DARK HORSE

5 stars out of 5

Honestly, I'm not sure how many books this prolific author (the son of another prolific author) has written featuring former champion steeplechase jockey Sid Halley, nor am I sure how many I've read. I do know I'd bet on any one of them to be a winner because I know that's a sure thing.

This one is no exception - and it's got two additional selling points: First, Sid - who lost a hand in a nasty fight and was fighting with a prosthetic model last time I tapped into his life - has had a hand transplant and once again has the real thing. Second, this one casts aside any notion that a female jockey can't hold her own with the big [little] guys.

In fact, the first half or so of the book focuses on the life of Irish professional jocket Imogen Duffy, who's trying to win her way up the ranks to become a top performer (meaning in demand and well paid). She's reined in, though, by an ex-boyfriend who's also a jockey - and one who took it way too personally when she dumped him. In retalliation, he's stalking her, making her life miserable and, many times, afraid for her life.

Then, just as she got her sights on the pinnacle of success, said boyfriend turns up very dead - with a knife bearing her fingerprints on it sticking out of his chest. Needless to say, the police aren't wont to disregard the evidence, and she's charged with the murder.

The setting now jumps to Sid, now a private investigator who would much rather spend his time with his wife Marina and their daughter Saskia. He's approached by an old friend who just happens to be Imogen's father - a man to whom Sid owes a favor. And it's not hard to guess what that favor might be: Investigate his daughter's case in the fervent hope of getting her off.

The rest of the book, of course, follows the investigation by Sid and his team as well as Imogen's trial. That, too, was interesting to me - I love to read about courtroom proceedings, even more so when they differ a bit from the rules and regulations of U.S. venues (here, it's in England). All told, it's another great romp - and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to ride along by way of a pre-release copy.

Dark Horse by Felix Francis (Crooked Lane Books, September 2025); 336 pp.

DARK HORSE

5 stars out of 5

Wow. Just wow. Love this series, loved this book (the 7th, for the record). I made the mistake of starting it early one afternoon, so the need to eat and sleep forced me to put it down once or twice instead of polishing it off in one day as would have been my choice. But trust me, I closed my Kindle with great reluctance.

To say that Evan Smoak, the star of the show, is carrying a ton of baggage from his past doesn't even come close to an accurate description. Suffice it to say that he survived his younger days as a highly trained assassin in the U.S. government's clandestine Orphan Program and has come out on the other side. Whether that's for better or worse depends on the situation, but now he's dropped his Orphan X identity and is known as The Nowhere Man - someone whose mission in life is to help people who have no one else to turn to. 

Now in the process of restoring his high-tech condo digs after a blast that almost killed him, he's sort of settled into a relationship of sorts with his neighbor Mia Hall. His young tech buddy (and former Orphan survivor) Joey Morales is helping with the restoration, and Evan really wants a break. Alas, he won't get one; duty calls after a call from drug-dealer hotshot Aragon Urrea in South Texas. Evan has no interest in helping bad guys, but Aragon has a softer side; just like Evan, he helps many people less fortunate than himself. More to the point of the story, his beloved only daughter, Angelina, has been kidnapped by a rival cartel and taken to their headquarters compound in Mexico. Evan isn't thrilled with helping someone who most folks would consider one of the bad guys, but after meeting Aragon, he concludes that good and bad don't always show up in black and white - and in this instance, gray is an acceptable color.

From that point on, it's basically a story of how one man can rescue a damsel in distress without getting himself killed. In this instance, it ain't easy; Evan will need all the tricks of the trade he can muster (or get from friends) plus an abundance of intestinal fortitude. I'd throw in a modicum of luck, but I'm pretty sure Evan wouldn't buy that for one second; as the saying goes, luck happens only when preparedness meets opportunity. It's page after page of action - much of it on the horrific side - with close call after close call. If that weren't enough, a situation back at home takes a potentially deadly turn that turns out to be the cliffhanger at the end of the book (making me, of course, eager to get my hands on the next installment).

All in all, this is a series I highly recommend (if you can start at the beginning, so much the better, but I'm one who did not and had no difficulty figuring out what was going on in those I did read including this one). Many thanks once again to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy. Super good!

Dark Horse by Gregg Hurwitz (Minotaur Books, February 2022); 432 pp.