Ever since the death of his father, Felix's attempts to follow in his footsteps have been, in my opinion, uneven. Life should be looking good but things start to sour when his wife decides to go home to be with her mother when she finds out that her father is dying. I decided to make reading her entire collection a part of my reading challenge for the next couple of years (she has a HUGE collection), as well as a way to pay tribute to my mum, who was such a voracious reader. Consortia of agents have muscled into the selection of jockeys for races, and they demand fees from the jockeys and the trainers at stables.

This book features Sid Halley, an ex jockey, who lost his hand by having it trampled on by another horse, when his own horse fell during a race. I would have enjoyed this last of the Sid Halley series more if the actual crime involved hadn’t been so similar to that of the previous book—Refusal—which I had just barely finished. But when they start telling the jockey and trainers which horses to lay off in specific races, that is illegal. Sid Halley, a private investigator, has a new left hand, having had a transplant since his last appearance in Refusal. Can Sid get to the bottom of what's going on before he too becomes a victim, while, at the same time, saving his marriage?When his friend’s stable yard is torched, horses killed, and the friend is found dead, Sid can only blame himself for not helping sooner. The pace is fast which for me I know is always a winner, the characters are well drawn, they are believable, three dimensional, I like the camaraderie between Sid’s ex Father in law Charles and Sis, and also his relationship with his friend Chico who is there for him when he needs help.

I understand I can change my preference through my account settings or unsubscribe directly from any marketing communications at any time. He managed to get one name but it was someone he hadn’t heard of, anyone who was involved was reluctant to talk through fear of what would happen. Don't worry if you, like me have forgotten the details of Sid Halley's life and, notably, how he lost his hand because yes, it has been a while and more importantly, Francis does a good job of catching you up, making this both a good addition to the series and a fine standalone.I've not read another novel, where the intrepid investigator has had a hand transplant so I'll note I learned a few things about that along the path to a solution to what happened to Sid's friend Gary. The jockey is drawn in by knowing that this particular horse is an outsider anyway, so he takes the cash. Spelling and vernacular are UK English, but shouldn't pose any problems in context for readers from North America.