Book description
At twenty to midnight Neil Griffon's home is broken into and he is
roughly abducted by masked men. He has no idea who they are, or what
they want. But when Neil wakes up, hours later, he quickly discovers
that unless he cooperates his kidnappers will destroy his father's
precious horses, racing stable and ultimately Neil himself. Returned to
take charge of the stables, Neil can tell no-one about his ordeal.
Vicious threats and horrible violence against his horses become a
day-to-day reality and he is forced to comply with his blackmailer's
wishes. Trapped in a war of attrition, Neil realises he must find a way
to stop these criminals before his nerve gives out. After all, a choice
between his integrity and his life is no choice at all . . .
Dick Francis was one of the most successful post-war National Hunt
jockeys. The winner of over 350 races, he was champion jockey in
1953/1954 and rode for HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, most
famously on Devon Loch in the 1956 Grand National. On his retirement
from the saddle, he published his autobiography, The Sport of Queens,
before going on to write forty-three bestselling novels, a volume of
short stories (Field of 13), and the biography of Lester Piggott.
During his lifetime Dick Francis received many awards, amongst them
the prestigious Crime Writers' Association's Cartier Diamond Dagger
for his outstanding contribution to the genre, and three 'best-novel'
Edgar Allen Poe awards from The Mystery Writers of America. In 1996 he
was named by them as Grand Master for a lifetime's achievement. In
1998, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and
was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2000.
Dick Francis died in February, 2010, at the age of 89, but he
remains one of the greatest thriller writers of all time.
