List $34.95

Written by Dick Francis - Audio book performed by Martin Jarvis - Unabridged Fiction - 8 COMPACT DISCS - 10 hours

Publisher, Penguin Audio (October 2006)

“Sadly, death at the races is not uncommon. However, three in a single afternoon was sufficiently unusual to raise more than one eyebrow.”

It’s the third death on Cheltenham Gold Cup day that really troubles supersleuth Sid Halley. Last seen in 1995’s Come to Grief, former champion jockey Halley knows all too well the perils of racing—but in his day, jockeys didn’t usually reach the finishing line with three .38 rounds in the chest. Yet this is precisely how he finds jockey Huw Walker—who, only a few hours earlier, won the coveted Triumph Hurdle.

Just moments before the gruesome discovery, Halley had been called upon by Lord Enstone to make discreet inquiries into why his horses appeared to be on a permanent losing streak. Are races being fixed? Are bookies taking a cut? And if so, are trainers and jockeys playing a dangerous game, with stakes far higher than they realize?

Halley’s quest for answers draws him even deeper into the darker side of the racing game, in a life-or-death power play that will push him to his very limits—both professionally and personally.

About the Author: Dick Francis was born in South Wales in 1920. He was a young boy rider of distinction winning awards and trophies at horse shows throughout the United Kingdom. At the outbreak of World War II he joined the Royal Air Force as a pilot, flying fighter and bomber aircraft including the Spitfire and Lancaster.

Following the war, Dick Francis, son and grandson of jockeys, became a professional steeplechase jockey himself. He was Champion Jockey in 1954 and rode for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother for four years. He raced eight times in the world famous Grand National Steeplechase, nearly winning in 1956 when the Queen Mother's horse, Devon Loch, collapsed under him a few strides from victory. This incident, which he calls "both the high point and low point of my career as a jockey," was the impetus for him to begin a second career as a writer.

In January 1957 he retired from race riding and took up a pen. He became a racing feature writer for the London Sunday Express and published his racing autobiography, The Sport of Queens. Sports writing soon led to fiction writing. His first novel was published in 1962 and one followed each year until his 39th, and last, was published in September 2000.

Dick Francis was made an Officer of the most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1984, and was promoted to Commander of the Order (CBE) in June 2000. He was awarded the British Crime Writers Association Silver Dagger in 1965, Gold Dagger in 1980 and Cartier Diamond Dagger for his life's work in 1990. He is the recipient of four Edgar Allen Poe Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, including the Grand Master award in 1996. In 1998 was elected as a Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature.

He now lives in the Caribbean. In June 2000 he and his wife, Mary, who helped with much of the research for the books, celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary. Sadly, Mary died later that year, bringing to an end one of the great literary partnerships of the twentieth century. However, a new partnership now blossoms with his younger son, Felix, who has helped with the research for Under Orders, the first Dick Francis novel for six years.