A dead hitchhiker, empty canisters found at the bottom of several trucks, and the murder of a harmless mechanic are the bizarre events that lead ex-jockey Freddie Croft to suspect that his transport company, Driving Force, is involved in drug smuggling, or something far worse.

When a hitchhiker picked up by one of his drivers is later found murdered, ex-jockey Freddie Croft, the owner of a profitable fleet of horse vans, is drawn into the mystery.

Fiction. Literature. Mystery. Thriller. HTML:"Delightful...A tense, fast-paced new mystery...boasting a resolute, resourceful, and modest hero and lots of racetrack characters and color."
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Transporting racehorses to the course is big business for ex-jockey Freddie Croft. But when a driver breaks a cardinal rule and picks up a hitchhiker, the results are fatal...for the hitchhiker. Freddie knows that a corpse is bad for business, especially when its trail leads to corpse number two —- and to strange nighttime stalkers and unseen conspirators who are weaving a web of deceit and danger that Freddie might never escape....

When a hitchhiker is murdered, ex-jockey Freedie Craft fights to keep his horse racing enterprise and his life.

Jockey Freddie Croft thought he'd left the perils behind him when he retired from the jump game. These days he was happy to transport horses from their stables to the races. Until one of his drivers picked up an unlicensed passenger. And brought him back dead.The corpse on the doorstep was Freddie's unwelcome introduction to the shadowy, big-money conspiracy which muscled into his business and started to threaten his life. But Freddie was a fighter, and winning was in his blood ...First identify the dangers. Then beat them out of sight ...

"New York Times" bestselling grand master of crime fiction Jockey Freddie Croft discovers a high-stakes conspiracy that exposes the seedy underside of horse-racing-and faces deadlier odds of survival than in any steeplechase run.

"At 35, Freddie Craft has retired as a steeplechase jockey and now runs a fleet of motor horseboxes transporting runners from their stables to the races, or brood mares to the stud farms. When a hitch hiker is picked up and someone dies, Freddie is drawn into a complicated conspiracy."--Publisher's description.

Fiction. Mystery. HTML:

Jockey Freddie Croft thought he'd left the perils behind him when he retired from the jump game. These days he was happy to transport horses from their stables to the races. Until one of his drivers picked up an unlicensed passenger. And brought him back dead. The corpse on the doorstep was Freddie's unwelcome introduction to the shadowy, big money conspiracy which muscled into his business and started to threaten his life. But Freddie was a fighter, and winning was in his blood...

First identify the danger. Then beat them out of sight.

Dick Francis, CBE, has written 41 novels, a volume of short stories, the biography of Lester Piggott and his autobiography. He has received many awards, including the Crime Writers' Association's Cartier Diamond Dagger. The Mystery Writers of America have given him three Edgar Allan Poe awards and made him a Grand Master for a lifetime's achievement.

During a long career that has encompassed stage, TV and cinema, Tony Britton has become a familiar face to millions through the long-running series Don't Tell Father and Don't Wait Up. Among his other TV appearances are The Royal, Doctors and The Way We Live Now, while his films include These Foolish Things.

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Ex-jockey Freddie Croft now runs a fleet of vehicles which transport racehorses across the British Isles and Europe. But when two of his drivers pick up a hitchhiker who ends up dead, Freddie's got a big problem. First, it quickly becomes apparent that the hitcher wasn't quite what he seemed. And second, Freddie finds that his horse boxes might just be being used for moving something a lot less legal than horses. Now he must figure out what is going on before the police do, and before whoever is doing it cottons on and tries to stop him - permanently. A classic mystery from Dick Francis, the champion of English storytellers. 'I enjoyed this book hugely.'Sunday Times

A classic mystery from Dick Francis, the champion of English storytellers. Ex-jockey Freddie Croft now runs a fleet of vehicles which transport racehorses across the British Isles and Europe. But when two of his drivers pick up a hitchhiker who ends up dead, Freddie's got a big problem. First, it quickly becomes apparent that the hitcher wasn't quite what he seemed. And second, Freddie finds that his horse boxes might just be being used for moving something a lot less legal than horses. Now he must figure out what is going on before the police, and before whoever is doing it cottons on and tries to stop him - permanently. Praise for Dick Francis: 'As a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing' Daily Mirror 'Dick Francis's fiction has a secret ingredient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding it tight until the very end' Sunday Telegraph 'The narrative is brisk and gripping and the background researched with care . . . the entire story is a pleasure to relish' Scotsman 'Francis writing at his best' Evening Standard 'A regular winner . . . as smooth, swift and lean as ever' Sunday Express 'A super chiller and killer' New York Times Book Review Dick Francis was one of the most successful post-war National Hunt jockeys. The winner of over 350 races, he was champion jockey in 1953/1954 and rode for HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, most famously on Devon Loch in the 1956 Grand National. On his retirement from the saddle, he published his autobiography, The Sport of Queens, before going on to write forty-three bestselling novels, a volume of short stories (Field of 13), and the biography of Lester Piggott. During his lifetime Dick Francis received many awards, amongst them the prestigious Crime Writers' Association's Cartier Diamond Dagger for his outstanding contribution to the genre, and three 'best novel' Edgar Allan Poe awards from The Mystery Writers of America. In 1996 he was named by them as Grand Master for a lifetime's achievement. In 1998 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2000. Dick Francis died in February 2010, at the age of eighty-nine, but he remains one of the greatest thriller writers of all time.

Freddie Croft has retired as a steeplechase jockey and now runs a fleet of motor horseboxes transporting runners from their stables to the races. A rule is broken when a driver picks up a hitchhiker and when they reach base the passenger is dead.

Young ex-jockey Freddie Croft owns a profitable fleet of horse vans that convey runners to the course. A man who has few illusions about racing's smarmier aspects, Freddie is a stickler for security. But even he is startled by the violence that erupts when a hard, fast rule is broken: Never pick up a hitchhiker. In what will be the first of many ironies, the passenger - not the driver - turns up dead. And if one corpse is bad for business, what happens next could well be fatal: Freddie is swept unknowingly into the vortex of a malign conspiracy in which appearances deceive and the cost of being duped is murderously high. Tilting at the shifting shadows cast by his elusive adversaries, he must summon up extraordinary guile and courage to protect his enterprise - and save his life.

Freddie's life and his business of transporting racehorses to the course are in danger when one driver breaks the cardinal rule--never pick up a hitchhiker.

Freddie thought he'd left the perils behind him when he retired from the jump game. These days he was happy to transport horsesfrom their stables to the races. Until one of his drivers picked up an unlicensed passenger. And brought him back dead.

With his stable of New York Times bestsellers, Dick Francis has made the racetrack mystery a major genre in itself. Now Francis returns again to the high-stakes world of noble steeds and base scoundrels in Driving Force. A stickler for security, the owner of a fleet of horse-vans is shocked by t he violence that erupts when a hard, fast rule is broken: Never pick up a hitchhiker.

An ex-jockey who transports thoroughbreds from race to race must unravel a mystery when a hitchiker he picks up dies suddenly.

It's life & death, neck-and-neck in the stretch: this bestselling author returns to the scene of the crime with another winning mystery

Ex-jockey Freddie Croft, who owns a profitable fleet of horse vans, is sweep unknowingly into a malign conspiracy.

When one of ex-jockey Freddie Croft's drivers breaks a cardinal rule and picks up a hitchhiker in one of Croft's horse vans, violence erupts.

It's life and death neck-and-neck in the strech in this, Dick Francis's thirty-first horseracing thriller.

Discover the classic mystery from Dick Francis, one of the greatest thriller writers of all time 'A brilliant story with an unusual plot. An absolute page turner!' 5***** Reader Review 'Gripping from the first sentence and packed with action' 5***** Reader Review ______ Ex-jockey Freddie Croft now runs a fleet of vehicles which transport racehorses across the British Isles and Europe. But when two of his drivers pick up a hitchhiker who ends up dead, Freddie's got a big problem. First, it quickly becomes apparent that the hitcher wasn't quite what he seemed. And second, Freddie finds that his horse boxes might just be being used for moving something a lot less legal than horses. Now he must figure out what is going on before the police, and before whoever is doing it cottons on and tries to stop him - permanently . . . Packed with intrigue and hair-raising suspense, Driving Force is just one of the many blockbuster thrillers from legendary crime writer Dick Francis. Praise for Dick Francis: 'As a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing' Daily Mirror 'The narrative is brisk and gripping and the background researched with care . . . the entire story is a pleasure to relish' Scotsman 'Dick Francis's fiction has a secret ingredient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding it tight until the very end' Sunday Telegraph 'A regular winner . . . as smooth, swift and lean as ever' Sunday Express 'The master of suspense and intrigue' Country Life 'Francis writing at his best' Evening Standard 'Still the master' Racing Post

A retired steeplechase jockey and owner of a fleet of motor horseboxes finds an unwelcome corpse on his doorstep after one of his drivers picks up a hitchhiker. Follows COMEBACK.

Driving Force

Freddie Croft, a young ex-jockey, owns a profitable fleet of horse vans. A man with few illusions about racing's dark side, Freddie is a stickler for security. So imagine his anger when a driver not only breaks the rules (never pick up a hitchhiker), but the hitchhiker dies in the van

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A horseracing thriller.