Date first published	22/09/2016
ISBN Number	978 1471 15547 5
Page Count	448 h/b
h/b= hardback : p/b= paperback

Storyline

Jeff Hinkley, a British Horseracing Authority investigator, has been seconded to the US Federal Anti-Corruption in sports agency (FACSA) where he has been asked to find a mole in their organisation, an informant who is passing on confidential information to fix races.

Jeff goes in search of answers, taking on an undercover role as a groom on the backstretch at Belmont Park racetrack in New York. But he discovers far more than he was bargaining for, finding himself as the meat in the sandwich between FACSA and corrupt individuals who will stop at nohing, including murder, to capture the most elusive and lucrative prize in the world - the Triple Crown.

Review

Due to unforseen circumstances I have not been able to do reviews for over two years. I had avague recollection that I didn't like this story and that it wasn't much good.

Having re-read the book, I'm quite relieved that the general view is wrong, it is not his best book but the basic story is good, and the premise sound.

Having said that, it is not my favourite story, and I think it is down to the setting. The Triple Crown, seems alien in concept, and doesn't really fit in with my concept of horse racing. I also think that a further problem is taking a character out of their normal environment doesn't usually work. In this case we have a civilian investigator moving into American law enforcment with guns etc.

The real weakness to the story is the ending as Jeff is arrested and locked up in jail in his fake persona, and a very strange bit of legal manipulation is needed to resolve the matter. It all felt very contrived, and I have to say a bit hurried, almost as if the publishing deadline was up and an ending was needed.

If we put aside the nit picking the story up until the final chapters, is the usual standard fare, a single strand plot with several potential baddies, and the usual mix of chases, one of which is very reminiscent of the hunt by the veloceraptors in the first Jurassic Park film, and these hunters are as every bit as dangerous and uncaring. The ending to this hunt is brutal and cold hearted. I won't say more as it will spoil who the bad guys really are.

In summary an OK book, that didn't quite do it for me, but is not a sub standard story, and worth a read.

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