick Francis protagonist, and the story is much like most of Francis's other novels. There will be no real surprises here for people who have read others of his books, and for those who haven't, this is as good a place to start as any.

Most DF books hook me almost from the first page. This one took 4 chapters to get me to bite. The enquiry itself seemed longwinded and irrelevant, and there was little to no "action" in any of it. When I got past that section, it turned into the ubiquitous DF race to the finish. I was surprised, but then I noticed that this book was written in the late 1960s, and thought that perhaps it was one of his earlier novels and he had not yet honed his technique.
For those of you considering it, stick it out. It's worth the effort!

It’s been a long time since I read this early Dick Francis book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lovely tense scene which was part of the denouement, and a typically perceptive and stubborn main character in Kelly Hughes.

A rider and the trainer he works for are framed for fixing a race. The rider starts poking around, to see if he can get out of the frame, and finds a lot of trouble.

Quaint, but not bad.

I needed to read a book originally published in 1969 so I chose Enquiry because it fit another challenge as well. After his poor showing in the Lemonfizz Crystal Cup, jockey Kelly Hughes and trainer, Dexter Cranfield lose their licences. Both swear they are innocent and Kelly begins to investigate all those who gave evidence.

He has to get increasingly sophisticated in his efforts to figure out who is behind the injustice. In the meantime the unknown villain is taking steps to permanently stop Hughes from proving his innocence.

I found this to be a story that was pretty slow to develop. The action begins only after about a hundred pages and I found the ending unsatisfying. On the plus side, Francis' character development is excellent and the dialogue is outstanding. You don't have to be a horse lover to enjoy his books. I wouldn't recommend you start with Enquiry, but most of his books are filled with plenty of action, mystery and suspense.

Sometimes you just are in the mood to read a Dick Francis.

I have read this book many times. Our hero Kelly Hughes quietly fights against corruption and the class system that says a jockey is just a servant. He faces his own perceptions and biases and rises above.

All of Dick Francis heroes are people faced with extraordinary circumstances and how they rise to the challenge, how they stand up to evil and oppression in the face of fear and danger.

And, somewhere in his stories there are always horses

One of the things that sure to get me to the edge of my seat in a good mystery is the false accusation when the hero is framed for a crime. It’s just such a situation that forms the heart of Enquiry and like any good hero, jockey Kelley Hughes is not going to stand by and allow his reputation to be ruined. What I liked most about this mystery is the way in which Hughes goes about trying to solve the mystery. He starts with direct confrontations of the men who lied about him and forged up fake evidence. This, quite naturally, doesn’t help him any. So he has to get increasingly sophisticated in his efforts to figure out who is behind the injustice—and all the while the unknown villain is taking steps to permanently stop Hughes from proving his innocence. This is a good quick read that left me totally satisfied.

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4 Stars

Enquiry by Dick Francis follows Kelly Hughes, a jockey who seemed assured of winning the race atop the favourite steed. But instead, he is suspended after coming second, suspected of throwing the race. His suspicions around the outcome lead him on an investigation full of danger, as he endeavours to find out who set him up, and why. A tense turn of events with very high stakes, because it's not just his career and reputation at stake.
This turned out to be a thrilling crime & investigation mystery with plenty of dramatic developments, suspense, tension, and complexity- making for a gripping read.
->2023 Reading Challenge.
->Glennie's Collection
Dick Francis novels were a familiar fixture in our household when I was growing up, as both my parents loved his books. He was amongst the first ‘adult’ reads that I explored at the time, and over the years I have read everything he’s written. I remember every time my mother read one of his books, she'd tell me about him and how he'd gone from being an RAF pilot to being the Queen Mother's favourite jockey, before retiring to become a journalist/writer.
Since my mother passed away over a year ago, I have been making my way through her book collection, finally. I decided to make reading her entire collection a part of my reading challenge for the next couple of years (she has a HUGE collection), as well as a way to pay tribute to my mum, who was such a voracious reader..... Reading her collection of books has stirred up a lot of memories, mostly of our shared love of reading. I am forever grateful that she passed on her love of reading to me.

Dick Francis is one of my favorite authors, and Enquiry is a good example of why that is. Fast paced and exciting, it carries the reader through twists and turns of mystery while creating memorable, but flawed, characters.

Jockey Kelly Hughes and trainer Dexter Cranfield are brought before a disciplinary panel, accused of fixing a race in the Lemon Fizz. As the enquiry proceeds, it becomes apparent that they could have benefited by legal counsel as they had no idea how to counter the falsified evidence presented by the stewards. When it becomes clear that they are being railroaded (and the stewards likely bribed), they are outraged at their undeserved suspension from racing. Determined to get their licenses back, Hughes and Cranfield combine forces to get to the motive and the perpetrators. When Kelly’s investigation is almost derailed by a suspicious “accident,” it is clear that more is at stake than their racing licenses. Pursuing justice could result in death.

I love stories set in the world of horse racing, and this one is no exception. Through Kelly’s eyes, we get a glimpse of the inner workings and politics of the track. The interplay between Kelly and Cranfield highlights the sometimes-tenuous relationship between trainer and jockey. Yet their differences in combination are the catalysts for solving the mystery. The legal aspects and the quest for justice driving the story were both appealing and compelling. And the resolution is quite satisfying. There is also a subplot involving Kelly’s romantic interest which is handled deftly and does not intrude too much into the mystery.

I listened to this as an audio book, and Ralph Cosham did a fantastic job. Any book he narrates is bound to grab my attention. Enquiry is a solid entry in Dick Francis’s stable of novels.

Superb writing and wonderful reading

I have read this book three times and the third time is just as good as the first. I enjoy reading all of Dick Francis books. He was such a good writer.

Another winning novel by Francis. Jockey Kelly Hughes and a horse trainer are sent before the Jockey Club for an enquiry into their most recent race where the favorite horse that Hughes was riding finished second to another horse from the same trainer. The stewards feel that a fix was in and have evidence that Hughes was bribed by the trainer to pull up on his horse at the finish. Both Hughes and the trainer are suspended indefinitely. Hughes knows that he did no such thing and that he was framed so he sets out to find the culprit. His investigation begins by trying to locate the person bribing other jockeys and trainers to testify against him at the enquiry. He attends the annual Jockey Ball and lets it be known to all in attendance that he was framed and that he intends to take down the guilty party. On his way home that night, Hughes passes out from carbon monoxide poisoning after someone tampered with his car and he ends up crashing his car. Now immobilized with a leg in a cast his job as detective is harder so he asks others to do it for him. He asks one of the stewards at the enquiry to push his colleagues to find out who told them about the evidence against Hughes. He agrees and finds out that one of the stewards was being blackmailed to suspend the trainer and Hughes was unfortunately collateral damage. The suspensions are overturned and Hughes sets a trap for the ones behind the scheme who turn out to be another horse trainer and his wife who were worried that the owner of the most successful horses in their barn were going to move their horses to the trainer who was suspended. So they moved quickly to prove that he was a cheater to prevent that from happening. Another free audible listen.