Refusal

July 8, 2013
Francis successfully resurrects one of his late father’s most popular creations and only series character—disabled jockey–turned–PI Sid Halley (last seen in 2006’s Under Orders), who has given up detecting as a concession to his wife, Marina. Well-off from investments, Sid leads a happy if placid country life with Marina and their six-year-old daughter. Given his desire to avoid the rough stuff, Sid is reluctant to look into “some corrupt goings-on in racing” when asked to do so by Sir Richard Stewart, chairman of the British Horseracing Authority. Sir Richard is sparing with details, providing only a list of recent races, and Sid is careful not to commit. Sid changes his mind after Sir Richard dies while sitting in a running car in a closed garage, an apparent suicide. Of course, his involvement in the case places Sid and those dear to him at risk. Longtime fans will be hard put to tell this gripping thriller from the senior Francis’s work. Agent: Philippa Brophy, Sterling Lord Literistic.

August 15, 2013
Francis fils brings back his father's favorite hero for a jaundiced look into a rash of rigged steeplechases. Retired by a crippling injury from his first career as a jockey and retired by fears for his family and his peace of mind from his second as a private eye, Sid Halley just wants to be left alone with his biologist wife, Marina, and their daughter, Saskia, 6. But trouble keeps finding him. First, Sir Richard Stewart, chair of the British Horseracing Authority, urges him to look into a string of nine races he's convinced were fixed; then a mysterious caller with a Belfast accent demands that he sign a report saying that he's conducted an investigation and found nothing to Sir Richard's charges. Readers who know Sid (Under Orders, 2006, etc.) won't be surprised to hear that the prickly, one-handed investigator refuses both commissions. But he has to think twice about the first request when Sir Richard dies the day after his visit in a staged suicide that would fool no one but the police and about the second more peremptory command when Saskia is taken from school and Sid's two guard dogs are captured and released on the M6, 80 miles from home. Sid's tormentor, soon identified as murderous ex-commando Billy McCusker, is obviously implacable, and whether or not Sid puts his name to the whitewash and sends it to BHA security chief Peter Medicos, it's obvious that he'll have no peace of mind until he's dealt decisively with McCusker. Although the jockeys McCusker has intimidated into throwing their races offer little help, Sid burns to go mano a mano with his nemesis, and once he reunites with his ex-colleague Chico Barnes, readers know it's just a matter of time. Not as original as Dick Francis's Bloodline (2012) but still a fast-paced, highly professional evening's entertainment. With all due respect, hasn't Francis earned the right to have his famous father's name removed from the franchise?

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Starred review from August 1, 2013
In the steeplechase world, refusal means that a horse will not take a jump. Dick Francis' son Felix, collaborator with his father on several novels and now the heir to his father's line of mysteries, extends the equestrian definition to the massively banged-up (physically and emotionally) Sid Halley, who stars in a Francis novel for the first time since 2006. Halley, a champion steeplechase jockey who lost his left hand to the double whammy of a fall from a horse and an attack by a thug, long ago turned his insider's knowledge of the race world into private investigative work. But an intense fear campaign directed at his girlfriend made him retire from the track altogether at the end of Under Orders. When the chairman of the British Racing Authority asks Halley to investigate his strong suspicion that races are being fixed, Halley refuses. Even after the chairman is found dead, threats made to Halley's family, and his daughter placed in danger, Halley still refuses, holding onto the safety of his family, which he knows would be blown apart by his investigating the case. What finally tips Halley into changing his mind is entirely convincing, even though it ratchets up the danger for Halley and his family. This is fascinating reading on every level, from the neatly calibrated plot, moving from suspense to terror, to all the details of the racing world Francis provides. Halley is now, as before, an utterly complex, interest-holding character. And the final, moral turn that Francis makes of refusal is brilliant. A heroic return for Sid Halley.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)