Felix Francis
Publication Date: 25/9/25
Publisher: Zaffre
Blog Tour Organiser: Ransom PR
SYNOPSIS
Imogen Duffy is a young Irish jockey, whose fledgling career is given a huge boost when she wins a prestigious horse race at the Cheltenham Steeplechasing Festival. But all is not well in her life. She has a violent and controlling boyfriend, also a jockey, and he becomes increasingly jealous of her success. As a result, she tries to break off their relationship, but he won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. He attacks her, and claims that he’d rather kill her than allow her to leave him.
Imogen flees her home in Ireland, coming to England to get away from him, and to continue her riding career at a racing stable in Lambourn, where she finds increasing success. But the abusive boyfriend follows her across the Irish Sea, stalks her, steals from her, attacks her again, and then tries to ruin both her career and her reputation.
Imogen’s desperate father turns to Sid Halley for help, and Sid reluctantly agrees to investigate, but then finds that he is also being stalked and threatened. Can Sid find out what the hell is going on, and before it is too late?
MY REVIEW
Another thrilling read from Felix Francis, set in the hugely competitive world of horse racing.
This is very much a two part read.
Everything is going really well for Imogen, as a talented up and coming jockey in Ireland, until she tries to dump her controlling boyfriend who is a fellow jockey. He doesn’t like that at all and becomes threatening, both verbally and physically, spreading awful rumours and turning up at her home. Actually frightened for her life, she luckily lands a new job and moves to England to escape him. Unfortunately he follows her.
The first part of the book is fast paced as we follow Imogen through her many races, (jockeys have a very hard life) with plenty of descriptions of horse racing talk converted to layman’s terms for those of us who don’t know much about horse racing. It is all quite fascinating. However, she is in constant terror of Liam turning up at her door or trying to hurt her during a race where he is also competing.
Then everything changes for part two of the book which focuses on Imogen being arrested and jailed. A retired PI is approached by Imogen’s father and asked to help investigate and clear her name. This second half is all about looking for the gaps in the prosecutors argument and doing some more digging.
And that is quite the ending!
I thoroughly enjoyed being immersed into the world of horse racing. Imogen’s fear of her ex was palpable and I had my heart in my mouth much of the time. And then the tone changes completely as I was immersed into a different race against time to prove Imogen innocent.
I smiled at the mention of Felix’s father’s – Dick Francis – statue at Aintree. Wonderful!
This is the third book by Felix Francis I have read and I’m here for more to come. This is my favourite so far.
Thanks as always to Sophie at Ransom PR for my spot on the tour and for my finished copy of the book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
FELIX FRANCIS is Dick Francis’s younger son. Born in 1953, Felix studied Physics and Electronics at London University and then embarked upon a 17-year career teaching Advanced Level physics at three schools, the last seven as head of the science department at Bloxham School in Oxfordshire. After leaving teaching, Felix then became a businessman, spending 13 years as deputy chairman of World Challenge Expeditions Ltd, before starting his third career as an author.
As a child, Felix remembers that conversations around the Francis breakfast table were somewhat unconventional. “The production of a Dick Francis novel has always been a mixture of inspiration, perspiration and teamwork. The first one was published when I was nine, and I grew up in a house where talk would be about the damage a bullet might do to a man’s guts rather than the more mundane topics of everyday life”.
Over the next 40 years, Felix assisted Dick with both the research and the writing of many of his novels. They shared a love of racing and often worked together on plot and character details at Dick’s home in the Cayman Islands. This partnership allowed Dick to draw upon Felix’s knowledge and experience as a physics teacher and marksman in Twice Shy, and as an outdoorsman in Longshot.
With the publication of Under Orders in 2006, Felix took over the writing of the ‘Dick Francis’ novels from his father. This was followed by Dead Heat in 2007, Silks in 2008, and Even Money in 2009. Crossfire was the book Felix was working on when Dick died in February 2010, marking the end of one chapter and the beginning of another in the Dick Francis brand. Since then there have been many more ‘Dick Francis’ novels, with Felix’s latest, Dark Horse, published in September 2025.
Two Heads Are Better Than One 