Dick Francis 10 Book Set Bolt, Reflex, Risk, Whip Hand, Nerve, Knock Down, Bonecrack & MORE

This Dick Francis 10-book set brings together a selection of thrillers set against the world of racing, from steeplechase jockeys and bloodstock agents to investigators drawn into dangerous disputes. Across the collection, careers are threatened, reputations are attacked and criminal schemes unfold, with each story placing its central character under mounting pressure.

The titles span cases involving suspected horse doping, sabotage, abduction and conspiracy, as well as investigations that turn personal and perilous. From a jockey facing a sudden collapse in form to a private detective juggling multiple unwelcome enquiries, the collection follows characters forced to act quickly when livelihoods, horses and lives are put at risk.

Included titles

• Nerve
• Bonecrack
• Knock Down
• Come To Grief
• Whip Hand
• Smokescreen
• Risk
• Bolt
• 10-Lb Penalty
• Reflex

Key details

• 10-book set by Dick Francis
• Collection includes the ten titles listed above
• Stories centre on racing, investigations and criminal threats
• Features recurring investigator Sid Halley in selected titles

Synopses

Nerve

Steeplechase jockey Rob Finn’s winning run ends with a collapse in form that shocks him most of all. As rumours spread that he has lost his nerve, he uncovers a campaign to discredit certain jockeys, aided in his case by horse doping. To identify those responsible, he must risk everything.

Bonecrack

Neil Griffon is abducted from his home by masked men and threatened with the destruction of his father’s racing stable and horses if he does not cooperate. Back at the stables, he cannot tell anyone what happened, or face violent consequences. Trapped, he devises a scheme to outmanoeuvre his kidnappers.

Knock Down

Bloodstock agent Jonah Dereham, an ex-jockey, expects a quiet life buying and selling horses for clients until thugs attack to sabotage his business. Determined to discover who is behind it and why, he refuses to be intimidated. With his horses, livelihood and life at stake, he must strike back before he is finished.

Come To Grief

Sid Halley, former champion jockey turned investigator, is asked to look into a case in which horses have been brutally mutilated. Broadcaster Ellis Quint, Sid’s friend, makes a shocking programme about the events, heightening public horror. As Sid follows the evidence, he is drawn into conspiracy and intrigue, and must rely on his wits to escape.

Whip Hand

Private detective Sid Halley is asked to investigate possible doping involving trainer George Casper’s horses, whose form has collapsed on the track. At the same time, he learns his ex-wife Jenny faces a jail sentence over a fake charity, and the Jockey Club want him to examine powerful syndicates acting illegally. Sid finds each enquiry unwelcome, even as threats emerge that could change his life.

Smokescreen

Movie action man Edward Lincoln is asked to travel to South Africa to find out why a dying friend’s horses are suddenly failing on the racetrack. His attempt to help soon places him in danger, from a nearly fatal interview to an accident in a gold mine. In real life, survival offers no second take.

Risk

Amateur jockey and accountant Roland Britten is kidnapped from a racecourse after winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Held prisoner, he does not know who has taken him or why. With help from school headmistress Hilary Pinlock, he gets a chance to escape and begins to apply his logical mind to the mystery, but his kidnappers are not finished with him.

Bolt

Jockey Kit Fielding is drawn into trouble when Princess Casilia’s husband is threatened by a business partner seeking to use a firm to manufacture arms. Meanwhile, the Princess’s horses are being killed, shot by a bolt, and Kit is the one person she can turn to. With personal problems and an old feud that could cost him his licence, Kit must uncover who is slaughtering the horses before the danger escalates.

10-Lb Penalty

Seventeen-year-old Benedict Juliard’s hopes of becoming a steeplechase jockey are derailed when he is falsely accused of taking drugs. His estranged father, a wealthy businessman running in a Dorset parliamentary by-election, draws him into a campaign that turns deadly. Benedict must find out who is trying to damage the election bid and keep his father alive.

Reflex

Jockey and amateur photographer Philip Nore becomes involved after photographer George Millace, known for exposing riders’ failings, is found dead. During Millace’s funeral, his home is broken into, and Nore discovers unexpected photographs that others will go to desperate lengths to obtain. He must quickly uncover who wants them, especially if Millace’s death was no accident.