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Product Description
The Press
'A book you won't want to put down until you reach the last
satisfying page.' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
satisfying page.' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Product Description
"Sadly, death at the races is not uncommon. However, three in one afternoon was sufficiently unusual to raise more than an eyebrow."
It’s the third death that really troubles former champion jump-jockey Sid Halley. He knows the perils of racing all too well – but in his day, jockeys didn’t usually reach the finishing line with three .38 rounds in the chest. But this is precisely how he finds Huw Walker – the new winner of the Triumph Hurdle and Halley’s friend. Now former friend.
Walker was riding one of Lord Enstone’s horses in the Hurdle and it was the inimitable owner who invited Halley in the first place. His brief: to make discrete enquiries into alleged race fixing. Are results being rigged? Are bookies taking a cut? And if so, are trainers and jockeys playing a dangerous game with stakes far higher than they realise …
Halley’s quest for answers draws him ever deeper into the darker side of the race game, in a life-or-death power-play that will push him to his very limits – both professionally and personally.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
73 of 80 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
'Under Orders' is vintage Dick Francis. It is almost as though the last six years hadn't happened, but it reminded me how much I had missed him while he was away.
All the classic elements of a Dick Francis novel are there. The hero (in this case, the fourth outing for the jockey turned private investigator Sid Halley who has previously been seen in 'Odds Against', 'Whip Hand' and 'Come to Grief') with his humble yet wise nature and his knack for self-deprecating humour; the racetrack and the horses, without which it wouldn't truly feel right; the arrogant press; the beautiful girl... It all sounds rather cliched, yet the elements have succeeded for 39 previous novels with little variation and still remains a success.
As ever, Dick shows he has a superb ability to keep the action at a steady pace with our hero overcoming various hurdles and speeding up at breakneck speed to the finishing line. Never one to shy away from a showdown with the villain of the piece, Dick always manages to get the reader on the edge of their seat and the finale to 'Under Orders' is no exception.
Like all good crime novels and 'whodunits', 'Under Orders' has its fair share of suspects and various motives and sub plots. Within this story, we have internet gambling, race-fixing and family feuds. I was genuinely surprised by the final revelation.
For all those pessimistic nay-sayers who claimed his wife actually wrote all the books, here is the proof that Mr Francis is a talent to be reckoned with, unless the late Mrs Francis has been using a planchette.
All the classic elements of a Dick Francis novel are there. The hero (in this case, the fourth outing for the jockey turned private investigator Sid Halley who has previously been seen in 'Odds Against', 'Whip Hand' and 'Come to Grief') with his humble yet wise nature and his knack for self-deprecating humour; the racetrack and the horses, without which it wouldn't truly feel right; the arrogant press; the beautiful girl... It all sounds rather cliched, yet the elements have succeeded for 39 previous novels with little variation and still remains a success.
As ever, Dick shows he has a superb ability to keep the action at a steady pace with our hero overcoming various hurdles and speeding up at breakneck speed to the finishing line. Never one to shy away from a showdown with the villain of the piece, Dick always manages to get the reader on the edge of their seat and the finale to 'Under Orders' is no exception.
Like all good crime novels and 'whodunits', 'Under Orders' has its fair share of suspects and various motives and sub plots. Within this story, we have internet gambling, race-fixing and family feuds. I was genuinely surprised by the final revelation.
For all those pessimistic nay-sayers who claimed his wife actually wrote all the books, here is the proof that Mr Francis is a talent to be reckoned with, unless the late Mrs Francis has been using a planchette.
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I have read everything Dick Francis ever wrote and I have to say this book was a disappointment. While there is nothing outstandingly bad about it and it is quite well written, compared with his previous books it is certainly lacking both in suspence and in interesting characters. That special atmosphere of the racing world that always captivated my imagination is gone and the information given about it seem forced.
Also, this book is the fourth which features ex-jockey Sid Halley, so an irritatingly large potrion of it was spent explaining his history and his relationship to the other characters, things that are already known to readers who have read the prequels. However, more annoying was the fact that it does not coply with the other books in many ways; e.g. Sid's ex-father-in-law has very different personality, his ex-wife is still inexplicably angry at him, although they made peace in the last book, and Rachel, a little girl dying of cancer whom Sid had come to love as a daughter, is not even mentioned. Lastly, the number of people who had died of or had cancer in this book defies all laws of probability!
Also, this book is the fourth which features ex-jockey Sid Halley, so an irritatingly large potrion of it was spent explaining his history and his relationship to the other characters, things that are already known to readers who have read the prequels. However, more annoying was the fact that it does not coply with the other books in many ways; e.g. Sid's ex-father-in-law has very different personality, his ex-wife is still inexplicably angry at him, although they made peace in the last book, and Rachel, a little girl dying of cancer whom Sid had come to love as a daughter, is not even mentioned. Lastly, the number of people who had died of or had cancer in this book defies all laws of probability!
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Former steeplechase jockey, now investigator, Sid Halley, has his one real and one artificial hand's full. While attending a steeplechase race, Lord Enstone asks that Sid investigate whether his horses' trainer is deliberately influencing how they run. The trainers' jockey, who had been trying to reach Sid, is found dead after having been shot three times. When, days later, the trainer is found dead, everyone is ready to write it off as suicide over guilt of being caught out--everyone bud Sid.
This is classic and masterful Dick Francis with his excellent opening hooks. Now, ten years after the previous Halley book, Francis has allowed his recurring characters to age and mature in a realistic way; Sid has a stable relationship, his ex-wife is less bitter and his former father-in-law is getting older. You are given enough of Sid's background to understand his vulnerabilities and what motivates him, and Francis has given him a girl friend of his equal. However, Francis doesn't assume you've read the previous books and so provides enough background so this book could be read as a standalone. The new characters are also fully developed.
I always learn things when I read Francis' books. In this case, about prosthetics, on-line gambling, British police procedure, DNA, and other things, but never in a preachy way or one that takes me out of the story.
Because Francis' plots are so interesting, one almost loses how well he creates sense of place and dialogue. At one point, when I feared he was falling into a clichéd style, he character stated he wasn't going to do the clichéd action. Even when he had a clue that, I thought, was fairly obvious, he added a nice twist to it that I hadn't expected.
While this book may not have been a continually gripping as some of Francis' previous, it had enough suspense to keep me continually turning the pages and one the sofa from page one to the very end--and I loved the end-- without stopping. I highly recommend this book, and am delighted Mr. Francis' is back. Long may he write!!
This is classic and masterful Dick Francis with his excellent opening hooks. Now, ten years after the previous Halley book, Francis has allowed his recurring characters to age and mature in a realistic way; Sid has a stable relationship, his ex-wife is less bitter and his former father-in-law is getting older. You are given enough of Sid's background to understand his vulnerabilities and what motivates him, and Francis has given him a girl friend of his equal. However, Francis doesn't assume you've read the previous books and so provides enough background so this book could be read as a standalone. The new characters are also fully developed.
I always learn things when I read Francis' books. In this case, about prosthetics, on-line gambling, British police procedure, DNA, and other things, but never in a preachy way or one that takes me out of the story.
Because Francis' plots are so interesting, one almost loses how well he creates sense of place and dialogue. At one point, when I feared he was falling into a clichéd style, he character stated he wasn't going to do the clichéd action. Even when he had a clue that, I thought, was fairly obvious, he added a nice twist to it that I hadn't expected.
While this book may not have been a continually gripping as some of Francis' previous, it had enough suspense to keep me continually turning the pages and one the sofa from page one to the very end--and I loved the end-- without stopping. I highly recommend this book, and am delighted Mr. Francis' is back. Long may he write!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A good Read
I came across this book in the hotel foyer my last day on holiday, and having read a few pages decided to get a copy from Amazon on my return. It turned out to be a good read. Read more
Published 7 months ago by W. Tegner
Pedestrian
The problem with this fourth in the Sid Halley series is that there is too much exposition. We don't need a blow by blow account of how DNA testing is carried out, neither do we... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mrs Bee
audio book
My husband has not read any of Dick Francis so as he is now into the audio books thought I would try him on this and he is hooked.
Published 24 months ago by Mme Bernice Dawson
Under Orders
Guys, Dick Francis at his very best. Before you know it the hours will have slipped by. I'm a great fan of Sid Halley and thoroughly enjoyed the plot. Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2010 by Steve Daly
RIP DICK FRANCIS
The reviews of this book are mixed, and rightly so, I have put off reading this since I bought it when it first came out. Read more
Published on 3 Mar 2010 by Mr. Sr Harrup
An average book
I really wanted to give this book three-and-a-half stars. It's not really that bad, and the main character is quite likeable. Read more
Published on 18 Feb 2010 by Emanon
dad's xmas gift
lovely light reading. very good for book presents for parents. dick francis is one of the few authors that both my folks can actually read.
Published on 3 Nov 2009 by Currenr Plus
Dross - they shoot horses don't they?
This is sad. They were never great works of literature but this one categorically proves that the stirrups should be hung up. Read more
Published on 23 April 2009 by Officer Dibble
Disappointing--and illuminating
Like many other reviewers here, I've read all of Dick Francis' earlier thrillers--many of them more than once, they're that good--and have always enjoyed the deft writing, crisp... Read more
Published on 3 Nov 2008 by Sophie Masson
Not so much a fast gallop as a sedate walk.
Dick Francis has been a hugely successful author over a period of thirty years and has a devoted following. Read more
Published on 29 April 2008 by Sunnie Gill
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