It was good to revisit Sid Halley again, and I enjoyed the story, and the good memories of many books over more than 25 years. Sid Halley is asked by an former jockey/now trainer to help him stop a fraud perpetrated by jockeys' agents.

With this occupying his thoughts he isn't in a hurry to become involved with any investigation but the person making the plea is an old racing friend and Sid says yes. Could it really be the case that someone was trying to manipulate all of British racing for their own greedy ends? When his friend turns up dead, apparently by suicide, then he can't resist the urge to investigate, assisted once again by Chicco.I've not read another novel, where the intrepid investigator has had a hand transplant so I'll note I learned a few things about that along the path to a solution to what happened to Sid's friend Gary. Consortia of agents have muscled into the selection of jockeys for races, and they demand fees from the jockeys and the trainers at stables. Nothing really appealed and I am not into horse racing, but I found a copy of Whip Hand and started reading.

Here is what I think--the son is getting better, and maybe his handicap is more that what is acceptable in 2020 is really different from what worked in 1970. Since my mother passed away over a year ago, I have been making my way through her book collection, finally. Having Sid Halley back was so welcome, for the rest the author has a knack for making his characters believable and down to earth, even though you don’t know them there is a familiarity to them, you can relate to each.At that point - with no resolution of the situation between he and his wife - Sid sets off to investigate what appears to be corruption at the track that involves "dirty" agents, blackmail and race fixing. Dick Francis novels were a familiar fixture in our household when I was growing up, as both my parents loved his books. When his friend’s stable yard is torched, horses killed, and the friend is found dead, Sid can only blame himself for not helping sooner. Started reading the British racehorse mysteries by father Dick Francis as a young adult in the 1980’s.