Under Orders is Dick Francis’ first new novel for six years, and a pleasant surprise for his many fans. When his wife Mary died in 2000, many people believed that it meant no further novels would be written, given how much Francis was devoted to her, and how active a role she played in the writing of his books (precisely how much is the subject of controversy).
But Francis has always been tough – a jockey needs to be -- and confounded his doubters.
Under Orders is the fourth novel to feature one-handed ex-champion jockey turned private detective Sid Halley. The first, Odds Against (1965), was nominated for an Edgar Allen Poe Award and made into a television series, while the sequels Whip Hand (1979) and 1995’s Come to Grief both won the Edgar. Whip Hand also won the Crime Writer’s Association Gold Dagger award, a rare double.
In Under Orders, Halley is attending Gold Cup day at Cheltenham racecourse when a man dies of heart attack. Soon afterwards, the Gold Cup winner also dies, as he is entering the winner’s arena. Neither of these deaths are as significant, however, as the fatal shooting of the winning jockey.
Rumours are already swirling around after an argument between the jockey and the horse’s trainer are captured live on television, and when the trainer’s wife leaves him, no one is surprised when the trainer commits suicide.
Only Halley doubts the official version of events. He had arranged to pay an early morning visit to the trainer the night before, and the man’s suicide seems too convenient, for all the signs of illegal gambling that the police find, and their implications of race-fixing.
Halley has always been as tough as nails, and careful to keep his private life just that—private. However, a reporter who Halley successfully sued for libel years earlier tracks him and his girlfriend down, and the jockey’s killer realizes that while Halley may be almost indestructible, his weakness is those he cares for.
Before long Halley’s girlfriend is in danger, and Halley has to decide whether to back off, or to continue hunting his shadowy enemy.
Francis’ background gives him an almost unparalleled insight into the darker side of horse racing, and his research is meticulous. And Sid Halley is a credible hero, tough as nails, still uncomfortable with being disabled in an able-bodied world, and deeply caring of his friends.
It’s good to have Francis back.
