Crossfire (A Dick Francis Novel) - Softcover

Francis, Dick; Francis, Felix

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0425242625 ISBN 13: 9780425242629

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2011

Synopsis

Shell-shocked after losing a foot during his tour in Afghanistan, Captain Tom Forsyth returns to his estranged mother's house. His mother has always put horses first and family last. But now she's being blackmailed for a hefty sum every week and being forced to make her horses lose. Using the skills he honed in the military, Tom sets out to find and defeat a hidden enemy before his mother's reputation is ruined, and he ends up back in the crossfire.

About this title

About the Author:

Dick Francis was born in South Wales in 1920. He was a young rider of distinction winning awards and trophies at horse shows throughout the United Kingdom. At the outbreak of World War II he joined the Royal Air Force as a pilot, flying fighter and bomber aircraft including the Spitfire and Lancaster.

He became one of the most successful postwar steeplechase jockeys, winning more than 350 races and riding for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. After his retirement from the saddle in 1957, he published an autobiography, The Sport of Queens, before going on to write more than forty acclaimed books.

A three-time Edgar Award winner, he also received the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association’s Cartier Diamond Dagger, was named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, and was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2000. He died in February 2010, at age eighty-nine, and remains among the greatest thriller writers of all time.

Felix Francis, a graduate of London University, spent seventeen years teaching A-level physics before taking on an active role in his father’s career. He has assisted with the research of many of the Dick Francis novels, including Shattered, Under Orders, and Twice Shy, which drew on Felix’s experiences as a physics teacher and as an international marksman. He is coauthor with his father of the New York Times bestsellers Dead Heat, Silks, and Even Money. He lives in England.

From AudioFile:

Martin Jarvis and Dick Francis have been a winning combination for some time, and this latest and last (Francis died recently) is no exception. Back from Afghanistan minus a foot, Tom Forsyth discovers that his mother, a prominent racehorse trainer, is being blackmailed. His investigation and a budding romance give him a new purpose in life. Jarvis's vocal characterizations are beyond wonderful, especially the mother, a haughty harridan who mellows, and the stiff-upper-lip industrialist who aids Tom. There's also a stableful of other friends and foes. The characters' various British accents enliven a gripping story. One can hear Tom's developing maturity and self-confidence as he calls on his military training to outwit the blackmailers. Let's hope Francis's son, Felix, will carry on the family tradition. J.B.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0425242625
• ISBN 13: 9780425242629
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448