Inside Track [Paperback]

John Francome (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 24, 2003

Pippa Hutchison is an aspiring young trainer, certain that given the right horses she is as good as anyone in the business. Until, that is, an owner removes two horses to another yard, and one shows dramatic improvement. She enlists the help of her brother, Jamie, once a star flat jockey, now trying to revive his racing career over fences after a harrowing term in prison. But former wild boy Jamie has his own demons to deal with, like the new challenge of jumps riding, the hostility of those who can never forgive him for a young lad's death - and the black wall within him that separates him from his past.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British author Francome, a former champion jockey, makes his U.S. debut with this intricately plotted mystery thriller. In the brutal prologue, thug Malcolm Priest murders a drug dealer who's crossed him and the drug dealer's girlfriend who has the misfortune to be on the scene. Meanwhile, Malcolm's brother-in-law, Jamie Hutchinson, is released from prison after serving time for killing 15-year-old Alan Kirkstall while driving drunk. Despite his guilty plea, Jamie has little recollection of the fatal night—which proves an obstacle to his getting past the incident and reclaiming something of his former life. When Clem Kirkstall, Alan's traumatized father, learns of Jamie's freedom, Clem vows revenge. Jamie's tentative steps toward returning to the saddle as a steeplechase jockey bring him into contact with the dead boy's sister; the surprising mutual attraction that develops is but one of a number of romantic subplots, one involving the female inspector assigned to oversee the drug-murder inquiry. The resolution may strike some readers as a little pat, especially given the gritty realism of the rest of the book, but Dick Francis fans should be delighted with the authentic picture of the horse-racing world.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

English jockey Jamie Hutchison is fresh out of prison, having served a sentence most thought was too light for killing a boy in a car wreck that he can't even remember. Too heavy to resume riding on the flat, he is struggling to transfer his skills to jump racing, all the while being consumed by guilt and remorse, shunned by former friends and associates, and pursued by a grieving father bent on revenge. To make matters worse, people who may have had some knowledge of the accident that turned Jamie's life to ashes begin to die off in a most suspicious fashion. Francome is adept at ratcheting up the suspense as the truth of what happened on the drunken night of the car wreck comes gradually into focus, a process that threatens Jamie in ways he can't begin to imagine. Francome's racing thrillers are often compared to those of his better-known countryman and fellow ex-rider Dick Francis, but they are altogether grittier and more psychologically astute--and just as much fun to read. His latest offering is another case in point. Dennis Dodge
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Headline Paperbacks (November 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0755300629
• ISBN-13: 978-0755300624
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 1.1 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,362,782 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable horse racing mystery, September 29, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Inside Track (Hardcover)

Two years ago, jockey Jamie Hutchison drove under the influence and killed fifteen years old Alan Kirkwell. Jamie did not remember the accident or anything else that occurred on that fatal night. The Leeds Court ruled vehicular homicide but not deliberate so he was sentenced to three years in prison. After eighteen months behind bars, Jamie is freed while the Kirkwells still mourn their loss and resent his freedom.

As Jamie tries to regain his life, his memory of the incident that shattered several lives begins to surface. Still in spite of a welcome by his track friends, he knows he grew to big to ride horses competitively and needs to adjust to changes in his personal life as the last woman he slept with Vanessa Hartley is marrying a rival. As his recall begins to focus, someone wants him dead or back behind bars; though Jamie thinks it must be Alan's father, someone else prefers the truth to remain buried at all cost. Meanwhile he meets and falls in love with Alan's sister Marie who reciprocates his feelings, but her father has never recovered from the death of his son.

INSIDE TRACK is en enjoyable horse racing mystery that will remind readers of the works of Dick Francis. The story line is character driven with the added irony that the audience knows from the start that Jamie's seemingly kind brother-in-law is a dangerous person to cross. The star-crossed relationship between Marie and Jamie provides a fabulous angst to a strong suspense thriller that is wire to wire winner for fans.

Harriet Klausner