Silks

When defence barrister Geoffrey Mason hears the judge's verdict, he quietly hopes that a long and arduous custodial sentence will be handed down to his arrogant young client. That Julian Trent only receives eight years seems all too lenient. Little does Mason expect that he'll be looking Trent in the eyes again much sooner than he'd ever imagined. Setting aside his barrister's wig, Mason heads to Sandown to don his racing silks. An amateur jockey, his true passion is to be found in the saddle on a Thoroughbred, pounding the turf in the heat of a steeplechase. But when a fellow rider is brutally murdered - a pitchfork driven through his chest - Mason's racing life soon becomes all too close to his working life. The prime suspect is one of their brethren, champion jockey Steve Mitchell; the evidence is overwhelming. Mason is reluctant to heed Mitchell's pleas for legal advice - but soon he finds himself at the centre of a sinister web of threat and intimidation. Mason is left fighting a battle of right and wrong, and more immediately, a battle of life and death ...his own.

'Another sure-footed winner.' -- The New York Times 'A gripping thriller.' -- Publishers Weekly 'One of the most reliable mystery writers working today.' -- The Detroit News

Richard Stanley "Dick" Francis CBE FRSL (31 October 1920 - 14 February 2010) was a British steeplechase jockey and crime writer, whose novels centre on horse racing in England. Felix Francis is Dick Francis's youngest son. Born in 1953, Felix studied Physics and Electronics at London University and then embarked upon a 17 year career teaching Advanced Level physics at three schools, the last seven as head of the science department at Bloxham School in Oxfordshire.

Over the past 40 years Felix assisted Dick with both the research and the writing of many of his novels. They shared a love of racing and often worked together on plot and character details at Dick's home in the Cayman Islands. This partnership allowed Dick to draw upon Felix's knowledge and experience as a physics teacher in Twice Shy and his past as an international marksman in Shattered (2000) and Under Orders (2006). With the publication of Dead Heat in 2007, Felix took on a more significant role in writing. Silks (2008) was the second novel in this father-and-son collaboration and Even Money (2009) was the third. Crossfire (2010) was the novel Dick and Felix Francis were working on when Dick died in February 2010, marking the end of one chapter and the beginning of another in the Dick Francis brand.

Dick Francis was acclaimed as one of the greatest thriller writers in the world and he wanted his legacy to live on through his son, Felix, and the novels that they planned together. Since Dick's death, Felix has taken over the literary reigns from his father. Gamble, which was published in September 2011, is a Dick Francis novel written by Felix Francis. Tony Britton was born in Birmingham, England in 1924. A renowned classical actor, he has been cast in many stage productions including Gigi and My Fair Lady, as well as numerous Shakespeare roles. Britton's film credits include Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) and The Day of the Jackal (1973). He has had lead television roles in Robin's Nest (1977) and Don't Wait Up (1983), and narrated many audiobooks throughout his career.

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