Sid Halley is a continuing character in a series of six books begun by Dick Francis and continued by his writer son, Felix Francis. This fictional character became so popular that he has his own page on Wikipedia!
Dick Francis wrote numerous books in the horse-racing mystery genre in conjunction with his wife, Mary. Mary insisted on remaining in the background, but she did a tremendous amount of research for each novel, plus assisting in the development of characters.
After Mary Francis died in 2000 at age 76, Dick lost interest in writing and virtually retired. Five years later, his son, Felix, agreed to help revive interest in the popular Dick Francis series of books, beginning with a new book featuring the legacy character, Sid Halley. (See Keeping a Legacy Character Alive by Felix Francis).
Sid Halley Series Continuation by Felix Francis - Synopses
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Here are brief reviews of the second set of three books, written by Felix Francis, starring Sid Halley.
Under Orders (2006)
Last seen in 1995 in Come to Grief, Sid Halley, former champion jockey turned super-sleuth, returns in a new novel.
The plot centers around three deaths which occur on Cheltenham Gold Cup Day. Sadly, death at the races isn’t that uncommon; however, finding a jockey who had just won the top race of the day dead from three bullet wounds to the chest is unusual enough to raise more than one question.
Moments before finding the dead jockey, Sid had been asked by Lord Enstone to investigate why his horses suddenly appeared to be on a permanent losing streak.
Halley sets out to find answers to a darker side of the race game; that of race fixing. Are the bookies involved? How about the trainers and the jockeys?
The results of his investigations push Halley to his limits, both professionally and personally.
Dick Francis’ Refusal (2013)
As the story in Refusal begins, we find that Sid Halley has retired from the field of Private Investigator. His work was rather dangerous at times, resulting in him being harassed, beaten and shot. Now Sid is married and has a daughter, so he gave up his former life. He thought nothing would ever lure him back. He thought wrong.
Sid refuses a request from an old friend (Sir Richard) to investigate a series of dodgy races. The next day, Sir Richard is found dead under suspicious circumstances. Then he receives threats and warnings from a man with an Irish accent of dire consequences if Sid doesn’t deliver a white-washed report to the racing authorities about the suspected race-fixing.
Sid at first ignores these warnings, but the intimidation escalates, placing his family under threat. Sid now realizes he must meet his enemy head-on – or pay the ultimate price for his refusal.
Hands Down (2022)
Felix Francis returns once again with Book number 6 in the Sid Halley series.
As the story begins, we find Sid Halley having had a transplant of a new left hand since his last appearance in Refusal.
An ex-jockey friend calls Sid for help after receiving death threats, But Sid is busy coping with his own problems of recovering from surgery, plus saving his crumbling marriage.
Then, his friend’s stable yard is torched, horses are killed, and the friend is found dead. Sid now blames himself for not helping sooner. The police think it’s suicide, but Sid is not convinced after his friend’s terrified phone calls. As Sid begins to investigate, he finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy involving the integrity of British horse racing.
Summary
Therein concludes this series of novels featuring popular fictional character, Sid Halley. Will there be more? We will have to wait and see. Meanwhile, Felix Francis continues to write in a genre fans of Dick Francis enjoyed and has become a successful crime writer in his own right.
*One interesting side note about the Sid Halley series relates to the time periods they were written. Dick Francis began the series with Odds Against in 1965. Dick's son Felix began the continuation of the series in 2006. These two authors' styles were similar, but the difference is in technology. In 1965 there were no personal computers, cell phones, or the Internet. All of those things come into play in the second three Sid Halley books written by Felix Francis. If you read all six books in the series back-to-back, you will see how technology changes many things.
Related Reviews:
- Reviews of the First 3 Books in the Sid Halley Series
- Reviews of other books by Dick Francis
- Reviews of other books by Felix Francis
For more Book Reviews, Check Out
*Sid Halley Books Part II reviewed by Wednesday Elf
