Date first published	13 September 2013
ISBN Number	978 0 718 15934 4
Page Count	399 h/b
h/b= hardback : p/b= paperback

Storyline

When Mark Shillingford commentates on a race in which his twin sister Clare, an accomplished and successful jockey, comes in third, he can't help but be suspicious. As a professional race-caller, he knows she should have won. Did she lose on purpose? Was the race fixed? Why on earth would she do something so out of character?

That night, Mark confronts Clare with his suspicions, but she storms off after an explosive argument. It's the last time Mark sees her alive. Hours later, Clare seemingly jumps to her death from the balcony of a London hotel.

Devastated by her death, and almost overcome with guilt, Mark goes in search of answers. What led Clare to take her own life?

Or was it not suicide at all...?

Review

I have to admit to being disappointed at not getting the book for Christmas - hence the late review. Nothing I like better than to sit down with a drink, by the Christmas Tree and read a Dick Francis novel.

Of course this is by Felix, and I still get the same feeling of well being. I was interested to see how this compared with the first novel, and whether it would stand on it's own, or whether with his fathers influence rapidly fading into the past whether he could write a good second novel.

The answer has to be yes. All the elements of a Francis novel are there, hero dragged into murky waters, with by design or accident, and then the battle against an unseen foe, who is eventually unmasked.

I have to admit I thought that Dick Francis had covered most jobs on the race course, but Felix has found another unsung hero of the racing world that keep the sport running and the punters happy.

I think that a new element that has appeared in this novel is emotion, first of all you have Mark and Clare having the most awful argument, and then her death without reconciliation, then Mark finds a new girl, one that he falls head over heels in love with, only to see her struck down by the person trying to stop his investigation into his sisters death. I'm not sure that Dick, ever went that close.

The story gives some nice detail of the life of a race commentator and you get an idea of how things are done to get the results on TV into the bookmakers.

The characters are bold, and interesting, and the lead - Mark is well rounded, and is not perfect, after all he is having an affair with trainers wife - which is brought suddenly to a halt, when a blackmailer takes revenge.

The book is full of blackmail, and opportunism, and makes for a great read, leaving you wondering where the next punch is coming from.

The book ends with the perpetrator getting his just deserts - and most fittingly in the same way that he dealt with Clare, and is nice and satisfying, although it is a bit of a shock when the man behind the murders is finally revealed..

In conclusion another good story. If Felix carries on like this I can see his cupboard claiming as many awards as his father did. I'm already looking forward to the next one.

One thing I would like to see is the dropping of the 'A Dick Francis novel', either they are the work of Felix or they're not, and I think that with two good books, and a following he can stand on his own feet as an author.

Previous	Index	Next