Deadly Finish

by John Francome

A gripping new racing thriller from bestselling author John FrancomeIt's summer, Royal Ascot, and life is good for young trainer Simon Waterford. He has inherited his father's top-class yard, his brilliant two-year-old has just won the Coventry Stakes and he is soon to marry his beautiful half-Brazilian girlfriend. But Mariana has a secret which would wreck her hopes of marriage -- and which Geoff has found out. And he has threatened to tell Simon. On their way back from the races, two rough-looking young men pass lewd comments about Mariana. There's not much of a brawl -- it's over too quickly and is hardly even-handed -- but it leaves Mariana in a sea of blood tending to Simon's wounded face and Geoff lies dead on the floor. It's a tragedy, of course, but Mariana can't help but feel relieved. Her secret is safe, for now...

Genres: Thriller

384 pages, Paperback

First published August 6, 2009

About the author

Ex-National Hunt Champion Jockey John Francome is a broadcaster on racing for Channel 4. He lives in Berkshire.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fra...

Reviews

[Gary Vassallo · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable John Francome read. A fast paced thriller. Recommended.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Thoroughly enjoyed guessing throughout 'who done it'. Kept me gripped until the very end.

The end was kind of rushed in my opinion, I would have liked more explanation and a bit more of the fall out but overall a good read! Will be reading more from John Francome.

[Mary Stratton · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This book was a nice surprise. It had been sitting on my shelf for quite some time and I was put off because I thought it was all about horse racing. It is set with that as a background but is primarily a murder mystery with plenty of plot twists and a romance or two thrown in. decent writing, easy to read and enjoyable.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, easy racing murder mystery read.

[Philip Alun Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable

Sluggish start but turned into a good read. Keeps you guessing during the read who the culprits are. Now looking for next J F novel.

[Donna Linton-Palmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little slow to start but it picked up as I got further into the story and the mysterious murders that take place.

[Bill Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second book of Francome's & enjoyed he rates with Dick Francis. Always something happening with twists.

[Linda Fallows · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty basic tale about murder and horse racing. Not up to the standard of Dick Francis.

[Helle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deadly Finish is another fine horse racing mystery by John Francome. The plot is very good and the character development is realistic. The final twist seems a bit forced, but apart from that I really enjoyed it.

[Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not John Francome's best book, however it is still a solid read and interesting enough to keep me coming back to it. The character development is interesting although perhaps it is telling that i liked some of the peripheral characters more than the leads. Alison and Gabriel had stories I would have liked to see developed further.

Not a bad book.