Dick Francis passes away

[GenuineRisk]

Mystery Writer Dick Francis Dies (from Bloodhorse)

I feel like an awful person but my first thought was, "He just died?" I seriously thought he'd passed away years ago.

One of my grandfather's very favorite writers.

[timmgirvan]

follow grandpa's example and treat yourself to Francis books...they're golden

[odbaxter]

I've been reading him for years. His stuff was great.

[Riot]

His books are like candy, you can't put them down. Wonderful. Thanks, Dick Francis. You'll be missed.

[GBBob]

Sorry to hear..loved his books

[pgiaco]

Sad, his books were terrific.

[hoovesupsideyourhead]

wow freaky was just reading second one .. read final furlong .and was on to the next one.. rip.was telling byk about this guy..

[Riot]

Dead Cert - 1962- Jockey turns private detective to solve the murder of his friend and fellow jockey.

Nerve - 1964 - A young jockey is struggling to make his name but it looks as though he has lost his nerve - or has he?

Odds Against - 1965 - The first Sid Halley book. Sid, champion jockey has to give up when his hand is smashed, so he turns to a new life as a private eye.

For Kicks - 1965 - Australian visitor goes undercover as a stable hand to solve a racehorse doping scandal


Flying Finish - 1966 - A young aristocrat throws up a respectable job to join a firm which transports race horses all over the world.

Blood Sport - 1967 - An encounter with a couple in punt leads investigator Gene Hawkins on a chase for lost horses across the United States.

Forfeit - 1968 - Racing correspondent for a newspaper dedicated to exposing scandals in the noisiest way becomes involved in exposing a racing fraud while dealing with the problems of his marriage to a woman housebound by polio.

Enquiry - 1969 - To a jockey losing his licence is the equivalent of being disbarred or struck off. Kelly Hughes is not guilty and with nothing left to lose he begins a search for the men who framed him.

Rat Race - 1970 - Air taxi business for race goers featuring an in-the-air rescue sequence.


Bonecrack - 1971 - At first the abduction at Newmarket seems to have no purpose as Neil Griffin is set free within hours. Then the threats of injury and extortion begin.


Smokescreen - 1972 - An actor goes to South Africa to solve a racing mystery for a friend and the result is villainy and intrigue more deadly than any of his films.

Slay Ride - 1973 - Set in Norway's fjord country where an official of the English jockey club is sent to investigate the disappearance of steeplechase jockey.

Knock Down - 1974 - Ex-jockey purchases a modestly priced horse for a commission and finds someone else is willing to kill to obtain the horse.

High Stakes - 1975 - Steven Scott, wealthy toy maker and racehorse owner, sacks his trainer because he suspects he's a crook. The trainer threatens to sue Scott for slander if Scott tells anyone why he fired the trainer. Scott is viewed as the bad guy by the horse racing crowd for firing a trainer who had provided him with horses that won races .


In The Frame - 1976 - Jockey turned portrait artist for horses becomes involved in solving the murder of his cousin's wife.

Risk - 1977 - An amateur jockey, who is also a partner in an accounting firm, wins the Gold Cup and then he is abducted not once, but twice for no apparent reasons.

Trial Run - 1978 - A retired jockey is sent to Moscow on a delicate investigation involving royalty and the Moscow Olympics.

Whip Hand - 1979 - Second Sid Halley novel - Sid outwits a sadistic bookie and chain-wielding goons during the investigation of a doping scandal.

Reflex - 1981 - A jockey turns to photography as a career and becomes embroiled in the aftermath of the strange death of a racetrack photographer.

Twice Shy - 1981 - Computer program containing bookie-breaking system is unintentionally given to a sharp-shooting physics teacher.

Banker - 1982 - Merchant banker wants to invest in a prime stallion

The Danger - 1983 - Finding kidnappers is the company's business. A girl jockey disappears, followed by the young child of a Derby winner, and the senior steward of the Jockey Club.

Proof - 1984 - An unexplained accident during a Sunday morning party at a racing stable leads the wine merchant into solving the mystery.

Break In - 1985 - Kit Fielding #1: Kit's twin sister is married to the son of Maynard Allardeck, who maintains a feud against the Fieldings, and their stables are the target of a smear campaign.

Bolt - 1986 - Kit Fielding #2: A princess is blackmailed, and his feud with Maynard Allardeck has once again intensified.

Hot Money - 1987 - A millionaire's estranged, fifth wife is murdered and he turns to the son of one of his previous wives for help.

The Edge - 1988 - Murder mystery on the Canadian transcontinental train.

Straight - 1989 - Jockey's brother Greville dies mysteriously, and he inherits his business, gemstones, gadgets, enemies, horses and even his mistress.

Longshot - 1990 - Author who has written six books on survival skills is commissioned to write the biography of a famous racehorse trainer.

Comeback - 1991 - Diplomat returns to England and becomes embroiled in a racing mystery involving a veterinary surgeon with serious troubles.

Driving Force - 1992 - Retired jockey, Freddie Croft, runs a fleet of transporters for race horses. One of his drivers picks up a hitch hiker and the firm becomes embroiled in a complicated conspiracy.

Decider - 1993 - Architect builder, and father of six sons, is drawn into a family squabble to save the multi-million Stratton Park race course.


Wild Horses - 1994 - While making a film about racing in Newmarket, the director finds himself facing a dilemma of whether to reveal the truth which he learned from a deathbed confession.

Come To Grief - 1995 - Sid Halley becomes convinced that one of his closest friends, and a well known television personality is behind a series of violent acts against horses

To The Hilt - 1996 - Artist in Scotland has a quiet life until he returns home one day to find a group of strangers waiting for him.

10 lb penalty - 1997 - In practice, a 10-lb penalty is the maximum extra weight a winning thoroughbred is normally set to carry in a horse race. Ben Juliard discovers a 10-lb penalty can be a killer when he finds himself the target of his politician father's enemies.

Fix the National and other racing stories - Audio book - five short stories of racing world mysteries. Chief superintendent Crispin wanted the impossible. He had asked the stewards to fix the Grand National! Even if it meant catching the perpetrators of the Birmingham Bank robbery, could the Jockey Club sanction such a move, and how could they pull it off?

Field of 13 - 1998 - Thirteen short stories, some old and included in the audio tape described above, and others new. Thirteen diverse characters from book-makers to news editors, from crooked lawyers to contract killers.

Second Wind - 1999 - This time hurricanes and the men who chart and follow them are the theme of the book. The hero is Perry Stuart, a TV weatherman who, while chasing a hurricane, becomes embroiled in a storm of a very different sort

Shattered - 2000 - When a jockey dies following a fall in a steeplechase, he accidentally embroils his friend Gerry Logan, an artisan glassblower, in a perilous search for a stolen videotape. …. Glass shatters. Logan doesn’t – but it’s a close thing.

Under Orders - 2006 - Sid Halley is drawn into investigation of three deaths, race fixing and internet gambling… “the darker side of the race game, in a life and death power play that will push him to his very limits – both professionally and personally.”

Dead Heat - 2007 - (with his son, Felix Francis) a restaurant owner gets into hot water when guests at a gala race course dinner become very ill with food poisoning.

Silks - 2008 -(with Felix Francis) Geoffrey Mason, barrister, is also an amateur jockey. But when a fellow rider is brutally murdered the prime suspect is a champion jockey. Mason soon finds himself fighting a battle of right and wrong and more immediately a battle of life and death ... his own.

Even Money - 2009 - (with Felix Francis) Bookie Ned Talbot uncovers the truth about his father and becomes embroiled in a gambling scam. “This race may prove deadly”

[Sightseek]

I've read so many of his books, I forget what books I've read and what books I haven't. RIP Mr. Francis.

[Honu]

Talented writer , I couldnt get into his reads but I do admire his love of horse racing.

[chucklestheclown]

I guess I'll start with these.
Whip Hand - 1979 - Second Sid Halley novel - Sid outwits a sadistic bookie and chain-wielding goons during the investigation of a doping scandal.

Reflex - 1981 - A jockey turns to photography as a career and becomes embroiled in the aftermath of the strange death of a racetrack photographer.

Twice Shy - 1981 - Computer program containing bookie-breaking system is unintentionally given to a sharp-shooting physics teacher.

Good to see his son will continue to write, hope he is as good.

[Unstable]

Just finished his last book (written with his son) yesterday. I've read them all, and enjoyed them all.

While sometimes the plots got a little hokey, I've always admired the way he wrote about the racing. I gained a whole new perspective for steeplechase racing. I agree with Dr. Beth, the books are like candy. When a new one would come out, I would try to make it last (because I knew I would have to wait for the next one). But I always ended up having to finishing it off.

Thinking he had already passed on was understandable. He was in his eighties and there was a gap of six years in the publishing of his books after his wife died. There were rumors that she had been the driving force behind the writing of the books. However, I never read the books for the plotting... it was the accurate, visceral descriptions of the riding and the racing that "hooked" me.

R.I.P. Mr. Francis.