Description
From Publishers Weekly Don't be deterred by flashbacks and abrupt scene shifts in British jockey-cum-journalist Francome's tale of the perilous world of steeplechase racing (after 2004's Inside Track ), because the rapid pace creates a powerful, multifaceted thriller. "Jump jockey" Phil Nicholas, mostly recovered from a serious injury, believes he's "back on the victory trail," until his brother's death and marital problems lead him to seek solace from seductive therapist Simone Brown. Phil's suspicious wife, Julia, finds comfort in her devotion to racing steeds, whom she talks to while grooming them. Looming in the background is punter Keith Jeffries, driven since childhood by "the Beast" of implacable anger, and determined to stop the "cheating and lying to the betting public" after suffering substantial losses at the track. Keith's ever more sadistic rampages, beginning with a crossbow attack on a losing jockey, up the ante. Once again, Francome provides an exciting insider's view of this fascinating sport. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist This is the twelfth racing thriller from former British hurdle and steeplechase rider Francome, and it may be his best. In it, Francome has mastered the technique of weaving several stories together in an ever-tightening web, gradually building suspense for an inevitable but nonetheless harrowing showdown between the character we care about the most and the one we fear. The former is last season's champion jockey, Phil Nicholas, who is struggling to regain his form while trying to cope with the psychological effects from his first really serious spill. The latter is Keith Jeffries, a hulking psychopath who comes to believe that devious insiders are responsible for his lost bets and sets about to punish the cheats in progressively more gruesome ways. It's only a matter of time before Nicholas draws the monster's ire, and if the jockey is to survive, he will have to find reserves of resourcefulness and courage far beyond what is required on any racecourse. Francome will have readers turning the pages at breakneck speed. Dennis Dodge Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Features & Highlights
- Left with a bad case of the jitters following a terrifying fall during a race, jump jockey Phil Nicholas finds it difficult to deal with the flashbacks and nightmares he experiences after returning to the sport, but when a colleague is viciously attacked, he must somehow overcome his fears to save the sport and the woman he loves. By the author of Inside Track.
