Автор - Dick Francis

Rivalen

Es ist ein heißes Rennen, das George Juliard antritt, denn seine Rivalen haben Kaliber. Zunächst geht es um die Wahl ins Unterhaus, später um das Amt des Premierministers. Juliards Handicap: Er ist Witwer und hat keine lächelnde Frau zur Seite. Diese Lücke kann jedoch sein 17jähriger Sohn füllen. Den kennt er zwar kaum, da er ihn nicht selbst aufgezogen hat, doch nun soll Benjamin seine erfolglose Amateurjockeykarriere abbrechen, um ihn auf seiner Tour durch den Wahlkreis zu begleiten. Ben ist nicht begeistert von dieser Aufgabe, fügt sich aber dem Willen des Vaters. Was sich wie ein Kinderspiel anläßt, entpuppt sich innerhalb weniger Tage als gefährliches Unternehmen, denn der Stimmenfang wird nicht nur mit legalen Mitteln geführt. Lückenbüßer und Vorzeigesöhnchen Ben muß schon bald eine neue Rolle übernehmen: die des Leibwächters. Der Wahlzirkus - ein wohlbekanntes Schauspiel, von Wahlhelfern und Medien inszeniert. Doch Dick Francis führt uns hinter die Kulissen, dahin, wo der Rummel in seiner Unmenschlichkeit und die Akteure in ihrer Menschlichkeit zu sehen sind - wo sich inmitten des dröhnenden Spektakels mit seinen hinterhältigen Intrigen leise eine Beziehung zwischen Vater und Sohn entwickelt. Neid und Zuneigung, Ehrgeiz und Loyalität, dies sind die Gefühle, die der Meister des Thrillers einmal mehr gegeneinander antreten läßt. Und am Ende haben die Helden ihre Auszeichnungen genauso verdient wie Dick Francis die seinen.

Silks

The Grand Master returns in prize-winning formGeoffrey Mason did it for the money. It is obvious that his client Julian Trent is guilty, and it's about time rich boy Trent is taught a lesson for his violent ways. The only thing still bothering Geoff is that he is going to miss participating in the Foxhunter Steeplechase – the 'Gold Cup' for amateur riders – because the trial has taken a lot longer than expected. Although still an amateur, Geoff is well known (as 'Perry' Mason) among the pro riders, including Steve Mitchell and Scot Barlow – arguably the two top pros. So when Scot Barlow is murdered – with Mitchell's pitchfork nonetheless – Geoff finds himself pulled into the case as a junior barrister. The problem is: which side is he on? Mitchell claims he has been framed, but Geoff knows there was tension between Mitchell and Barlow; in fact, Geoff stumbled across Barlow beaten and bloody not too long ago, and Barlow claimed it was Mitchell who had done the dirty work. To make matters worse, Julian Trent has somehow finagled is way out of prison and has sworn to hunt down Geoff unless he's a 'good little lawyer' and does what he's told in the Mitchell case. Geoff is left facing adversaries from all sides, tearing him between doing what is right and what will keep him alive.

The Danger

Kidnapping is a fact of life. Always has been, always will be. Extorting a ransom is an age-old pastime, less risky and more lucrative than robbing banks.Kidnapping, twentieth-century style, has meant train loads and 'plane loads of hostages, athletes killed in company at Munich, men of substance dying lonely deaths. All kidnappers are unstable, but the political variety, hungry for power and publicity as much as money, make quicksand look like rock.Give me the straightforward criminal any day, the villain who seizes and says pay up or else. One does more or less know where one is, with those.Kidnapping, you see, is my business.My job, that is to say, as a partner in the firm of Liberty Market Ltd, is both to advise people at risk how best not to be kidnapped, and also to help negotiate with the kidnappers once a grab has taken place: to get the victim back alive for the least possible cost.Every form of crime generates an opposing force, and to fraud, drugs and murder one could add the Kidnap Squad, except that the kidnap squad is unofficial and highly discreet… and is often us.

The Edge

A story of drama and intrigue set on the sinister side of the international racing circuit. Tor Kelsey, an undercover agent for the Jockey Club's Security Service trails Julius Apollo Filmer, a blackmailer and murderer, onto a luxury train carrying several racehorse owners across Canada.

Twice Shy

A thriller set in the world of horse racing, in which a retired jockey's quiet life is disturbed by a terrifying problem from the past.

Under Orders

Whip Hand

Edgar AwardsThis thriller features Sid Halley from "Odds Against" and the TV series "The Racing Game". This book won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger.