Product Description

From former top trainer Charlie Brooks comes a thriller of horseracing, dirty dealing, big business and a test of loyalty under extreme pressure...Tipper O'Reilly is brought up on a rough estate in Dublin. The tricks and techniques he learns in taming the family's wild pony become invaluable in escaping this tough beginning. Fate throws him a chance as an apprentice jockey, but he soon learns that survival in this new world is as much about what happens away from the track as coming first on the day. Unbeknown to the young jockeys, the powers behind the sport are changing; a major figure from Russia is keen to have a stake in the seemingly respectable industry of racing and stud farming, and he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He wants Tipper. But Tipper doesn't know why - until a very special, yet familiar, horse appears on the scene. From the fields of Tipperary to the remotest laboratories of Russia, this is a novel of greed, speed, betrayal and loyalty, as corruption and new biotechnology change everything around them.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #80169 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 560 pages

Review
'Brooks saddles up for the long gallop from the weighing room to the bestseller lists...an engrossing, ingenious thriller...keeps the reader guessing right up to the finishing post.' --Max Davidson, Mail on Sunday

Review
'If Charlie Brooks fancies himself as the new Dick Francis, he could hardly have made a better debut. CITIZEN gallops along at a rattling good pace...'

Review
'Charlie's first venture into fiction is a two-parts Tom Clancy, one-part Jilly Cooper triumph...superbly paced and even has 007-style twists. It will keep you guessing right until the final page.'

Customer Reviews

Gripping thriller with plenty of action
Another jockey/trainer moves into the world of fiction writing ... but will he manage to get over the fence and reach the finishing post, or will he fall at the first hurdle?

For me, this was a resounding 'hit', and I shall look forwards to reading more by this author.

Moving from Ireland to England, then to Russia and back again, this book carried me from incident to incident, with plenty of action and pace - yet at no stage left me reeling as I tried to work out who, what, where, why or when - which happens with many weaker thrillers. The characters are convincing and well drawn, and the book carries you through to a satisfying (although slightly predictable) climax.

Add it to your holiday reading pile, and enjoy!

A decent thriller
Charlie Brooks seems to be following in the now long tradition of jockeys-turned-authors (Dick Francis, John Francombe et al), and I guess now that Dick Francis is at least semi-retired, there is room for another of his ilk. This is Brooks' first novel, and it's pretty good. The characters are all a bit sterotypical (the violent Russian gangster, the drunk Irish jockety etc), and there are a few rather convenient deus-ex-machina incidents, but the story is interesting and contains the odd novel twist, and it is well enough written to keep you turning the pages, if not quite up there with Dick Francis in this resepct.

A decent, entertaining read for a long flight or the beach on holiday.

Racing to an exciting finish
Charlie Brooks has found his métier. This was a great and exciting read and Brooks' own training and racing experience is obvious in the accuracy of the detail in the text. In a way this is no surprise given his history in racing. What was surprising, however, was just how gripping a story this is and the way the tension gradually builds makes it almost impossible to put the book down. If this level of story-telling continues we may just have a Dick Francis for the 21st century. Highly recommended.