Deep Secret

by Nigel James

Alec Hammond is the country's leading jump jockey, popular amongst his peers and adored by the betting public. He has won everything except the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the blue riband of steeplechasing. He finally has a horse capable of filling the gap in his glittering CV... Nicola James ran away from home at the age of sixteen and drifted into the world of adult movies, where, under the name Susie Stone, she becomes one of industry's biggest stars. Posing as her agent's PA, she meets Alec at a corporate entertainment day at Sandown and against her better judgement, falls in love with him but cannot reveal her past... Frank Morris is a bent bookmaker who established his business by bribing jockeys to ensure that their mounts did not win. In debt to the type of people who do not resort to the courts, he reverts to his old ways and hatches a plot to stop Alec's mount from winning the Gold Cup... Murder, blackmail and kidnap follow, culminating in a dramatic climax on Gold Cup day...

308 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2011

About the author

Nigel James started life as a lawyer but has always been an avid reader of thrillers and now writes them himself.
His first was Deep Secret, a crime thriller set in the world of horse racing, in which a top jockey seeks to win the only big race to elude him in his glittering career. Others though are equally determined to stop him and murder, blackmail and kidnapping all occur before the dramatic climax on race day.
His latest novel, The Marbella Project,features a father's quest for revenge when his son is brutally murdered by the Russian mafia on the Costa del Sol. But Dan Green is no ordinary father. He is a former officer in the SAS and when the Spanish police appear powerless to act, he recruits a former colleague and the two of them take on the most powerful organised crime gang on the coast. The action switches from Spain to London and Moscow before returning to Spain for the final confrontation.

Reviews

[Wiggy59 · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the best horse racing thriller I have read. The ill fated relationship between a champion jockey and an adult movie star leads to murder, blackmail, kidnapping and fixed races. Fast paced, easy to read and easy to follow for those unfamiliar with the world of racing and betting.

[Len Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real fun goodies and baddies read. Jockey's, prostitutes, bribery and really great action. A perfect summer read by the pool.