This one is not as in depth as some by Dick Francis but I still like it. What a silly sentence. Of course I like it. It's Dick Francis! This one felt more dated that some because the hero's wife suffers from severe polio with life threatening consequences. Most people under 50 in the developed world today have no real life acquaintance with polio. In addition to solving a case of horse race fixing, this story deals with what happens in a marriage where love is still there but all chance of any physical relationship is gone. Strength comes in many forms. ( )

newsman with crippled wife attacks bookie ring

I enjoyed this, as I usually do enjoy Dick Francis books. A quick adventure, quickly forgotten.

This one however, had some particularly insightful views into the life of a man whose wife had polio and now only survives due to a breathing apparatus called a Spiroshell. She is mostly paralyzed, except for the limited use of one arm and hand. The main character, Tyrone, loves her and cares for her at home. He is also unfaithful to her. I thought the emotional struggles of both characters were well outlined, until the end when it all seemed a bit pat. But hey, fiction. Oh yeah, there were bad guys out to get him for exposing them and their dastardly deeds through his journalism. ( )

Sportswriter James Tyrone writes about horse racing. But something odd is happening with fellow race writer Bert Checkov – whenever Bert touts a horse, the horse loses badly or fails to show up for the race. Bert drunkenly confesses to Ty that he has sold his soul; and then falls to his death out of a seventh story window.

Ty discovers there is a rigged betting scheme and the bad guys expect Ty to be the next one to fall in line. Not only does he resist, but he must protect his paralyzed wife from murder and mayhem from people who will literally stop at nothing. And then there’s the lovely Gail, whom Ty is falling in love with, although he knows he can never leave his wife.

Ty is a conflicted and complicated protagonist. Like many of Francis’s main characters he has a heroic moral sense along with intelligence and physical strength to win through solving the mystery and a beating or three. In this one we see the character’s more human side as he wrestles with the moral dilemma of choosing between his beloved paralyzed wife and a woman who could be lover, companion and equal. ( )

Also this Dick Francis was exciting, even if more ran next to the racecourse than on the racecourse. This time investigates a journalist unrealities in the horse betting. On a large scale, bets on horses are placed in advance, but shortly before the start these horses are deducted from the race. The bets always go to the same person, since the regulations do not provide for a return of the wagers made. Who is behind these mafia bets and how can this person be caught? With what means of pressure are the horse owners blackmailed so that they do not let their horses start? The journalist puts himself and his loved one in the greatest danger.
Exciting from the beginning to the end. ( )