Sid Halley is back and he has a new left hand having had a transplant since his last appearance in Refusal. When his friend turns up dead, apparently by suicide, then he can't resist the urge to investigate, assisted once again by Chicco. However, the very next morning, Gary's stable yard is torched, horses killed, and Gary has disappeared. However, the very next morning, Gary’s stable yard is torched, horses killed, and Gary has disappeared.

Sid starts to investigate and soon finds himself embroiled in a conspiracy that cuts to the very heart of the integrity of British horse racing. Sid is approached in a parking lot after a race by two thugs but is rescued by several partying soldiers out for the night. Started reading the British racehorse mysteries by father Dick Francis as a young adult in the 1980’s. Nearing fifty and having much more to lose made Sid a more careful investigator but still a very persistent and intelligent one.He was amongst the first ‘adult’ reads that I explored at the time, and over the years I have read everything he’s written. Ever since the death of his father, Felix's attempts to follow in his footsteps have been, in my opinion, uneven. For over forty years, the London University grad helped father Dick Francis (31 Oct 1920 – 14 Feb 2010), ex-jockey known for horse-racing mysteries. Biography: Felix Francis studied Physics and Electronics at London University and then spent seventeen years teaching Advanced-Level Physics. The story line should have packed some intrigue but a lot of pages were devoted to Sid's marital woes and I don’t know, it was just boring.

With this occupying his thoughts he isn't in a hurry to become involved with any investigation but the person making the plea is an old racing friend and Sid says yes. Sid can't help himself- he's supposed to be out of the investigations game, his wife Marina has left him, taking their child with her, and he's alone with the dog when Gary asks for help. 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.

I’m afraid those old shoes were pretty hard to fill, thus my disappointment about the slightly rehashed crime that begs for Sid’s attention and makes him a target of those he tries to thwart. Consortia of agents have muscled into the selection of jockeys for races, and they demand fees from the jockeys and the trainers at stables.

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. Now he's back - decked out with a new but real hand courtesy of a donor that, with the help of anti-rejection drugs, is working better every day. But when Marina expresses discontent in their marriage and takes Saskia to visit her parents because her father is dying, Sid wonders if she'll ever come back. Sid Halley, a private investigator, has a new left hand, having had a transplant since his last appearance in Refusal.The master of suspense and intrigue” (Country Life) is back with the next powerful installation in the Dick Francis series, featuring Sid Halley, perfect for fans of Harlan Coben and Michael Connelly. Reading her collection of books has stirred up a lot of memories, mostly of our shared love of reading.