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Sid Halley på 31 er tidligere jockey, men mistede en hånd i en rideulykke. Nu er han privatdetektiv og skilt. Hans ekssvigerfar, Admiral Charles Roland, har dog stadig venskabelige forbindelser med ham og han fortæller Sid at ekskonen Jenny (Jennifer Halley) på 29 år er blevet
Lucas Wainwright fortæller ham lidt brødebetynget at han tidligere har haft en privatdetektiv Maon på, men at denne blev slået til lirekassemand. Kort efter bliver Sid samlet op af to voldsmænd, som Trevor Deansgate har hyret. De binder ham og Trevor truer på en meget overbevisende måde Sid med at han vil få skudt sin raske hånd af med et dobbeltløbet haglgevær, hvis han ikke opgiver sin undersøgelse.
Sid er knækket og lover at opgive undersøgelsen. Han rejser til Frankrig og gemmer sig mens George Caspars hest Tri Nitro på uforklarlig vis taber det store løb, The Guineas. Rosemary er fortvivlet og rasende og da Sid kommer tilbage fra Frankrig betaler han hendes penge tilbage. Han får en rapport fra Chico, der har oprettet gode forbindelser med Caspars kontorhjælp og kan se at Trevor om morgenen har fået alle oplysninger om at Sid kiggede ham efter i kortene. Men han vil ikke gøre mere i sagen (hvilket ellers stemmer dårligt med hans karaktertræk om aldrig at give efter).
Til gengæld dukker Louise op med en bog, som måske kan give et spor til Nicholas Ashe. Det leder via en ballonskipper John Viking til dennes fætter Noah Abbott. Undervejs i efterforskningen af Ed Keith træder Sid også en Peter Rammileese over tæerne, så der er nogle gorillaer efter ham. Endnu værre er det at Ed Keith sagen hænger sammen med Trevor Deansgate. Han har skiftet navn fra Trevor Shummuck og hans bror Robert Shummuck har adgang til en bakteriestamme, der kan give heste svinerosen. Og bakterierne er gjort modstandsdygtige overfor normale antibiotika, så hestene får det skidt, får betændelse på hjerteklapperne og ender med at dø, hvis de bliver overbelastede. Sid tænker sig om en ekstra gang og beslutter sig for at afsløre Trevor Deansgate, Peter Rammileese og Ed Keith. Stort set samtidigt får han hjælp af Louise til at finde Noah og som bonus ender han og Louise i seng sammen.
Til gengæld finder Peter Rammileese og hans to skotske gorillaer Sid og Chico og giver dem en ordentlig gang bank. Sid når dog at brække kæben på Rammileese og får stof til eftertanke mens han kommer sig hjemme hos Charles Roland. Han har indicier nok til at få Lucas Wainwright til at trække sig som sikkerhedschef, men mere sker der heller ikke. Trevor Deansgate venter til gengæld på ham med et dobbeltløbet jagtgevær, men han har haft tid nok til at tænke over at det ikke er de ekstra år i fængsel værd at tage hævn og desuden ser der jo slet ikke ud til at være noget man kan skræmme Sid med.
Fint skal det være. Sir dit og Sir dat. Og store godser og titler og væddeløbsheste med stamtavler tilbage til Sleipner. Rige folk som tjener store penge på investeringer. Blah, blah, blah. Men Dick Francis skriver jo faktisk ret godt. Der er fine refleksioner over både et forlist ægteskab og et erhvervet handicap.
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Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. By the end of the week Sid Halley didn't have just one job, but three. When the latest of three prize-winning horses, all with promising futures, inexplicably putters out at the track, a trainer's wife suspects foul play and asks Sid to watch their latest great acquisitionâ??Tri-Nitroâ??to ensure he doesn't come to the same end. Then Sid's ex-wife Jenny, still full of bitterness, is accused of fraud after she is innocently duped by a con artist into parting with thousands in a charity scam. And even more, top brass of the Security Service solicits Sid to find out if one of his investigators is receiving hush money. Like all of Francis' characters, Sid's sleuthing brings him back to the track and the stable, and he feels the familiar regret and nostalgia for the racing life that must always elude him. At the height of his career, Sid's arm was shattered under the crushing weight of his falling horse. Now a mechanical arm reminds him of lost hopes and the terrible price the passion to win extracts from a racer's… (more)
User reviews
Francis comments throughout about how different we look to others from how we see ourselves, and he ilustrates this pretty well. There is some intermittent psychological insight mixed with attempts to be a "hard guy" who ignores his feelings. It's almost as if the author couldn't decide how much to focus on this stuff. The story sticks to Francis's usual formula of a slow start and a hectic finish. Not great but an enjoyable read.
WHIP HAND is the series' second book, continuing the story of Sid Halley, an ex-jockey turned PI with an artificial left hand. With the help of his judo-instructor friend Chico Barnes, Halley investigates primarily racing-related questions, at least in this book. However, he also goes after a conman who has involved Halley's ex-wife in a scheme that might send her to prison if the true perpetrator isn't found. By the end of the book, Halley has not only solved all the mysteries, but has learned a good deal about himself.
WHIP HAND is told in the first person by Halley. A lot of people don't like this POV and even say they won't read a book that uses it. I can't really imagine this book told any other way being as effective as it was. We learn so much about Halley's psyche that helps to illumine the character changes he goes through during the course of the book. Having the story told in third-person omniscient, for example, would just not be as powerful. I did find it difficult to read the portions in which violence is directed at the narrator, but they too were necessary to show the character's feelings.
As this is only the second Dick Francis book I've read, I'm still learning some of the ins and outs of British horseracing. I'm happy that Francis is so good at slipping bits of information into the story without stopping the flow of the plot. I expect I'll know a lot more before I'm done reading Francis.
As always, Francis makes the racing world come alive. It is a sphere about which i am wholly ignorant, but Francis has a great facility for making it all seem immensely familiar ad plausible. I don't think that this has aged well - the attitudes and platitiudes are a little too redolent of the 1970s, but it was still very enjoyable.
The plot is intricate and includes a couple of different
I love Sid. He’s determined, inquisitive, courageous, and principled. He’s got a great sidekick in Chico, as well; and his father-in-law has his back, too
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Omslaget viser en hånd og et dobbeltløbet jagtgevær, der peger lige på håndledder
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Side 97: If Halley's after you, watch out. He'll sneak up on you when you think he doesn't know you exist, and they'll be slamming the cell doors on you before you've worked it out.
Side 122: Obstinate, selfish, and determined to get his own way.
Side 122: She says you're as hard as flint. She says steel's a push-over beside you.
Sid Halley (engelsk), bind 2
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823.914 |