Crossfire - Hardcover

Francis, Dick; Francis, Felix

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 039915681X ISBN 13: 9780399156816

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2010

Synopsis

An exhilarating new novel from the New York Times-bestselling authors.

Shell-shocked and missing a foot-lost to an IED during his tour of duty in Afghanistan-Captain Tom Forsyth has been sent "home" by the army and, at loose ends, returns to his estranged mother's house for the first time since he joined up at seventeen. But Josephine Kauri, the "first lady of British racing," has always put the horses she trains first and her family last. Tom soon finds himself strained to the breaking point with his mother and stepfather.

But there's another reason for the stifling tension at Kauri House Stables: Josephine is being blackmailed for a hefty sum every week-and forced to make her horses lose. Retirement is not an option, as she has been warned that it will result in the thing she most fears: exposure and ridicule . . . and prison, when the government finds out what she's been hiding.

Tom sets out to discover and defeat this hidden enemy using his finely honed military skills. But can he save his mother's reputation and career, or will he find himself caught in the cross fire?

About this title

About the Author:

Dick Francis (pictured with his son Felix Francis) was born in South Wales in 1920. He was a young 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.

He became one of the most successful postwar steeplechase jockeys, winning more than 350 races and riding for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. After his retirement from the saddle in 1957, he published an autobiography, The Sport of Queens, before going on to write more than forty acclaimed books, including the New York Times bestsellers Even Money and Silks.

A three-time Edgar Award winner, he also received the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association’s Cartier Diamond Dagger, was named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, and was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2000. He died in February 2010, at age eighty-nine, and remains among the greatest thriller writers of all time.

Felix Francis (pictured with his father, Dick Francis), a graduate of London University, spent seventeen years teaching A-level physics before taking on an active role in his father’s career. He has assisted with the research of many of the Dick Francis novels, including Shattered, Under Orders, and Twice Shy, which drew on Felix’s experiences as a physics teacher and as an international marksman. He is coauthor with his father of the New York Times bestsellers Dead Heat, Silks, and Even Money. He lives in England.

From AudioFile:

Martin Jarvis and Dick Francis have been a winning combination for some time, and this latest and last (Francis died recently) is no exception. Back from Afghanistan minus a foot, Tom Forsyth discovers that his mother, a prominent racehorse trainer, is being blackmailed. His investigation and a budding romance give him a new purpose in life. Jarvis's vocal characterizations are beyond wonderful, especially the mother, a haughty harridan who mellows, and the stiff-upper-lip industrialist who aids Tom. There's also a stableful of other friends and foes. The characters' various British accents enliven a gripping story. One can hear Tom's developing maturity and self-confidence as he calls on his military training to outwit the blackmailers. Let's hope Francis's son, Felix, will carry on the family tradition. J.B.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 039915681X
• ISBN 13: 9780399156816
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352