- Hardcover: 279 pages
- Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur (October 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0312329814
- ISBN-13: 978-0312329815
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 13.5 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 431 g
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Product Details |
Product 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.
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
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Squeezes every drop of tension out of its plot, Jan 25 2006
By Henry W. Wagner - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Dead Weight (Hardcover)
Dead Weight examines the exotic world of horse racing from two basic perspectives, those of the rider and the fan.The rider is Phil Nicholas, returning to racing mere months after a fall almost ended his career. To the casual observer, Phil exudes confidence. Despite his brave façade, however, Phil can't get the accident out of his head. Although few can sense the doubts inhibiting his performance, Phil realizes that he must purge himself of fear to continue racing.
The fan is Keith Jeffries. Abused as a child, Keith has grown into a dangerous young man who struggles with his darker side. Unfortunately for all concerned, that dark side, which Keith calls, "The Beast", has now emerged, intent on wreaking havoc to those in the racing world it perceives as having done him wrong. As his anger increases, so does the intensity of his attacks.
The buildup to a fateful meeting between the two forms the backbone of this fine book, as Francome provides his audience with telling insights into both his characters and the life of the stables and the track. Assembling a wide and varied cast from the world of horse racing, Francome provides telling glimpses into their personalities and pysches; readers will enjoy watching the cast being pushed to the limits of their mental and physical endurance as they struggle to cope with a world suddenly thrown out of kilter. Expertly paced to squeeze every drop of tension from its plot, Dead Weight's action and pathos make it a clear favorite.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
fine INSIDE TRACK thriller, Sep 28 2005
By Harriet Klausner - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Dead Weight (Hardcover)
Three years ago, the brother of champion steeplechase jockey Phil Nicholas died in a show-jumping accident. That shook Phil, but he continued to perform as a top competitor until a few months ago when his steed May Queen leaped early; the horse walked way, but Phil suffered severe injuries to nerves in his back and three fractures on his left arm. Worse he still relives the nightmarish spill and as he is about to ride May Queen again now that he is physically healed, he wonders if he lost his nerve as mentally he still hurts. His fear costs him the victory as he hesitates just enough and worries if he does not find his courage will he lose his beloved wife Julie who treasures the sport as much as he once did.Phil begins seeing a psychiatrist who "Jules" thinks is his lover until he explains his post traumatic stress syndrome problem. Suddenly Phil's racing troubles seem shallow when someone terrorizes the participants claiming wide spread cheating by jockeys and trainers. This villain starts off with assaulting people, but soon turns to kidnapping and murder. When Julia becomes a victim, a frightened outraged Phil knows he must find his courage to save the woman he loves.
Phil and his Jules make the tale as he struggles with his seemingly lost courage by seeing a psychiatrist while on the other hand the culprit comes out of the villain handbook as a stereotyped psycho. Still the steeplechase descriptions are clears wins that Dick Francis would appreciate and Phil's efforts to save Jules is fun to follow as John Francome provides anther INSIDE TRACK thriller.
Harriet Klausner
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