This mystery/thriller opens with a bang, as a jockey shoots “himself, loudly and messily, in the center of the parade ring at Dunstable races.” Our protagonist, Rob Finn, is a fellow jockey who witnesses this horrific event. Rob is just starting his career and hasn’t had many good mounts, but he begins to win and captures the attention of trainers, owners and a local journalist with a popular television show on racing. But just as he is getting to the top of the field, things begin to go sour. His reputation in tatters, he is on the brink of despair when he thinks on his fellow jockeys and the troubles they’ve endured in the past year or two. Is someone sabotaging jockeys? Who? And Why?

Francis crafts a compelling psychological mystery. Finn is tenacious and determined. He’s also smart in the way he goes about ferreting out information to build the case against an unlikely perpetrator. I do not know much about steeplechase racing, but Francis gives enough detail to educate me without boring me. Some of the race scenes were quite thrilling; I almost felt as if I were jumping those fences right along with Finn and Template (the horse he was riding).

I came late to the Dick Francis fan club, but I’m glad I finally arrived. ( )

A little slow to start and then the revenge was really really far-fetched. Not as good or compelling as many of his books that I've read previously. ( )

One of my top three. It's got a little romance in it and great revenge. ( )

Dick Francis is a great story teller. Mystery solved by peeling away at the layers. Steeplechase jockeys are being removed from rides for various reasons. His horses that should do well, do not. The rumor starts that he has lost his nerve due to a previous injury so owners and trainers do not hire him. Not the best novel that I have read from this author but it was interesting enough to complete the book. ( )

I was surprised by the lack of suspense in this one; I spent the whole book expecting James to be the real culprit, when it was Rob Finn's suspect all along. It's only DF's second novel, so maybe that explains the lack of twist, but it had most of the usual enjoyable characteristics. ( )