The Devil to Pay

Slated to ride his dream horse, Ibn Saud, in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, jockey and horse trainer's son Nick Storr is shocked when his father fires him and the jockey who takes his place throws the race

After stumbling out of the starting gate, Daniel's racing thriller soon finds its stride with heart-stopping steeple-chase scenes and a plot that twists through nasty family secrets. Nick Storr, spoiled scion and rising-star jockey of classy Waylands stables, is abruptly and publicly sacked by his father, Perry, and Perry's second wife, Deirdre. Stable owner Maria Thornton, an earlier victim of Perry's rage, lures Nick from a drunken stupor onto her horses and into her revenge plans, spurring him to dig into his father's mucky past. Nick's mother helps, too, revealing some unlovely truths about Perry's acquisition of Waylands, which was bequeathed to him upon the death of a young widow many years earlier. Attacks by thugs mark Nick's progress until he is momentarily deflected by a job from his father's friend, mobster Chris Wildman. An arsonist--hired by Perry--torches Nick's mother's modest stable yard, setting Nick back on course and in real peril until he puts his main threat out of the running. Writing like Dick Francis without kid gloves, Daniel ( Unbridled ) layers multiple surprises into the extended conclusion of this rewarding tale of a rough-edged racing crowd.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Several missing persons complicate a Dick Francis-like plot in which a wealthy British trainer arbitrarily yanks his jockey son from an important race. Young Nick Storr, mostly at odds with his father and stepmother anyway, wallows in self-pity for a moment or two, then looks for reasons why. His research uncovers the seedy side of gambling and horse-racing, hidden aspects of his father's past, lost heirs, and old murder. Nicely detailed background, characters, and dialog highlight a fine addition to most collections.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.