Whip Hand

Sid Halley, now a private investigator with a bionic hand, finds himself uncovering corruption in the racing world.

Reproduction of the original: The Whip Hand by Samuel Merwin

From a New York Times–bestselling author, a “solid winner in just about any mystery/adventure race” featuring a private eye targeting racetrack corruption (Kirkus Reviews). Dick Francis, Edgar Award–winning master of mystery and suspense, takes you into the thrilling world of horse racing. Sid Halley’s career as a jockey—and his marriage—were brought to a sudden end by a heartbreaking accident. His glory days are over, but now, as a private investigator, he still finds a certain satisfaction in successfully solving a case. His latest one, though, could prove to be his undoing. Rosemary Casper, wife of an elite racehorse trainer, has begged for his help in figuring out why her husband’s most promising horses have been performing so poorly. Halley thinks she’s overreacting at first. Then hints of deceit and brutal danger make him think twice . . . Praise for the writing of Dick Francis: “Dick Francis is a wonder.” —The Plain Dealer “Few things are more convincing than Dick Francis at a full gallop.” —Chicago Tribune “Few match Francis for dangerous flights of fancy and pure inventive menace.” —Boston Herald “[The] master of crime fiction and equine thrills.” —Newsday “[Francis] has the uncanny ability to turn out simply plotted yet charmingly addictive mysteries.” —The Wall Street Journal “Francis is a genius.” —Los Angeles Times “Nobody executes the whodunit formula better.” —Chicago Sun-Times “A rare and magical talent… who never writes the same story twice.” —The San Diego Union-Tribune

The men throw themselves on the spokes, the horses plunge forward under the lash of the whip. A moment of straining—an uncertain moment—then the wheels turn slowly forward, the horses’ feet draw out with a sucking sound, and the boat rolls ahead. The driver unbuttons his oilskins at the waist and reaches beneath an under coat for his watch. They have been out two hours; distance covered, two miles. Before him is darkness, save where the lantern throws a yellow circle on the ground; behind him is darkness, save for the white boat, the little group of panting, grunting men, and, a long mile to the southward, the gleaming eye of the Grosse Pointe lighthouse, now red, now white. But somewhere in the darkness ahead, somewhere beyond the white of the breakers, a big steamer is pounding herself to pieces on the bar. So he buttons his coat and shifts the reins and swears at the horses. He seems to swear easily, this young fellow; but he is thinking of the poor devils on the big steamer, lashed to the mast perhaps, if the masts are still standing; and he is wondering how many of them will ever ship again. A huge bonfire lighted up beach and breakers. Around it huddled a motley crowd, students in rain-coats or sweaters, sober citizens and residents of the north shore, fishermen, and all the village loafers. But the students were in the majority and were making most of the noise. It was they who had built the fire, raiding fences and wood-yards to send up a blaze that should tell the poor fellows out yonder of the warmth and comfort awaiting them on shore—if they should ever get in through the surf. They were cheering, too, giving the college yells and shouting out inspiriting messages—as if any noise below the sound of a gun or a steam fog-horn could hope to be heard over the roar of the lake! But this was a great occasion and must be made the most of.

Who holds the whip hand? From a young mother stealing back her child to a disillusioned lover seeking revenge with a potion, from house cleaners contemplating a life of crime to a woman parting ways with Jesus, these are stories of people living on the edge. In their collections ‘The Returning' and ‘Playing Dead', Mihaela Nicolescu and Nadine Browne illuminate the complexity of the everyday with compassionate but unflinching accounts of the ways in which people gain, lose or reclaim control of their lives.

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. THE ULTIMATE KILLING GROUND. There a million ways to die in the Black Hills of Dakota Territory—but only one way to make it out alive if your name is Buchanan: with guns blazing . . . THE HILLS HAVE EYES The Buchanans are no strangers to hard times—or making hard choices. After losing a hefty number of livestock to a killer grizzly, Hunter Buchanan is forced to sell a dozen broncs down in Denver for some badly needed cash. Everything goes smoothly—until he’s ambushed on the way home. The culprits are a murderous bunch of prairie rat outlaws, as dangerous as any Buchanan has ever tangled with. But Hunter is hell-bent on getting his money back. Even if means pursuing the thieves into Dakota Territory—where even deadlier dangers await . . . Meanwhile, Angus Buchanan has agreed to guide three former Confederate bounty hunters into the Black Hills, on the trail of six cutthroats who robbed a saloon and killed two men in Deadwood. This motley trio of hunters are as cutthroat as the cutthroats they’re after. And it doesn’t take long for Angus to realize they mean to slaughter him as well at the end of the trail . . . One family of ranchers. Two groups of cold-hearted murderers. So many ways to die.