Felix Francis Books In Order

Gamble

As one of the youngest ever winners of the Grand National, Nick ‘Foxy’ Foxton’s career as a world class jockey is on perfect track until a near fatal accident cuts his dream brutally short. But when he returns to Aintree as a spectator years later, nothing can prepare him for what unfolds. Minutes before the biggest event on the racing calendar, Nick’s affable American colleague Herb Kovak is shot at point blank range, the gunman disappearing amongst the stunned crowd. Along with the police, Nick is left baffled as to why anyone would want to kill such an apparently gentle soul. With the press speculating links to gangland crime and a crumpled note containing a threatening message found in the dead man’s coat, Nick begins to doubt how well he really knew Herb. And on discovering Herb had named him as the benefactor of his will, Nick questions why he has been entrusted with the legacy. Is this a generous gift from a friend or is it, in fact, a poisoned chalice?

Dead Heat (With: Dick Francis)

After a six year absence from the bestseller lists, Dick Francis roared out of the gate with 2006’s Under Orders, demonstrating once again every ounce of his famed narrative drive, brilliant plotting, and simmering suspense. Hard on the heels of that triumph comes Dead Heat, set against the backdrop of Britain’s famed Two Thousand Guineas Stakes.

Max Moreton is a rising culinary star and his Newmarket restaurant, The Hay Net, has brought him great acclaim and a widening circle of admirers. But when nearly all the guests who enjoyed one of his meals at a private catered affair fall victim to severe food poisoning, his kitchen is shuttered and his reputation takes a hit. Scrambling to meet his next obligation, an exclusive luncheon for forty in the glass fronted private boxes at the Two Thousand Guineas, Max must overcome the previous evening’s disaster and provide the new American sponsors of the year’s first classic race with a day to remember.

Then a bomb blast rips through the private boxes, killing some of Max’s trusted staff as well as many of the guests. As survivors are rushed to the hospital, Max is left to survey the ruins of the grandstand and of his career. Two close calls are too close for comfort, and Max vows to protect his name and himself before it’s too late.

Silks (With: Dick Francis)

Julian Trent, you have been found guilty by this court of perpetrating a violent and unprovoked attack on an innocent family including a charge of attempted murder. You have shown little or no remorse for your actions and I consider you a danger to society.

When defense lawyer Geoffrey Mason hears the judge’s ruling at London s Old Bailey, he quietly hopes that a substantial sentence will be handed down to his arrogant young client. That Julian Trent only receives eight years seems all too lenient. Little does Mason realize that he ll be looking Trent in the eyes again much sooner than that.

Setting aside his barrister s gown and wig, Mason heads to Sandown racetrack to don his colorful racing silks. As an amateur jockey, he fulfills his true passion by pounding the turf in the heat of a steeplechase. Yet when a fellow rider is brutally murdered a pitchfork driven through his chest Mason s racing hobby soon becomes too close to his work. The prime suspect is one of their brethren, champion jockey Steve Mitchell, and the evidence against him seems overwhelming.

Mason is reluctant to heed Mitchell s plea for legal help but he soon finds himself at the center of a sinister web of violence, threats and intimidation. Mason is left fighting a battle of right and wrong, and more immediately, a battle of life and death his own.

Even Money (With: Dick Francis)

On the first day of Royal Ascot, the crowd rejoices in a string of winning favourites. Ned Talbot has worked all his life as a bookmaker taking over the family business from his grandfather so he knows not to expect any sympathy from the punters as they count their winnings, and he counts his losses. He’s seen the ups and downs before but, as the big gambling conglomerates muscle in on small concerns like his, Ned wonders if it’s worth it any more. When a grey haired man steps forward from the crowd claiming to be his father, Ned’s life is thrown into far deeper turmoil. He’d been told since he was a baby that his parents had died in a car crash. Barely an hour later his newly found father is stabbed by an unknown assailant in the Ascot car park. Blood oozing from his abdomen, he warns Ned: ‘Be very careful’. But of whom? Of what? Ned finds himself in a race to solve his father’s riddles, a race where coming second could cost him more than even money, it could cost him his life.

Crossfire (With: Dick Francis)

An exhilarating new novel from the New York Times bestselling authors. Shell shocked and missing a foot lost to an IED during his tour of duty in Afghanistan Captain Tom Forsyth has been sent ‘home’ by the army and, at loose ends, returns to his estranged mother’s house for the first time since he joined up at seventeen. But Josephine Kauri, the ‘first lady of British racing,’ has always put the horses she trains first and her family last. Tom soon finds himself strained to the breaking point with his mother and stepfather. But there’s another reason for the stifling tension at Kauri House Stables: Josephine is being blackmailed for a hefty sum every week and forced to make her horses lose. Retirement is not an option, as she has been warned that it will result in the thing she most fears: exposure and ridicule…
and prison, when the government finds out what she’s been hiding. Tom sets out to discover and defeat this hidden enemy using his finely honed military skills. But can he save his mother’s reputation and career, or will he find himself caught in the cross fire?