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Summary
Summary
The New York Times bestseller. Transporting racehorses is big business for ex-jockey Freddie Croft. But when one of his drivers breaks a cardinal rule--never pick up a hitchhiker--the results are fatal. Now strange nighttime stalkers and unseen conspirators are weaving a web of deceit and danger that Freddie might never escape. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.
Author Notes
Dick Francis was born in Wales on October 31, 1920. Because his father was a professional steeplechase jockey and a stable manager, Francis grew up around horses, and after a stint as a pilot in the Royal Air Force during World War II, he became a steeplechase jockey himself, turning professional in 1948. He was named champion jockey of the 1953-54 racing season by the British National Hunt after winning more than 350 races and was retained as jockey to the queen mother for four seasons.
When he retired from racing in 1957 at the age of 36, Francis went to work as a racing correspondent for the Sunday Express, a London paper, where he worked for 16 years. In the early sixties, he decided to combine his love of mysteries with his knowledge of the racing world, and published Dead Cert in 1962. Set mostly in the racing world, he has written more than 40 novels including Forfeit, Blood Sport, Slay-Ride, Odds Against, Flying Finish, Smoke Screen, High Stakes, and Long Shot. He wrote his last four books Dead Heat, Silks, Even Money, and Crossfire with his son Felix Francis.
He has received numerous awards including the Silver Dagger award from Britain's Crime Writers Association for For Kicks, the Gold Dagger award for Whip Hand, the Diamond Dagger award in 1990, and three Edgar awards. He died on February 14, 2010 at the age of 89.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
YA-- From the first paragraph, the action grabs readers and plunges ahead like one of the thoroughbreds that is such valuable secondary characters in every Francis novel. As usual, a particular aspect of the British racing industry is carefully profiled, in this case the job of transporting horses. Former jockey Freddie Croft is the owner of just such a business, and must confront the discovery that his vans have been used for some very unusual smuggling. Freddie discovers two separate plots to victimize race horses through disease; along the way a bit of romance begins to enrich his life, a trusted employee is murdered, computer files are wiped out, and a malicious villain destroys Freddie's home with an ax. Clues abound, with those needed to solve the mystery satisfyingly mixed in with enough red herrings to keep readers happily guessing. Additional plot enrichment is provided by weaving in the latest in computer technology and epidemiology. A dependable writer will satisfy his YA fans once again.-- Carolyn E. Gecan, Thomas Jefferson Sci-Tech, Fairfax County, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Francis's first-rate thriller about the British horse-racing scene--a 10-week PW bestseller--portrays a former steeplechase jockey who learns that his horse transportation firm is implicated in a drug smuggling operation. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Dick Francis races to new heights with another retired jump-jockey sleuth, thirtysomething Freddie Croft, owner-operator of a fleet of vans, called Driving Force, that tote thoroughbreds all over Britain to training stables, racing meets, and stud farms. When a hitchhiker dies in one of his vans (strictly against house rules to pick up riders), and when his cockney-speaking mechanic finds small containers concealed under several of the vans, our hero fears drug smuggling. With the help of some well-coordinated action and the usual Francis mix of characters--the whining driver about to be sacked, the supercilious country doctor, various despotic owners and trainers, the tough but refined woman investigator helping to crack the case--the pace accelerates through the clubhouse turn and into the home stretch. One of the best Francis novels in years, Driving Force combines an airtight plot, plenty of racing ambience, and some thoughtful reflections on animal rights, immunology, and the work ethic. Francis fans have a treat in store for them. (Reviewed Sept. 15, 1992)0399137769Robert Seid