Stalking Horse

by John Francome

Jockey Josh Swallow is about to retire and he's aiming to go out at the top. He's ridden over 1000 winners and landed all the big prizes in the sport - all except one. So he's determined that this season the title of champion jockey will finally be his. But it won't be easy. There's Ben O'Brien, the brilliant young Irish rider in his first full season who already has a lead on Josh in the championship race. And leading trainer Leo Lovall, once Josh's best friend and now his most bitter enemy. There's also someone else with a keen interest in Josh. She's his biggest fan, though he has no idea she exists. And hers is the kind of obsession that will never be satisfied - not even by murder...

Genres: Thriller

320 pages, Hardcover

First published November 3, 2003

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

[Gerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my younger days I read and enjoyed all the Dick Francis novels. In John Francome, I think I've found another source of highly entertaining thrillers revolving around the world of horse racing.

I guess I am not the first to make a comparison or link the two authors. What is a surprise to me is that it took me so long to discover John Francome was also an author. I can only assume that he sold less books than Francis because I do not recall seeing his books in charity shops/secondhand bookshop.

I knew of the author as a top class national hunt jockey which is why I bought this book. Would the book appeal to someone with no knowledge of the racing world? It is certainly not couched in racing jargon so following the story would not be a problem. It has an excellent plot which I guess could be adapted to any circumstances but on the other hand, one of the appeals to me was precisely that it does revolve around horse racing!

It is a well constructed, well written, fast paced edgy thriller. It begins with a prologue with the musings of a girl who appears lucid but somewhat confused and is probably suffering from some psychological problems. We then get into the story and are introduced to Josh, a jockey coming to the end of his career who has won just about every major race but has never been crowned champion jockey and his quest to catch a young Irish jockey who stands ahead of him in terms of number of races won.

We find there are complex relationships between the featured jockeys, trainers and agents, often to do with past intimate relationships. Add to this Josh's wife who has her own dark secret and Mouse, the woman featured in the prologue who is seriously deluded and dangerous to boot and you get an intriguing web of secrecy, danger and deceit.

A great read, fast paced and full of action. Keeps you guessing until the end. I really enjoyed this thriller and will certainly be on the lookout for other titles by John Francome.

[Keryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Dick Francis-type thriller, I did enjoy this book - easy to read and good pace, it kept me hooked to the end. Will read more of Francome's books for sure.

[Eric Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who enjoys a day at the races , I like to read an ex-jockey novel from time to time. John Francome along with Dick Francis and Richard Pitman are always enjoyable , and this one is no exception. The author likes to romanticise the life of his jockey characters - maybe from personal experience - and this one involves a female stalker copying the household keys of a top rider. This leads to a complicated social life , general mayhem and ultimately murder as the hero tries to win the jockey championship . Largely for UK readers , I think.

[Andra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story, creepy, terrifying, the violence handled very well which made it more frightening.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting horse racing perspective, of course. But I found myself skipping through passages because the pace of the drama was too slow.

[Neil Payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read if a little over long.

[Mannie MizzFizz Hagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

So when I first picked up this book I felt that it was a bit of a bore and I would soon give it up and move on to a more exciting book. However, as I continue to read, I had to put the book down because I didn't want to get to the ending to quickly 😂🤷🏾‍♀️. This book is what a thriller is all about. At first you feel as it just a bore, a fantastic ploy by Francome before he unleashes a horde of plot twists and surprises that keep you strapped to your seat wanting more. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, would definitely recommend and will definitely reread in the future. Well done John Francome on the book. Who knew you could make a murder mystery out of a horse race?

[maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book for the husband but he gave up on it saying it was too girly. So I read it. And while there are some exhilarating race commentaries, a lot of the narrative is from a feminine angle. Which is fine. But if you're looking for guy action on the turf then not so much.