10-Lb Penalty

10-Lb Penalty

Summary

Discover the classic mystery from Dick Francis, one of the greatest thriller writers of all time

'Great plot, non-stop action and great bad guys . . . What's not to like?' 5***** Reader Review
'Draws you in in the first five seconds and doesn't let go' 5***** Reader Review
'Dick Francis is a master at holding attention throughout' 5***** Reader Review
______

Seventeen-year-old Benedict Juliard's ambitions of becoming a steeplechase jockey are dashed when he's falsely accused of taking drugs.

For his estranged father, however, this is an opportunity. A wealthy businessman running for a parliamentary by-election in Dorset, Juliard Senior needs all the help he can get - especially when the campaign moves from mudslinging to something more deadly.

Now young Benedict has to grow up fast - not only to find out who is trying to harm his father's chances of election, but also to keep him alive long enough to stay in the race . . .

Packed with intrigue and hair-raising suspense, 10-Lb Penalty is just one of the many blockbuster thrillers from legendary crime writer Dick Francis.

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

'The narrative is brisk and gripping and the background researched with care . . . the entire story is a pleasure to relish' Scotsman

'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

'A regular winner . . . as smooth, swift and lean as ever' Sunday Express

'The master of suspense and intrigue' Country Life

'Francis writing at his best' Evening Standard

'Still the master' Racing Post

Reviews

  • Unbeatable
    Daily Mirror

About the author

Dick Francis

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.
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