annieb123
Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
Dead Lucky is the 5th Harry Radcliffe mystery by Glenis Wilson. Released 3rd May 2022 by Severn House, it's 224 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is a well written and engaging mystery set in and around the horse jump-racing milieu. Despite being set in the modern day, there's a pleasantly retro feel to the whole and although it's *not* derivative, it took me to the same place as some of the old Dick Francis novels. The author has clearly done a lot of background research and it's full of fascinating background tidbits.
Spelling and vernacular are British English but will pose no problems in context for readers from other areas. The author does a superb job of characterization and description and many of the scenes were quite cinematic; it was easy to "see" them whilst reading. The pacing is less even, with a bit of halting in several places. The mystery is self-contained in this volume, so readers who choose to jump in mid-series will likely not encounter major problems keeping track of things. There are, however, many references to things which have occurred in the earlier books, so folks reading them out of order should expect minor spoilers.
Three and a half stars. Aside from the obvious appeal for fans of the Francis dynasty, this series will also likely be of interest to fans of Nevada Barr and Lyndon Stacey (although the former is American).
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.