Deadly Finish: A fresh and exhilarating racing thriller of suspicion and secrets

by John Francome

A day at the races ends in murder...Deadly Finish is another brilliant racing thriller from 'the natural successor to Dick Francis' (Irish Times), John Francome. The perfect read for fans of Felix Francis' Pulse and Triple Crown.'The book moves at a relaxed pace but the tension continues to mount until the surprising conclusion. Good characters, good plot and well worth reading' - West Australian It'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 Simon's uncle 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, while 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...What readers are saying about Deadly 'John Francome's weaving of the various plot-lines was superb''Another first class book from Francome''Believable characters and great storyline had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end'

Genres: Thriller

386 pages, Kindle Edition

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.