Well, six years later Dick Francis is back ... along with his one-handed former steeplechase jockey turned private investigator hero Sid Halley. Under Orders adheres to the traditional Francis model: something shady is going on in the racing world and the intrepid hero solves the crime with a combination of rare insight, the right connections, and a generous shot of derring-do usually involving a fair amount of blood and gore.

Sid Halley was the hero in three previous Francis books. His jockey career was prematurely cut short when a racing injury left him with a useless left hand. A later fight with a bad guy ended with Sid’s losing the hand. He wears a prosthesis.

His first marriage ended badly, but he and his former father-in-law, retired Royal Navy Rear Admiral Charles Rowland, remain close friends. As the story opens, Sid is joining Charles at a box at Cheltenham. He meets Bill Burton, another ex-jockey now working as a trainer. Rumors about Bill’s honesty are circulating.

Jockey Huw Walker approaches Sid. He tells Sid he must speak with him; he’ll call him later. Huw’s horse wins, but he and Bill Burton engage in a very public argument.

Chris Beeker, a rumormongering journalist is also at the race. He questions Sid about his love interest, but Sid prefers to keep his personal life confidential and avoids answering.

At a post-race party, Sid observes wealthy owner Lord Enstone, his son Peter, and George Lochs in conversation. Lord Enstone and Peter seem at odds; Peter is an amateur jockey and his father won’t allow him to ride his horses. George is a self-made man and a player in the internet gambling business. Lord Enstone is suspicious that there’s something odd about the way his horses are being run; Bill Burton is his trainer. He wants Sid to look into it.

After the races, Huw Walker is found dead, three gunshots to his chest.

Chris Beeker is quite correct that Sid has a lady love. She is Marina van der Meer, a tall, beautiful blonde Dutch research chemist doing cancer research at UK laboratories. When Sid arrives home Marina is there as well as several messages from Huw saying he’s in trouble and needs to talk to Sid immediately.

And all this occurs in just the first 33 pages of the book! There are more crimes, more conflicts, more secrets yet to be revealed, and only Sid Halley can right the wrongs.

Except for the internet gambling subplot, there’s nothing new or ground-breaking in Under Orders. It’s written in the first person with a hero familiar to Francis’s legion of fans. As the book’s rapid ascension in the best seller lists indicates, however, it’s a successful formula. This may not be Francis’s best mystery, but it’s a solid effort sure to appeal to readers.

After an interruption of six years, it’s great to have a new Dick Francis mystery. The author isn’t promising that Under Orders will be followed by further books, but one can always hope.

--Lesley Dunlap