Whip Hand

by Dick Francis

Book Overview

"Challenging....First class." THE BALTIMORE SUN Sid Halley, once a jockey, was now a private invesigator with only one good hand left after a horse fell on the other. His new life, though, could never... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 067141903X
• ISBN13: 9780671419035
• Release Date: February 1981
• Publisher: Pocket
• Length: 315 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Last and Dead

WHIP HAND features a second mystery using the ex-steeplechase jokey turned detective, Sid Haley Read a Dick Francis is like going to an exciting movie which has you on the edge of your seat. The wife of a trainer comes to Sid with a problem, the winners her husband trained are coming in last and then dying. She suspects fixing on the turf and begs Sid's help in discovering the culprit. The racing authorities prefer to settle their own problems. Sid's ex-wife returns for an engagement, she learns that winning is Sid's main goal and she cannot place in the show. Sid and his partner Chico face heavy inducement to retire from the field, but the story sets the pace until the final lap. Nash Black, author of TRAVELERS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.

The second Sid Halley novel

This is the sequel to "Odds Against," and is the second novel about ex-jockey turned PI Sid Halley. It takes you into the world of racetracks, syndicates owning horses, trainers, and bookmakers. Sid becomes involved in two separate cases of people trying to fix the outcome of races, and corruption involving bookmakers, trainers, jockeys, etc. The racing world wants things handled internally (no police) because of the potential scandal. Not everyone gets officially punished, but Sid can give back as good as he gets, especially when he has a heavy artificial arm to use as a club. The author is very knowledgable about the subject, and you get a good picture of English racing (flat and steeplechase), horse training, and breeding. It is a very big business. Sid and his employee Chico do get banged about a bit. People are trying to encourage them to go into another line of work. That can be difficult to do with Sid, who has a reputation for being hard and out to win. He got used to bumps, bruises, and broken bones when he was riding. There are some additional encounters with his ex-wife, and a side case to help her out of some difficulties. Sid still does care about her. The first three books in the Sid Halley series, "Odds Against," "Whip Hand," and "Come to Grief," are also available in a combined omnibus edition, "Win, Place, or Show."

Another great by Francis!

In "Whip Hand" Francis returns with a character first introduced in "Odds Against" Sid Halley. Sid and his partner Chico are on yet again more page turning adventures. When a wife of a prominent trainer shows up(at Sid's door) wanting to know why her husbands "cream of the crop" horse's destined to win the races end up coming in last, and then later end up dieing. Also Sid's ex-wife enters the picture which makes for some great tension. A great read from beginning to end. Dick Francis again does what he does best,that is he writes great page turning mysteries. Happy Reading!

Francis redeems himself...

Last year, someone gave me my first Dick Francis to read, 10 LB. Penalty, which can best be described as horrid. I couldn't believe that someone as prolific as Dick Francis could sell so many books if they were of this caliber. This summer, my same friend gave me a big bag of mysteries to read, and I planned to skip Whip Hand. But as luck would have it, I ran out of books before I ran out of summer and Whip Hand was the only one left. Was I pleasantly surprised! In fact, this turned out to be the best mystery I have read all summer. The main character is Sid Halley, an ex-jockey turned PI whose small stature belies all the hidden baggage beneath. He also brings the same passion to win that he had as a jockey to his investigations. Halley has three separate mysteries dumped on him: a mail fraud, a syndicate fixing and racehorse tampering. The racehorse tampering was especially timely after spending some time in Versailles Kentucky this summer, site of the tragic and still unsolved horse tampering case. Not to give the story away, but this book is filled with action, drama, suspense, believable characters, just a little romance, and a plot that will have you guessing until the very end. Next time I receive a Dick Francis book, I will be a little more anxious to begin reading!

Return of Sid Halley, an unusual sequel

Most of Francis's books are stand-alones, but this is one of the few that is a second book about the same character. Francis has a winning formula: he writes books about a young man of around 30, in a career most people might think is boring, but which turns out to be exciting. His hero is usually taken for granted and under-appreciated by his family, and under-employed, but in the course of the book proves he is far smarter, cleverer, and more observant than anyone supposed.Usually, there's a highly intelligent middle-aged career woman who recognizes his worth and helps him along. It's a formula, but the details that Francis provides makes it work every time.In this second book about Sid Halley, Sid has gotten the artificial hand replacement that was talked about at the end of the previous book, Odds Against. As ever, Francis has done his research, and we find out a great deal about the science and engineering that goes into a working mechanical hand. The biggest part of this story is not the mystery, although of course that's there, but the story of Sid coming to terms with his own courage in the face of what he fears is cowardice. One of our villians threatens to destroy Sid's remaining hand, and Sid is at first afraid that he is going to give in to that threat. But living with himself after giving in to such threats would be a problem; Sid almost accidentally decides to stand up and against evil instead, and wins out in the end.