Inside Track [Hardcover]

British author Francome, a former champion jockey, makes his U.S. debut with this intricately plotted mystery thriller. In the brutal prologue, thug Malcolm Priest murders a drug dealer who's crossed him and the drug dealer's girlfriend who has the misfortune to be on the scene. Meanwhile, Malcolm's brother-in-law, Jamie Hutchinson, is released from prison after serving time for killing 15-year-old Alan Kirkstall while driving drunk. Despite his guilty plea, Jamie has little recollection of the fatal night—which proves an obstacle to his getting past the incident and reclaiming something of his former life. When Clem Kirkstall, Alan's traumatized father, learns of Jamie's freedom, Clem vows revenge. Jamie's tentative steps toward returning to the saddle as a steeplechase jockey bring him into contact with the dead boy's sister; the surprising mutual attraction that develops is but one of a number of romantic subplots, one involving the female inspector assigned to oversee the drug-murder inquiry. The resolution may strike some readers as a little pat, especially given the gritty realism of the rest of the book, but Dick Francis fans should be delighted with the authentic picture of the horse-racing world.
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English jockey Jamie Hutchison is fresh out of prison, having served a sentence most thought was too light for killing a boy in a car wreck that he can't even remember. Too heavy to resume riding on the flat, he is struggling to transfer his skills to jump racing, all the while being consumed by guilt and remorse, shunned by former friends and associates, and pursued by a grieving father bent on revenge. To make matters worse, people who may have had some knowledge of the accident that turned Jamie's life to ashes begin to die off in a most suspicious fashion. Francome is adept at ratcheting up the suspense as the truth of what happened on the drunken night of the car wreck comes gradually into focus, a process that threatens Jamie in ways he can't begin to imagine. Francome's racing thrillers are often compared to those of his better-known countryman and fellow ex-rider Dick Francis, but they are altogether grittier and more psychologically astute--and just as much fun to read. His latest offering is another case in point. Dennis Dodge
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'Comparisons to Dick Francis are inevitable but justified...It's certainly an effective formula, especially when it includes a cast of characters that could be identified by any regular racegoer, and there are some genuinely exhilarating descriptions of races that capture the tension and excitement, and could be written only with a jockey's insight' Daily Mail -- Daily Mail 20031103 --This text refers to the Paperback edition.