Under Orders

Sid Halley #4

by Dick Francis

"Sadly, death at the races is not uncommon. However, three in a single afternoon was sufficiently unusual to raise more than one eyebrow."

It's the third death on Cheltenham Gold Cup Day that really troubles super-sleuth Sid Halley. Last seen in 1995's Come to Grief, former champion jockey Halley knows the perils of racing all too well-but in his day, jockeys didn't usually reach the finishing line with three .38 rounds in the chest. But this is precisely how he finds jockey Huw Walker-who, only a few hours earlier, had won the coveted Triumph Hurdle.

Just moments before the gruesome discovery, Halley had been called upon by Lord Enstone to make discreet inquiries into why his horses appeared to be on a permanent losing streak. Are races being fixed? Are bookies taking a cut? And if so, are trainers and jockeys playing a dangerous game with stakes far higher than they are realistic?

Halley's quest for answers draws him even deeper into the darker side of the race game, in a life-or-death power play that will push him to his very limits-both professionally and personally.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Detective

308 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2006

About the author

Dick Francis, CBE, FRSL (born Richard Stanley Francis) was a popular British horse racing crime writer and retired jockey.

Dick Francis worked on his books with his wife, Mary, before her death. Dick considered his wife to be his co-writer - as he is quoted in the book, "The Dick Francis Companion", released in 2003:
"Mary and I worked as a team. ... I have often said that I would have been happy to have both our names on the cover. Mary's family always called me Richard due to having another Dick in the family. I am Richard, Mary was Mary, and Dick Francis was the two of us together."

Praise for Dick Francis: 'As a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing' Daily Mirror '

Dick Francis's fiction has a secret ingredient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding it tight until the very end' Sunday Telegraph '

Dick Francis was one of the most successful post-war National Hunt jockeys. The winner of over 350 races, he was champion jockey in 1953/1954 and rode for HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, most famously on Devon Loch in the 1956 Grand National.

On his retirement from the saddle, he published his autobiography, The Sport of Queens, before going on to write forty-three bestselling novels, a volume of short stories (Field of 13), and the biography of Lester Piggott.

During his lifetime Dick Francis received many awards, amongst them the prestigious Crime Writers' Association's Cartier Diamond Dagger for his outstanding contribution to the genre, and three 'best novel' Edgar Allan Poe awards from The Mystery Writers of America. In 1996 he was named by them as Grand Master for a lifetime's achievement. In 1998 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2000. Dick Francis died in February 2010, at the age of eighty-nine, but he remains one of the greatest thriller writers of all time.

Series:
* Sid Halley Mystery
* Kit Fielding Mystery

Reviews

[James Thane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over a career that spanned forty-four years, from 1962 to 2006, Dick Francis wrote forty novels as a solo author and four of them featured Sid Halley, a former jockey who had become a private investigator. This is the last of the forty novels and the last to feature Sid Halley, which is, I think, an appropriate way for both Sid Halley and his creator to bow out.

For those who haven't made his acquaintance, Halley was a champion jockey until he had a horrendous racing accident that cost him is left hand. He was fitted with a prosthetic, but obviously his racing career was over. Halley found a second career as a private investigator and established a reputation as a tough, honest, intelligent operator. The cases he takes often involve the world of horseracing.

Such is the case here. A British lord named Enstone is concerned that his horses seem to be underperforming, losing races that they should be winning. He asks Halley to investigate to see if, for some reason, someone is causing them to lose. At the same time, Halley accepts another case in which he is asked to investigate the relatively new business of on-line betting as it affects the horse racing industry.

Halley barely gets started with the investigation before a jockey who often rides for Lord Enstone is shot to death at a racecourse. The police fairly quickly settle on a suspect that Halley believes to be innocent and so he turns his attention to the murder as well. As things progress, they get increasingly complicated and increasingly dangerous, not just for Sid Halley but for those he cares most about.

This is an interesting novel for a couple of reasons. Halley, who has long been divorced, is in a new relationship with a woman named Marina, and she looks like she might finally be the one for Halley. Their relationship is a key part of the novel. Additionally, the book relies heavily on DNA evidence, which was still in its infancy when this book was written. Apparently the police in Britain are not using it in any significant way yet, but fortunately, Marina works in a lab where the new techniques are being used for other purposes and so Halley is able to rely on the lab for help in investigating the case. There's plenty of action in the novel and a lot of twists and turns. If I were to make any complaint about the book, it would be that the villain of the piece does not measure up to the standard that Francis set in so many of his earlier books, and doesn't really seem to be an opponent worthy of Sid Halley.

Under Orders is certainly not the best of the Francis novels, but it's still a pretty good book to go out on, and this, then, completes my assignment of reading and reviewing all of the Dick Francis novels. Francis would go on to write a couple of other books in concert with his son, Felix, and Felix Francis has now taken over the franchise. For a variety of reasons, I have no interest in reading books in a series that I have thoroughly enjoyed when the original author dies or passes the baton to someone else. The sole exception to this rule is that of Ace Atkins who has taken over Robert B. Parker's Spenser series and who is doing an excellent job with it.

Given that, I have not and will not be reading any "Dick Francis" novels written by anyone else, his son included. The forty novels written by Francis himself, with the assistance of his wife Mary who was his principal researcher, are more than sufficient as far as I'm concerned.

[Steelwhisper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gentle meeting with an old friend. I adore Sid Halley.

Unfortunately, I think one can tell this was written after the death of his wife. So sad.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a few weeks ago that Dick Francis had written a fourth Sid Halley novel in 2006. I rushed to the library and found a nice large print version. I am sorry to say that it was not up to the standard set by the earlier three, perhaps because Francis appears to have been writing it either during or just after his wife's last illness. The plot and climax were a bit far-fetched; the new character (Halley's in love!) was engaging, but what turned me off a bit was two kinds of superfluous verbiage that kept recurring. First, several times during the book Sid Halley (who, as always, tells the story) goes off on a rant about something completely irrelevant to the plot -- for example, traffic jams in London caused by "empty" buses. Second, whatever research Francis or his assistants have done, whether it's on Internet gambling, DNA, or cancer research (Sid's lover is a cancer researcher), is just dumped into the text paragraphs at a time until the reader's head swims. Much of what Francis writes about in the books of his that I've read is new information to me, and I believe it was handled better in earlier novels. Fortunately for me, I still have many earlier works of his that I haven't read yet. I really like the characters of Halley and his ex-father-in-law Charles Rowland, and that kept me reading.

[Kwoomac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dick Francis first introduced his audience to Sid Halley in Odds Against in 1967. Generally, Francis created stand alone stories and did not repeat his characters. I believe I read somewhere, but cannot find the source, that Francis decided to revive Sid after Odds Against was serialized for British tv in 1979. So Sid was back in Whip Hand. Lucky us! Four years later, we get Come to Grief.Sid Halley is a favorite of mine. He’s a flawed man, whose stubborn commitment to his job, first as a jockey and later as a private investigator, has cost him. He lost his wife, he lost his hand, and came close to costing others their lives. But that’s why I love this guy. He’s not reckless, necessarily, but determined to do the right thing. Over the course of the books, we watch Sid evolve from a bit of a loner to someone with family, friends, and a future.

Sid doesn’t reappear until Under Orders was written in 2006. Dick Francis was 85 years old at that time. This is purely conjecture on my part, but maybe Francis wanted a chance to wrap things up with Sid Halley. And he does exactly that. Sid’s out to find the truth about a murder/suicide that the police think was pretty obvious. At the same time, and coincidentally with some of the same people involved, he’s looking into potential race-fixing. We know that Sid poking around in these situations is bound to have some nasty consequences for him. Of course, this is a Dick Francis novel, so we know Sid will figure things out. And finally, he does this surrounded by people who truly “get” him. Sid, and Dick Francis, get their happily ever after ending. Nicely done.

Dick Francis died four years later in 2010. Before his death, he started collaborating on stories with his son Felix. They wrote three books together, Dead Heat, Silks, and Even Money. After his father’s death, Felix started writing his own “Dick Francis” novels. I haven’t read any yet so can’t comment on them. But, in 2013, he writes another Sid Halley story. I’m not sure I want to read this. I loved Sid and I liked where his story ended. So, I don’t think I’ll be reading this one.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't really enjoy this book very much. I am an avid Dick Francis fan and have been for decades, and I regularly re-read his books. I adored all the earlier Sid Halley books, and thought that the finish in Come to Grief was the perfect ending for him. This book feels to me as though it were written by someone who had been told about the earlier books but had never read them.
Charles Rowland (spelled Roland in earlier books) has had such a drastic personality change I was wondering whether he had had a stroke. Where was the cultured, reserved, dignified rock we have come to know and love in earlier books? Swearing in front of women and getting drunk?
I also had trouble with the dismissal of the characters met in Come to Grief. No word about the success or failure of Rachael's bone marrow transplant, all the effort put into preparing Jonathon to be recruited, the slow development of the India Cathcart relationship, all just dumped?

All in all, I feel that this book would have been better if it had not been a Sid Halley book - if the plot had been used with completely new characters.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been awhile since I've read a Dick Francis novel and Under Orders included everything that I've always loved about his writing. Sid Halley is a great "hero" though not in the usual sense of the term. Solid, smart and with a fair amount of "guts", he works methodically through his cases. The fact that he's a former jockey - former because of a life changing injury - brings an insight to the world of horse racing that other detectives wouldn't have. Of course, this insight is brought about by the fact that Francis himself was a steeplechase jockey. This novel also introduced me to the world of online betting and what an eye-opener that was! A good read for me with lots of deducting and something new to be learned.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The least of the Halley's I've read, which makes it merely excellent. Francis may not be at his best here, but he's still damn good.
Sid Halley was the only Francis protagonist to make it past two books, and really the only one who should have. His other leads are very good, but Halley was the only one among the walking wounded, who really had progress to make. The other heroes must overcome situations, Halley has to prevail over himself, which makes him a better series character because there is a place for an arc.
Halley, here, is nearing the end of that arc, accepting himself and his faults, settling down with a caring partner, even achieving some kind of closure with his ex. Of course, that's when people start to die, scandal starts to boil over, and Sid has to get to work.
The characters are splendid, as always, and the racecourse atmosphere is, if anything, better fleshed out here than in the other books. The mystery, however, is the weakest in the series thus far, and the climax is somewhat lacking. It's still a lot of fun, but is a step down from the last two, especially.
Even so, this is a great read for mystery fans. You can start here with the character (the books are, plot-wise, standalone) but the first three should not be missed. This one's very good, but not quite essential.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back in England with my good friend Sid Halley. Sid is one of my favorite investigators. Strong, flawed, and unfailing honest.

This time Sid is digging into the world of online gambling and the death of a jockey. He's got a new love interest, and I think this one is for keeps. Finally! Sid has so much bad crap happen to him that it's exciting to see him happy. We get the usual band of characters in this one, and decent dose of Charles, the ex-father-in-law and pretty much the best retired Naval officer ever. I must confess, I have a slight crush on Charles. We get to see Jenny in a different light finally. Danger abounds, and, without giving too much away, they all lived happily ever after, as they do. Or some version of it.

Standard enjoyable mystery by my good friend Dick Francis. Three solid stars.

[E.P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

As one of the last acts in the twilight of his career, Dick Francis took his favorite character, Sid Halley, out for one last race.

Things have changed a bit since Sid Halley first appeared, back in 1965. As part of the time warp I mentioned in one of my earlier reviews, Sid has only aged about 10 years in the intervening 40, but he's changed a lot for all that. He's no longer the bitter, lonely man he was at the beginning, but has success, respect, and a very attractive and intelligent girlfriend--he gets a new one in each book, each one prettier, smarter, and more successful than the last (one has to give Francis his due: his heroes tend to find intelligent and successful women to be powerfully attractive, even as they negotiate a very uneasy line vis-a-vis feminism and liberal or left-wing political movements in general--at heart they're lone wolves who, like Tsvetaeva, are made squeamish by any kind of -ism, since subscribing to an -ism would force them to come face-to-face with their own radicalism...but that's a topic for another essay).

In fact, in some ways Francis's late works come full circle back to where the earliest ones started, and engage in some of the fairly blatant wish fulfillment that we see in books like "Dead Cert." His work, while to a certain extent quite uniform, can be divided into definite periods: the zany capers of the early 1960, such as "Nerve" and "For Kicks," the exploration of very dark themes of the late 1960s, starting with "Odds Against," the first Sid Halley book, the jet-setting, comparatively light-hearted stories of the 1970s, in which his characters have wild adventures in exotic locations such as South Africa (Smokescreen), Australia (In the Frame), or the Soviet Union (Trial Run), the intense family dramas of the 1980s, of which "The Danger," "Hot Money," "Straight," and "Longshot" all stand out, along with the Kit Fielding books--the 1980s may have been Francis's golden era--the alternatingly dark and lyrical works of the early 1990s, such as "Wild Horses," "Come to Grief," and "To the Hilt", and then the much slighter (in my opinion), almost sketch-like works of his late period, beginning with "Second Wind."

"Under Orders" is more substantial than some of his other late works, and is certainly well worth reading, but in some ways it's more like a gentle canter through a greatest hits album rather than a headlong gallop through new terrain (yes, I mixed those metaphors on purpose). Still, Sid Halley is such a magnetic character that it's almost impossible to go wrong with him, and there are some of Francis's trademark heart-in-your-mouth action sequences created out of seemingly ordinary, everyday materials. And if you've been following along with his adventures for all this time, it's rewarding to see him finally get all the things he deserves. "Under Orders" isn't Francis's strongest work, but it is likely to warm the hearts of long-time Francis fans everywhere.

[Book Concierge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio book read by Martin Jarvis
3.5***

Opening lines: Sadly, death at the races is not uncommon. However, three in a single afternoon was sufficiently unusual to raise more than an eyebrow. That only one of the deaths was of a horse was more than enough to bring the local constabulary hotfoot to the track.

Sid Halley is a former steeplechase jockey turned detective (following an accident which cost him his left hand.) He and his former father-in-law are at the track as guests of Lord Enstone but the events of the day draw him into an investigation that involves race-fixing and big-stakes gambling.

I really enjoyed this exercise in detection which focuses on the world of steeplechase racing. Francis assumes a certain intelligence in his reader (always a plus), but gives enough explanation of technicalities of the sport so as not to leave the novice completely in the dust (i.e. this reader was never confused). The pace is good, although I did think it slowed a bit in the middle, and Halley is a likeable, intelligent protagonist. The plot was sufficiently intricate to keep me guessing, and I was surprised at the reveal. I did think the ending was a little contrived; he seemed to have painted himself into a corner (or locked himself in a bathroom) with no way out. But that was a minor flaw. I thought he did a fine job with the supporting cast as well; I learned enough about Marina, Charles, Jenny and Rosie to believe their involvement and to like them and want to know more about them.

As much as I love mysteries, and as often as friends have recommended Dick Francis to me, I had not read any of his books before. My understanding was that his novels are stand-alone works and not series, so I picked this one because it satisfied a challenge to read a book whose title begins with “U.” Just my luck, Francis did write two series – the Kit Fielding duet (Break In and Bolt) and the Sid Halley series, of which Under Orders is number 4 (and the last he completed before his death in 2010). I’ll definitely go back and start at the beginning. Although I had a vague feeling I might be missing some interesting background stories, I don’t think my enjoyment of this book suffered for not having read the previous Sid Halley works.

Martin Jarvis did a credible job of the audio performance. His voice is pleasant, he reads at a good speed, and he has enough training as a voice artist to differentiate the characters.

[Libbie · Rating 1 out of 5]

So I am an avid Dick Francis fan, and I adore Sid Halley. This was not a Dick Francis book, nor was it written by someone who knew his books well. In the prior books, Sid Halley refuses to show his emotions, and in this book, he is practically gushing over Mariana. In the other books, Charles is a well-respected, intelligent man on whom Sid deeply relies. In this book, Charles is a drunkard. And, where's the continuity? We leave Sid falling in love with Rita, and then suddenly there's Mariana. This is very unlike Francis' earlier Sid books, where we learn the fate of girlfriends from previous books.

The heart and soul of Francis is gone from this book. All I can surmise is that Francis' wife had a much larger part in his writing than anyone knew, and that when she died, his (her) writing died too

[Carol Jones-Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was named one of the best audiobooks of 2017 by the Times (UK)* This program also includes a bonus interview with the author.

The pleasures of this English Murder Mystery, set in 1920, are many. Rachel Atkin's crisp performance is just right... A concluding interview with author Jessica Fellowes, who wrote the "Downton Abbey" companion books, promises more in this fun, well-narrated series, each set around a real-life unsolved murder."-Audio File Magazine Set amid the legendary Mitford Household, a thrilling Golden Age-style mystery, based upon a real unsolved murder, by Jessica Fellowes, author of the New York Times best-selling Downton Abbey books. It's 1920 and Louisa Cannon dreams of escaping her life of poverty in London. Louisa's salvation is a position within the Mitford household at Asthall Manor, in the Oxfordshire countryside. There she will become a nursemaid and chaperone. Very pleasant read.

This is another fine Dick Francis novel. It's amazing how his formulaic plots can each feel fresh and exciting. This story is about a private detective trying to solve a case involving the murder of a jockey and the apparent suicide of a race horse trainer. As Sid Halley, the detective, tries to unravel the mysteries surrounding these deaths, he must try to protect his girlfriend, who has been assaulted as a warning to halt the investigation. His decision to continue investigating places them both in deadly danger. This very satisfying story is filled with violence, romance, cutting edge DNA evidence and excitement. It is highly recommended.

I first encountered this book so many years ago that upon rereading the sample, I couldn't remember it. So I bought it again. Normally rereading an old mystery novel is not much of a pleasure, but even after a few key scenes had reminded me that I had read it before, "Under Orders" remained a pleasure of the first water. Francis' excellent plotting and remarkable characters are standard for his work, but nonetheless the real reason for his readers' pleasure. Can't recommend it enough; you'll be happy if you risk your ten bucks on it. 10 on the nose to win at any odds you like.

I have been reading Dick Francis since high school, and actually read the first the year it was published. I’ve always enjoyed the Sid Halley books especially and was delighted to find this one. How did I manage to miss this? Francis was a master of pacing and knew exactly how to set the hook. I reread so many of his books regularly, and will be rereading all the Sid Halley’s in order, starting tonight! You owe it to yourself to do the same.

And now I can say it: Dick Francis is back! Having believed that the author had retired after the passing of his wife Mary, who was his main researcher and collaborator, I was happily stunned when I heard about this new book, Under Orders. I was never so happy to get a package from the mailman. I read the book in one sitting, finished it in the wee hours and then fell asleep at work - but it's all good. Let me reiterate: Dick Francis is back. And he seems to have recovered some of his old pizzazz. His last two novels (Second Wind & Shattered) have, quite frankly, disappointed me as they've failed to maintain the author's usual keen sense of narrative drive and incisive portrayal of the priveleged versus the underpriveleged. Not fully present, also, in these prior two books, were his normally absorbing British charm and sensibilities, as well as his ability to ingratiate his characters with the reader. They certainly didn't resonate as deeply as his prior bestsellers. But, never mind. Dick Francis has finally returned. And he's brought with him his most dependable and most intrepid hero, Sid Halley. Highly Recommend -ENJOY!!!

[Michael McCue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dick Francis novels are always enjoyable but not so memorable. The victims are bad, the protagonists are clever and the horses are fast. Except for the horses who are slow. Sid Halley appears in several Dick Francis stories. He is a former jockey who lost a hand in a racing accident. Having to retire he became a private investigator specializing in horse racing issues. In Under Orders Sid investigates the murder of a jockey and finds all kinds of corruption. The suspects include a member of the House of Lords. Danger and suspense and in the end. Too much to spoil.

[Lisa H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

For pretty much as long as I can remember, Dick Francis books have been around, in every new and used bookstore or library - the unmistakeable design of the US hardcover editions features brightly colored covers, with a stylized horse or horses on the front, because every book includes horses: set in the world of horse racing, or horse breeding, or someone has a valuable horse that is in danger; in short, horses abound. And that's OK, because Mr. Francis started his career as a jump jockey, and was the Queen Mother's personal jockey for a number of years, and turned to racing journalism when he retired from steeplechasing.

About 5 years after he retired from racing, Francis came out with his first mystery novel, and for the next 38 years he published a book a year, developing a fan base that waited eagerly for the first week of October to see what he would deliver this time. Sadly, in 2000 his wife Mary died, and it was revealed that she had always been his writing partner, even though her name never appeared on the cover. From 2000 to 2005 there were no new Dick Francis books, and I didn't anticipate he would ever publish again, so those of us who loved his stories would just have to re-read the ones already in existence. Over and over and over.

Then out of the blue (for me, at least) in 2006, there was a new Sid Halley book. I suspect that Francis went back to his most popular character (the only one who featured in multiple books, with the exception of the two Kit Fielding novels Break In and Bolt) because its enthusiastic reception would be pretty much guaranteed.

Under Orders doesn't quite rise to the level of the previous Sid Halley books, Odds Against, Whip Hand, and Come to Grief, but it's still head and shoulders above much of the drivel that's published these days. It's like running into an old friend and discovering that you are still comfortable together and enjoy their company, despite many years of absence.

Sadly, the books since this, co-written with his son Felix (and later I'm sure written solely by Felix), have been disappointing to say the least.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sid Halley #4 - Sid has been a private investigator for 10 years now. He's not involved in such dangerous activities as he had been, more prone to doing background checks for new employees, etc. His friend Huw Evans, a jockey, is desperate to talk with him, and they agree to meet at the races. But when Sid leaves the races early, he finds Huw's bullet-riddled body in the car park (very dangerous places in Dick Francis' books). A couple of day later, the trainer that Huw rode for is found in his house, dead by apparent suicide. Sid believes that both deaths are murders by the same person and sets about to investigate.

Sid has a girlfriend in this book, his wife by the book's end. Her name is Marina and she's Dutch and works at the cancer clinic as a researcher. When the killer attacks her instead of Sid, she is able to get DNA evidence from under her fingernails where she had scratched her attacker. Her colleague also gets DNA from an envelope's seal that had been sent to Sid.

A little dull in the first third because of long explanations of gambling odds, but not a bad read.

[Karen A. Wyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hooray for library book sales! I had no idea Dick Francis had written a fourth Sid Halley novel until I found it in a box on a table, just waiting for me.

One could read this book without having read the previous three, but I recommend reading the others first. This one is about as good as its predecessors -- so if you enjoy ##1 through 3, you'll enjoy #4. The plot ticks along briskly, and Halley remains interesting company. As usual, it's fun to spend time in the racing world with an expert guide. I wouldn't call the characters complex, but they're not cardboard either.

[Sheenagh Murphy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sid Halley fans - DON'T read this book- leave our beloved jockey with the relationship with India at the end of Come to Grief and don't revisit. Very disappointing read. The writing is not recognizable as Dick's, the characters have morphed into unlikable, unrelatable individuals with almost NO point of comparison with their characters in the previous three novels. It is NOT Sid. It is NOT Charles. And hello! Jenny and Sid had pretty well resolved their issues at the end of the third novel. I actually seriously question whether Dick had any input into this book at all.

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last of the Sid Halley series by Francis

I have enjoyed the journey of Sid Halley from top jockey to severly handicapped private investigator. This final chapter looks at the dark side of betting in the computer age and brings a satisfactory conclusion to Sid's recovery and aspirations for a well-rounded future.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book to end my Francis obsession with - the final Sid Halley book that he wrote himself and it was better then the previous 2. Sid is older and wiser, feeling more comfortable with his mechanical hand and fretting about it less. He has a real girlfriend, Marina, who he eventually marries by the end of the book. And his ex-wife, Jenny, has finally mellowed out and is not so nasty to Sid. So all in all, the things that annoyed me about the previous books in this series have been mitigated. And the mystery was a good one. Sid is at the track on a bad day, two horses and one jockey, Hugh Walker, end up dead. Walker had left Sid 2 messages begging for his help that Sid had not received until after he was shot to death. It appears that Walker had gotten himself involved in a race fixing scandal that had turned into death threats if he didn't keep up his end of the bargain. Everyone assumed that the fight that Walker had with his trainer, Bill, after the first race was over the fixing scandal but in reality it was because Bill just found out that Walker had been having an affair with his wife. Bill is immediately arrested for Walker's murder and for fixing races but is let out on bail. The next day he is dead from an apparent suicide, using the same gun that killed Walker. The police think that it is an open and shut case but Sid thinks that Bill was murdered. He knows that he is one the right track when Marina is mugged on the way home from work and is told to get her boyfriend to back off. But Sid keeps at it and finds, as is usual for this series, that other cases he is investigating overlap with the murder case. He has been asked to look into the new online gambling sites and he finds that the owner of one of the sites has a close relationship with Bill's assistant trainer, Jillian. He was also asked by an owner, Lord Enstone, to look into his horses, trained by Bill, that seem to be losing with some regular pattern. Eventually, after Marina is shot to get Sid to stop investigating, Sid sets a trap for the killer. He gets Jillian to confess that she was fixing the races for her boyfriend, Lord Enstone's son Peter, and that he killed Walker when he wouldn't go along with the scheme. He also killed Bill to make the police believe that he committed suicide over a guilty conscience and get them to stop investigating. Apparently Peter, who is also a jockey, had a dual reason to fix the races - it gave him a chance to win the race himself and it also allowed him to humiliate his father, who he hated. Of course, as in all Sid Halley books, he foolishly lets himself get trapped by the killer, who inevitably threatens his good hand, and he manages to get free after outsmarting the killer with his fake hand. I'm glad that I was able to finish the series on a high. I do not consider the books written by his son to qualify as true Francis books.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not normally a mystery reader, but fwiw I liked it pretty well. Main limitation [for me] is that I never really cared who did it. It was pretty clear early on that he [ex-jockey protagonist] was correct and ahead of the official cops in his general hypothesis, and then the specifics were not of major importance to me. It does keep moving, though, and some of the stuff about his new girlfriend/fiancee, his own disability, etc. was interesting.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Online gambling, murder and race fixing - Sid Halley encounters them all in this installment of the series. Things get pretty dicey for Sid and his girlfriend but Sid maintains his cool while solveing the mystery and protecting his girlfriend. I always enjoy how the protagonists in Francis's books keep their cool and calm manner no matter what dangers or challenges they face.

[Brucie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This interesting character has lots of personality that the author should know well. I have never seen a Dick Francis story that was understanding of women or children. Some of the clues are obvious. Some times the smart jockey is quite an idiot and he does not fight well.

[Denise Kettering · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not one of Francis' best and feels a bit anti-climatic after the extremely good "Come to Grief." However, Sid Halley, as one of the few repeated characters in Francis' writing, remains a fascinating anti-hero and there is still enough here for readers to enjoy. There are twists and turns to enjoy, Halley's persistence in the face of a mostly unseen opponent, and of course the backdrop of horse racing. At times, the research in the book is not as carefully woven into the story as it was in his other books. However, overall this remains an entertaining read.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Dick Francis and I love the Sid Halley books (and wish he'd written more). UNDER ORDERS is entertaining but flawed. The story is interesting but the plot and conflict is too contrived to create drama. The police and hospital staff and private security are too unhelpful. The climax of the book is where it goes a little too far. Sid creates a situation that could harm a criminal case and puts himself in unnecessary danger. The same drama could've been pulled off with a little more finesse. Still worth a read.

[Ralf Secker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast schon altmodisch wirkt die so nette gute Haltung von Sid. Aufrecht ehrbar und verlässlich. Ein Kämpfer für das Gute/ Richtige.
Das Buch wirkt wie eine Wärmflasche in ungemütlichen Zeiten. Mehr davon!!

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite Dick Francis mystery, but still OK.

[Patricia Darling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again another great book by Dick Francis, great to read another Sid Hallay book. Great characters and story.

[Tom Shand · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Dick Francis novel. It had been in my bedside table for several years but I'm glad that I pulled it out. It was a good read, even though I know little about horse racing. It seems that he is/was? quite a prolific author so I will add him to my list of authors when I'm next at our free little library or somebody's garage sale.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read quite a few Dick Francis novels now and I have really started to enjoy them. This one involves a jockey being found shot dead by ex-jockey, now investigator, Sid Halley. This was fast paced and kept me guessing.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - Quite a good example of the Francis style of story, with a few irritating exceptions.
I don't think I'll read any more with Sid Halley as the protagonist.