Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collections
Publication
Pan Books (1996), Paperback, 352 pages
Description
Fiction. Mystery. HTML: It's amazing what bodily injury can do for a man. A fall from a racehorse left brilliant jockey Sid Halley dangerously depressed, with a wrecked hand and the need for a new career. It was a bullet wound that helped him find one. Although he'd been with a detective agency since his racing accident, it isn't until some two-bit hoodlum drills a slug into his side that he is sent out on a case of his own. That is where he meets Zanna Martin, a woman who just might make life worth living again. But it is an even-money bet that he will be killed before she has the chance..
User reviews
LibraryThing member tripleblessings
Sid Halley #1: a former jockey has become a private investigator into racing crimes, after an accident ended his racing career. Excellent mystery, great suspense, fun to re-read every couple of years.
LibraryThing member LA12Hernandez
I like the way Sid is surprised that others think him brave. I think most heroes are that way just doing what they have to as best they can.
LibraryThing member auntieknickers
I'm so glad I saw the movie of this book first. It was part of a four-episode series on British television called The Racing Game. The first episode was an adaptation of this book; the remainder were based on the characters and written by screenwriters in consultation with Mr. Francis. I enjoyed
Had I read the book first, I would have been disappointed in the film, because the book is much better. In it, Sid Halley has been "working" in a large detective agency for two years, ever since his hand was smashed in a steeplechase accident, ending his career as a jockey. He is seldom given any assignments and assumes that the job is a bit of charity -- not because he needs the money but just to give him a place to go each day. Then, his soon-to-be-ex-father-in-law inveigles him into helping foil an extremely hostile takeover of a small racecourse, and in the process, Sid discovers that he really does want to be a detective and is good at it. All this character growth is brought out much more fully in the book than in the film. Also, some minor plot changes in the film, while perhaps cinematically apt, seemed somewhat unrealistic to me, and the original incidents in the book are both more believable and just as suspenseful. If you like to see filmed mysteries, do watch the videos first and then read the book. But do read the book by all means.
Show More
them, especially the first, and liked the casting, so I felt I'd like to read the book to see how it differed (having already read the second in the series, Edgar-winner [book:Whip Hand].Had I read the book first, I would have been disappointed in the film, because the book is much better. In it, Sid Halley has been "working" in a large detective agency for two years, ever since his hand was smashed in a steeplechase accident, ending his career as a jockey. He is seldom given any assignments and assumes that the job is a bit of charity -- not because he needs the money but just to give him a place to go each day. Then, his soon-to-be-ex-father-in-law inveigles him into helping foil an extremely hostile takeover of a small racecourse, and in the process, Sid discovers that he really does want to be a detective and is good at it. All this character growth is brought out much more fully in the book than in the film. Also, some minor plot changes in the film, while perhaps cinematically apt, seemed somewhat unrealistic to me, and the original incidents in the book are both more believable and just as suspenseful. If you like to see filmed mysteries, do watch the videos first and then read the book. But do read the book by all means.
Show Less
LibraryThing member leslie.98
A great portrayal of what courage is (plus the reference to Flanders & Swann always makes me happy). A gripping story even when rereading it.
LibraryThing member themulhern
Not as formulaic as many of Francis' subsequent efforts. Written in the '60s; the office boy's carefully coiffed and rather long hair is a prominent topic, Sid's father-in-law was in WWII, and ex-officers of one sort or another abound.
Sid is the archetype of Francis's quiet, effective, socially
One person is blackmailed into suicide because he is gay. Dick Francis comes across as pretty socially permissive in most of his books, he seems to be genuinely more interested in actual character than in labels.
The part about the damaged hand is actually rather good technically, but the whacky sadists are a bit over the top.
Telephones were quite primitive in those days. There's a girl who works the office switchboard.
Sid is the archetype of Francis's quiet, effective, socially
Show More
observant, and stoic heroes. They are very good at seeing the flaws in others, summing them up, and coping without judging too cruelly. But we know they are superior to everybody else.One person is blackmailed into suicide because he is gay. Dick Francis comes across as pretty socially permissive in most of his books, he seems to be genuinely more interested in actual character than in labels.
The part about the damaged hand is actually rather good technically, but the whacky sadists are a bit over the top.
Telephones were quite primitive in those days. There's a girl who works the office switchboard.
Show Less
LibraryThing member delphimo
I have not read a Dick Francis book in over 40 years, and I thoroughly enjoyed Against Odds, the story of Sid Halley, a retired steeplechase jockey. Like many detectives, Sid Halley, encounters death many times during the story: an excited thug shoots Sid in error and a group of thugs attempts to
Show More
torture Sid into revealing the whereabouts of film negatives. England and steeplechase courses provide a compelling setting as Sid battles to save the demise of racing course slated for a capitalistic venture into housing units. The story delves into the beautiful versus the ugly, and which is truly good, which reminds me of the two women in High Noon---the black lady and the white lady in her wedding attire. Why so much emphasis on appearance as the indicator of good and evil. Sid’s venture into detective work at the urging of his father-in-law gives Sid a kick in his lethargy and pushes him into action. Dick Francis presents a descriptive book of both setting and characters which stroked the flames concerning steeplechase racing. Show Less
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
After a career-ending injury to his left hand a couple of years earlier, former jockey Sid Halley has a make-work position in a private security firm. When he is nearly killed in a sting operation gone wrong, Sid’s father-in-law, a retired admiral, provides him with a stimulating case involving
Sid is not my favorite of Francis’s heroes, but I like him well enough to look forward to his further adventures. This book has a similar feel to Second Wind, which I liked just a bit more. Perhaps the difference is that this book is one of Francis’s earlier works, while Second Wind was written after Francis had years of writing experience behind him.
Show More
the stealthy take-over of a race track. This proves to be exactly what the doctor ordered, and it becomes the catalyst for Sid’s transformation from former racing hero to successful private investigator.Sid is not my favorite of Francis’s heroes, but I like him well enough to look forward to his further adventures. This book has a similar feel to Second Wind, which I liked just a bit more. Perhaps the difference is that this book is one of Francis’s earlier works, while Second Wind was written after Francis had years of writing experience behind him.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Ameise1
When I started reading I thought, 'oh my, I probably won't like this that much'. I was very wrong, because soon the tension picked up speed and I couldn't put the book down.
If you've read a lot of Dick Francis books, you soon saw which way the story was headed, but the how and why was well
Sid, a former jockey and son-in-law of a rich man, 'worked (sat)' in a detective agency since his accident and actually did nothing. His father-in-law tricked him into investigating why successful horse racing venues were being run down, to the point of selling land so that houses could be built there.
If you've read a lot of Dick Francis books, you soon saw which way the story was headed, but the how and why was well
Show More
hidden.Sid, a former jockey and son-in-law of a rich man, 'worked (sat)' in a detective agency since his accident and actually did nothing. His father-in-law tricked him into investigating why successful horse racing venues were being run down, to the point of selling land so that houses could be built there.
Show Less
LibraryThing member AliceAnna
I love Dick Francis. I love Sid Halley.
Awards
Edgar Award (Nominee — Novel — 1967)
Crime Writers' Association Awards (Shortlist — 1965)
Language
Original publication date
1965
Physical description
352 p.; 6.93 inches
ISBN
0330105973 / 9780330105972
Local notes
Halley, 1
DDC/MDS
| Fic Mystery Francis |
Similar in this library
Bolt by Dick Francis
Risk by Dick Francis