Declared Dead

by John Francome, James MacGregor

When Victoria Pryde opens her racing paper and reads that a horse called Mr Pryde is dead, she hopes that it's just a sick joke. But she has a nasty feeling that there might be more to the announcement than meets the eye. For her husband Edward has been missing for two weeks—and with good reason: he's run up massive gambling debts and his chief creditor, an unscrupulous bookie, has been leaning on him very heavily.
Then comes the discovery of his burnt-out Jaguar, with the charred remains of a body in the boot, a body which the police identify as Edward's...
The breakneck excitement of the Gold Cup, two bloody murders and the intriguing complexities of dramatic courtroom tension combine to make this fast-paced racing thriller another real winner.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Sports

312 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

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

[M.L. Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know why I get such a kick out of these horse racing scandal books but I find them absorbing. I found this in a pile of resale books and read it through in one night. I'm searching out the rest of his titles now.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning. It reminded me of the Dick Francis novel but this had all the issues of betrayal, spousal abuse, corruption and coercion. Great read

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a badly plotted book, but a badly written one.

[Gary Vassallo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick suspenseful read, that I quite enjoyed.

[Helle · Rating 3 out of 5]

On my edition of Declared Dead, it states that this is “A pacy, entertaining read (Times)”. That pretty much sums it up. It was a good, albeit a little predictable, horse racing mystery.