Dead Cert by
Dick Francis
pbk out September 02
(Pan)
at £6.99
Amazingly, it is 40 years since Dick Francis turned from life as a jockey and racing
writer to crime fiction. His publishers are, very properly, celebrating the anniversary
by reissuing his first thriller, 'Dead Cert', and putting out an omnibus edition
containing the three books about ex-jockey turned private investigator Sid Halley:
'Odds Against', 'Whip Hand' and 'Come to Grief'. In that first book, all the features
that were to form the Francis trade mark are already to be found: pacy writing, a
courageous hero-narrator, and an authentic background in the world of horse racing.
Having hit on such a successful formula on his first time around the track, he did not
need to vary it too much thereafter. 'Come to Grief', however, saw him attempting a
relatively daring plot-line, involving the betrayal of friendship, with a great deal of
success. Francis is, apparently, reluctant to write again following the death of his wife
Mary. But these four novels provide a welcome reminder of gifts that earned him not
only massive sales but also a shoal of awards, including the CWA Cartier Diamond
Dagger for an outstanding lifetime's contribution to the genre.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
