Under Orders - Hardcover

Francis, Dick

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0718149971 ISBN 13: 9780718149970

Publisher: G.P. Putnams Sons, 2006

Synopsis

Sadly, death at the races is not uncommon. However, three in a single afternoon was sufficiently unusual to raise more than an eyebrow.a Ita s the third death on Cheltenham Gold Cup Day that really troubles super-sleuth Sid Halley. Former champion jockey Halley knows the perils of racing all too well a " but in his day, jockeys didna t usually reach the finishing line with three .38 rounds in the chest. But this is precisely how he finds jockey Huw Walker a " who, only a few hours earlier, had won the coveted Triumph Hurdle. Just moments before the gruesome discovery, Halley had been called upon by Lord Enstone to make discreet enquiries into why his horses appeared to be on a permanent losing streak. Are races being fixed? Are bookies taking a cut? And if so, are trainers and jockeys playing a dangerous game with stakes far higher than they realise? Halleya s quest for answers draws him ever deeper into the darker side of the race game, in a life-or-death power play that will push him to his very limits a " both professionally and personally.

About this title

About the Author:

Dick Francis is the author of more than forty books, including the volume of short stories Field of 13, most recently, the New York Times bestseller Shattered, and his autobiography, The Sport of Queens. A three-time Edgar Award winner, he has also received the prestigious Crime Writers' Association's Cartier Diamond Dagger for his outstanding contribution to the genre. He was named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America in 1996, and was awarded the CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 2000. He divides his time between England and an island in the Caribbean.

From AudioFile:

Dick Francis reacquaints listeners with champion-jockey-turned-sleuth Sid Halley, featured in earlier mysteries of the British racing circuit. The Cheltenham Gold Cup Race has more excitement than usual when a jockey is murdered. As Sid begins his sleuthing, one notices a change in tempo from the usual style of this author. Much of the change is due to the bravura reading of Martin Jarvis, who carves out the characters and gives each of them a special voice and an expansively operatic mood to surround the moment. His performance and timing are specifically aimed at the listener's entertainment as he reads the words of an older, gentler Dick Francis, whose Sid Halley is still just 38. J.P. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: G.P. Putnams Sons
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0718149971
• ISBN 13: 9780718149970
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1