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Jeff Hinkley is an investigator for the British Horseracing Authority. When the story begins he is dealing with some depression because his long-term girlfriend has moved out and taken up with a man who has a much less dangerous lifestyle. Jeff is also called be a friend who is also a jockey who has an interesting story to tell. He is being blackmailed to throw races. Jeff begins investigating and the next thing he knows someone attempts to kill him and succeeds in killing his jockey friend.

Meanwhile, he attends a luncheon at a racetrack upon the invitation of the man who owns the horse he saved from kidnapping in the previous book and also meets an interesting woman. Henri Shawcross is a British socialite who runs her own business. show more She is there with her uncle Sir Richard Reynard who is considering purchasing some race horses of his own. Before their relationship can really develop, Jeff is attacked again this time by two men with knives.

When Jeff gets out of the hospital, he continues to investigate the blackmailing scheme and furthers his romance with Henri. She invites him to spend Christmas with her and her family - her uncle and his wife, her cousin and his wife - in the Cayman Islands. This should get him away from further murder attempts but it does not.

This was an interesting story filled with lovely descriptions of the Cayman Islands, lots of information about diving, and great details about British horseracing. I enjoyed it very much and hope that Jeff Hinkley's adventures are not over. show less

A solid read by Felix Francis. I continue to enjoy his stand alone thrillers. This one started off with a bang in typical hero in peril fashion. The mystery was decently complex and the characters well developed. There was a fun nod to his father near the end of the book. I did wonder if Jeff recovered too quickly from his major surgery. What was he thinking to go scuba diving after only three weeks? Seems a bit implausible Still that was only a small quibble. Sign me up for the next one.

The Francis thrillers are always quick, easy reads and this is no exception. This one is very much to the formula as a sole protagonist chases the bad guys who for no apparent reason want to kill him. The reason is an interesting one and maybe not as far fetched as you think. Panama Papers anyone? I really didn't like the romance plot though - it would have been a better book without the woman at all.

I think it is high time that we admitted that Felix Francis isn't just his father's son, that he writes a cracking good novel all on his own. Publishers could take " A Dick Francis novel" byline off the cover.

Jeff Hinkley first appeared in DAMAGE His work with the BHA involves hunting down gradt and corruption in the British Horseracing industry. The BHA gets a phone call tip that someone is putting on bets for a banned person and in checking this out Hinkley works out that the scheme also involves jockeys deliberately losing races. In the course of a day he is invited to a private room at the race course where he sees two men having an argument. He does not realise the significance of his observation at the time, but takes a photo of show more them on his phone. This will eventually have serious consequences.

The characters in this story are well drawn and the plot quite believable, with the action fairly racing along. Certainly if you enjoyed the novels written by Dick Francis you will enjoy this one. show less

Felix is getting better as a writer, but he still does not have his Dad's insider's command of racing, although he probably does better than most with the sport.

Dick Francis has always been one of my favorite suspense authors. I've learned a lot about horse racing from his novels. I was sad when he passed away, but am glad that his son has taken over his book writing mantle. I usually can never guess who the bad guy is, and this was no exception. There is usually a romance as well, and Francis does not disappoint. Well done. I may just have to go back and re read some Dick Francis, or at least the ones that Felix has co wrote and written solo.

Trivial and forgettable, but not nearly as bad as the previous. Jeff Hinckley is an investigator, so there is no opportunity to for an exploration of an interesting hobby tangentially connected with racing. He is a bit clueless at the very beginning of the book, and his cluelessness drags on for very long.

There is some mildly interesting stuff about tax law in the UK.