SYNDICATE

5 stars out of 5

I've long been a fan of the author and before that his late father, Dick Francis - and even after all those years, for whatever reason, I took a special shine to this book. I even stayed up late one night just because I was at the 90% mark on my e-reader and didn't want to wait till morning to finish it.

My attraction wasn't just the story, although it's a good one; the owner/manager of a racehorse syndicate receives threats to his daughter's life (with actions to back them up) if he doesn't "fix" specific races in which his horses are entered. That part alone captured and held my attention from beginning to end; but sprinkled liberally in the mix were fascinating details about the racing industry, and syndicates in particular (most of which I was clueless about until now).

As a prominent and trusted member of the UK racing community, Chester Newton's reputation is at stake when he finds himself in a most unwelcome situation. After his grown daughter Amanda goes missing - and later turns up drugged but otherwise unharmed - he starts getting calls from an unknown caller that he must follow the caller's instructions or else the next abduction won't end as well. Meantime, his syndicate is doing exceptionally well thanks to a horse named Potassium, who unexpectedly wins the prestigious Epson Downs Derby - just the financial and public relations shot in the arm the syndicate needs to bounce back from its current stagnation. Getting caught fixing a race - or even thinking about it - would bring an end to an illustrious career and life as Chester knows it.

But what to do about it is another matter altogether; he certainly doesn't want to put his daughter's life in danger - nor that of his wife of 25 years, even though they've grown apart over the last several of them, nor Amanda's brother, who comes across as a sort of ne'er-do-well college student with no real purpose in his life.

With Amanda's return, Chester learns the local police have little interest in the case (after all, she wasn't really harmed - just drugged - and she claims to have no recollection of what happened to her anyway). So if he's to learn the identity of the threatening caller and bring him (or her) to justice, he's pretty much on his own. But how to do that without compromising his own values and bringing the professional life he loves to a quick end?

The details, of course, I cannot provide; for that, you'll have to read it for yourself (and obviously, I urge you to do just that). I will, however, happily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy of another of this author's wonderful books. And oh yes, ready for the next one when you are!!

Syndicate by Felix Francis (Crooked Lane Books, September 2024); 252 pp.