Even Money

June 29, 2009
The third collaboration between bestseller Francis and son Felix (after Silks
), a taut crime thriller, features an especially sympathetic hero. Bookmaker Ed Talbot is struggling with his wife's mental illness, even as technology threatens to give the big bookmaking outfits an insurmountable advantage over his small family business. Soon after a man shows up at Ascot and identifies himself as Ed's father, Peter, whom Ed believed long dead, a thug demanding money stabs Peter to death. Ed is in for even more shocks when he learns his father was the prime suspect in his mother's murder—and that Peter's killing, rather than a random act of violence, may be linked to a mysterious electronic device used in some horse-racing fraud. Ed must juggle his amateur investigations into past and present crimes with his demanding family responsibilities. Though some readers may find the ending overly pat, the authors make bookmaking intelligible while easily integrating it into the plot.

Martin Jarvis does his usual sterling work with the latest Dick and Felix Francis racing mystery. Bookies may be universally despised in the racing world, but Ned Talbot is a good guy. His life centers on running a small book-making business and helping his wife recover from mental illness. His life is turned upside down when a man approaches him at Royal Ascot to tell him he is his father, but the stranger is stabbed to death before Ned can ask any questions. Jarvis is exceptional at creating multiple distinctive characters--the "delinquent" techie Dougie is a particular joy. Jarvis renders humor and love authentically. Australians aren't quite his strength, but, really, who cares, when he's so good at emotion, tension, timing, and character? A.B. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine