Francis Thriller
46 total works
At twenty to midnight Neil Griffon's home is broken into and he is roughly abducted by masked men. He has no idea who they are, or what they want. But when Neil wakes up, hours later, he quickly discovers that unless he cooperates his kidnappers will destroy his father's precious horses, racing stable and ultimately Neil himself.
Returned to take charge of the stables, Neil can tell no-one about his ordeal. Vicious threats and horrible violence against his horses become a day-to-day reality and he is forced to comply with his blackmailer's wishes. Trapped in a war of attrition, Neil realises he must find a way to stop these criminals before his nerve gives out. After all, a choice between his integrity and his life is no choice at all . . .
Movie director Thomas Lyon came to Newmarket to rake the ashes of an old Jockey Club scandal for a new Hollywood film. Too late, he found himself listening to a blacksmith's dying confession. Found himself watching as the past came violently back to life.
Capturing the shockwaves over one woman's macabre death nearly thirty years before is drama. But a frenzied knife attack on the set of Unstable Times is definitely attempted murder. Who stood to gain from the threats? Between truth and shadowy fiction, Thomas Lyon already knew too much.
Following the real story could mean the difference between life and death. His own . . .
'Still the best bet for a winning read' Mail on Sunday
'A marvellous storyteller and an immaculate craftsman' Daily Mail
As an amateur jockey, Roland Britten was lucky; as an accountant he was zealous. He knew he was on the hate list of several fraudsters, but never thought pen-pushers got kidnapped - not from a racecourse. Not after winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The identity of the kidnappers unknown, the reason behind Britten's abduction is a mystery. Then, with the help of old school headmistress Hilary Pinlock, he escapes and begins to use his accountant's logic to track his abductors down.
But they have other ideas . . .
'Dick Francis holds his form like a top-class chaser' The Times Literary Supplement
Derek Franklin is an injured jockey. The last fence at Cheltenham has left him on crutches. But his brother's death means even bigger trouble. He inherits a jewellery business, a mistress - and some very shadowy business associates.
Franklin likes to play things straight. But with GBP1.5 million in diamonds gone missing, he finds honesty can be a deadly virtue. His only hope of survival is to identify his brother's mysterious enemies . . .
Money hungry men who scorn the good and despise the straight . . .
'For sheer style and pace Francis has few equals' Sunday Express
There are two worlds in racing. Winning and losing. Private detective Sid Halley has gone from one to the other - fast. First his career as a jockey ended when he lost his hand in a fall. Then his wife said a cold good-bye. Now he's on the trail of thugs who crush losers. With vicious pleasure.
These are people who aim to win - at any price. There's a syndicate of owners with a sideline in violent kidnapping. And Trevor Deansgate, a bookmaker whose hatred of favourites goes one deathly step too far...
For the sake of his health, Halley had better return to winning ways. Because to lose is to die...
