Hands Down

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When we last saw Sid, he was getting by with a high-tech artificial hand that doubled as a weapon when he needed to club someone over the head. But newly married and with a child, he had decided that the detective business might not fit his lifestyle any more. I inherited my brother's life. Inherited his desk, his business, his gadgets, his enemies, his horses and his mistress. I inherited my brother's life, and it nearly killed me." – "Straight" (1989) Felix has done a remarkable job of carrying on the series since the death of his father. The books are still fresh and exciting. The last two, including this one have dealt with mental illness or psychological problems. This one it's how someone reacts to a hand transplant. The last was anxiety. It's been a welcome addition to the books, giving another layer to the story. I have to say I like the current direction. Otto Penzler, a legendary mystery editor and owner of the Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, thinks the claims of shared authorship are wildly exaggerated. Still, it's a pleasant journey down a familiar path, following Sid on his one-man, always-successful show to save British horse racing.

Hands Down is the sixth in the Sid Halley series, and the first since Refusal, also written by Felix Francis, in 2013. Halley fans won't be disappointed, even if the book sometimes feels a bit formulaic, and the foreshadowing a little heavy handed. (I mean, when I figure something out before Sid does…) But when he learns that his friend's stables have burned down and he's presumed dead, Sid feels he has no choice but to get involved. Sid meets the friend who is hiding out for fear of villains, but the fear keeps him from telling Sid the whole story. And the villains catch up, murdering the friend and staging it as a suicide. And, as usual, there is drama underfoot in British jump racing. His trainer friend calls him to tell him that someone is pressuring him to fix races and he's not putting up with it any more. Sid has his own problems to worry about and tells him to find someone else to help him, but when the friend's stable is set on fire, he is forced to reconsider, despite turmoil in his personal life. Sid starts to investigate and becomes embroiled in a conspiracy that cuts to the very heart of racing and then even closer to home. 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. The police think it's suicide, but Sid is not convinced after his friend's terrified phone calls. Heavy with a guilty heart, Sid starts to investigate and soon finds himself embroiled in a conspiracy that cuts to the very heart of the integrity of British horse racing.With Felix writing the books now, could they get in trouble for false advertising if they claimed otherwise? This was an engaging read, full of suspense, fast paced, gripping, looking at the underbelly of the racing world, but how are these masterminds controlling things without being caught? perfect for curling up on a chilly autumn evening and reading it will definitely keep you guessing and completely engrossed from start to finish. I may have to find some of the earlier books with Sid in. How will Sid and Marina’s marriage fair? Can they make a go of it or is it over for good? Sid Halley has received a hand transplant. It creeps out his wife Marina so she has left him. There are descriptions of the surgery and the rejection meds he takes. Determined to uncover the truth and to help his friend, Sid starts to investigate. He soon finds himself embroiled in a conspiracy that cuts to the very heart of the integrity of British horse racing, and then danger comes closer to home than ever. Can Sid get to the bottom of what's going on before he too becomes a victim, while, at the same time, saving his marriage?

Conversations take too long. Sid’s conversations with his wife, Marina, are interminable. She is whiny, confused, and indecisive. The exact details of their collaboration are hard to pin down. Felix says, "Dad was full of ideas. I mean, ideas used to fall out him like water over a waterfall. He would write them, and my mother would polish the prose, as it were." Rewriting a lost review of Hands Down by Felix Francis. I accidentally touched a key that deleted it when I was almost finished. Bah! It happens to me a lot on Facebook and texting, too. I’m one of those techclutzy Baby Boomers😝Sid is approached in a parking lot after a race by two thugs but is rescued by several partying soldiers out for the night. When that book, 1957's "The Sport of Queens," was a success, the couple decided to try a suspense novel set in the world of horse racing – and every year for the rest of their life together they published one. By all accounts, the books were a true team effort, and even as the books brought them tremendous wealth, their writing and research dominated their lives. To research 1966's "Flying Finish," Mary learned how to fly planes, eventually starting her own air taxi business and writing a guide to flying light aircraft under her own name. Felix remembers his father constantly pumping people he met at the races for details about their lives and careers that could be fodder for the books. Harry knows very little about horses, indeed he positively dislikes them, but he is thrust unwillingly into the world of Thoroughbred racing where the standard of care of the equine stars is far higher than that of the humans who attend to them. Sid no longer has a prosthetic having had a successful hand transplant. Life should be looking good but things start to sour when his wife decides to go home to be with her mother when she finds out that her father is dying. She takes their nine year old daughter with her and Sid fears she will make it permanent. 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. What follows is a complex, well-crafted puzzle. Corruption in the racing world isn't new but this scheme to rig races makes for a good story. I'll say no more for fear of spoilers.

For a start, human remains are found amongst the equestrian ones in the burnt-out shell. All the stable staff are accounted for, so who is the mystery victim?So far, none of Felix Francis’ novels has television adaptations. However, a number of his father’s books had television adaptations. Among the adopted books included Twice Shy, starring Ian McShane alongside protagonist, David Cleveland. Felix Francis assisted his father in the research when he was writing Twice Shy before he began writing himself. Then there was Francis' portrayal of women, which was wildly progressive by the standards of the genre in the 1960s and 1970s. Can Sid get to the bottom of what’s going on before he too becomes a victim, while, at the same time, saving his marriage? These Francis books are just so easy to read, absorbing, gripping and fast paced. Sid is an easy character to love and its a bit like catching up with an old friend. He keeps gathering evidence. One night he comes home to find two masked men getting ready to torch his house.