Sid Halley and his mate, Chico Barnes, heroes of past Dick Francis books such as Whip Hand, return for a tour de force. Felix Francis has hit his stride and Sid Halley is one of his late father’s finest creations.

HANDS DOWN begins with former jump jockey Sid getting used to a transplanted left hand in place of his artificial one. Neither he nor his Dutch wife Marina is entirely at ease with the situation. Then a young jockey with a problem and a senior racing trainer with an even bigger problem dump their troubles on sometimes private detective Sid’s lap.

Sid learns that an agency that books jockeys to ride horses have been creaming off commissions from both riders and trainers. This is not illegal, but if a trainer refuses to pay, he may find the booked jockey does not arrive for the race. A jockey may be bribed or blackmailed into making a favourite lose a race. With no firm evidence and a case of arson to underscore the danger, Sid feels he has to investigate. Chico, his sidekick who now teaches judo, returns to the fray. 

I appreciate that new technology is part and parcel of this story, as much a feature of every day as the hand transplant which was not available decades ago. Speaking of which, I was able to skip over paragraphs of description of this operation, but I recently read a complaint that someone listening to an audiobook generally can’t skip over anything.

Contrast with the past abounds--from a town castle to a small bedsit, from the memories of Sid’s racing glory days to modern track facilities. Though I notice the jockeys (and most other characters) still all seem to be male, which of course is not the case. Sid also dwells on the choices he made in previous years. Conveniently, if her husband is going to stir up villains, Marina takes herself and their daughter to her Dutch family, so while we get phone conversations, there is no strong female role. Dick Francis actually wrote more strong women, aided by his wife. 

I was glad to revisit Sid and Chico, as any fan of racing thrillers will be. Their latest adventure is a winner HANDS DOWN.