Product Description

It’s every punter’s dream to beat the bookmakers and Toby Brown is doing it regularly. The son of a top trainer, Toby has a telephone tipping service that is slowly bringing the old enemy to its knees.

A plea from the bookmakers prompts a Jockey Club investigation which uncovers a plot of murder and jealousy where the stakes being played for mean more than just money - and where one horse, Better By Far, lives up to its name.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #247115 in Books
• Published on: 2000-03-02
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Synopsis
It's every punter's dream to beat the bookmakers and Toby Brown is doing it regularly. The son of a top trainer, Toby has a telephone tipping service that is slowly bringing the old enemy to its knees.A plea from the bookmakers prompts a Jockey Club investigation which uncovers a plot of murder and jealousy where the stakes being played for mean more than just money - and where one horse, Better By Far, lives up to its name.

About the Author
Ex-National Hunt Champion Jockey John Francome is a broadcaster on racing for Channel 4. He lives in Berkshire.

Customer Reviews

the start of a series?
Found to be a most enjoyable read, more twists and turns than a twisty turny thing, but a little predictable. The main Characters though were very well introduced, developed and maintained. I can't help but feel that the story of Simon, Matt and Emma could go on with more equine investigations

Not too strong at the finish but will probably stay forever.
A couple of years ago I found myself reading one of the author's books and an excellent substitute for sleeping pills it made too so this latest novel was received with trepidation. I suppose as a pro-punter I should be reading far more of Dick Francis et al but those of us in the game know that the ever increasing fixture list and efforts to stay one step ahead of our contemporaries precludes that suggestion.

There is no doubt that Mr Francome's writing has improved hand over fist. Indeed, there is even a brief reference to a night of passion but whether it sizzled or not is wisely left to the imagination. Quite right too given that the posh and adoring horsey set have been drooling over the author's dashing good looks for the last two decades....

The plot is reasonably sound but bland and one assumes that it's tricky after 14 titles to come up with original storylines and Francome once said that he possessed no illusions that the main reason his books sold were down to his name. In all fairness, he has brought the dialogue into the 21st century (just) with a couple of references to ''the wild and woolly New Age world of personal auras and earth mysteries'' and a horse healer enterprisingly called Esmond Cobbold the latter name, in my opinion, being coined during a particularly heavy boozing session but as the author is known for being teetotal this is more likely to be a glimpse of the man's dry and sometimes penetrating sense of humour.

I found it rather presumptious that the hero Simon Jeffries presumed that Toby, the unfortunate murder victim, couldn't be that good a racing tipster with a consecutive winning run of 23 but then as I have the dubious addition to my CV in the dim and distant past of being a racing tipster I guess this would sting my pride a little. Felt at home immediately though when I realised that the hero's sidekick shared my surname and the title was read in just under four hours.

In view of the mountain of controversy presently surrounding televised racing I feel quite certain that Mr Francome need not fret about not making a crust in the future as a writer as his position in the fiction/crime category is now very well established. The novel is well researched and factually accurate although sadly lacks emotion and the human touch but will, no doubt, quicken the hearts of many established admirers.