Dead Certainty

A review of Dead Certainty has been placed in the store front of www.crimebookbeat.com.

Taking on the mantle of Dick Francis, an English jockey finds himself laid up after an accident and taking on other tasks, including writing a biography of a friend...and trying to figure out why people keep trying to kill him.

He has a fabulous cat, Leo, who suffers a dislocated tail in one attack, when an arsonist tries to set the house ablaze.  The cat defended the home but got manhandled in the process.

Why are people turning up dead, and what on earth is the motive?

Ignore the cover art, which shows a foxhunter, not a steeplechaser.  It's pretty, anyway.

Dead Certainty                        Glenis Wilson                        3.5 stars

Skulduggery in the world of horse racing!
Glenis Wilson is following in the steps of Dick Francis in writing about crime in the racing fraternity.  In this she strikes just the right balance, and produces a really good story which Francis fans will appreciate.
Harry is a successful jump jockey, until the day he falls at a fence in a pile up with another jockey and horse, and winds up with serious injuries.  The doctors make it clear that it is in no way certain that he will be able to return to racing.  This is not good news for Harry whose only other income is from a small newspaper column; how will he support both himself, and his disabled sister Sylvie for whom he pays nursing home fees?
 Luckily his friend and boss Mike, and his ex-wife Annabel have his back, and Harry is engaged to ghost write the autobiography of Elspeth Maudsley, a successful trainer who is on the point of retirement.
Harry isn’t thrilled by the job, but has the sense not to turn it down and so he settles down with his long-suffering cat Leo, to write his first book.
Almost straight away however he is involved in a series of ‘accidents’ and it becomes clear that someone doesn’t want this book written.
This is a very competent ‘who dunnit?’, but with a good sprinkling of surprises, which lift it to a higher level. It also has likeable (and not so likeable) characters who are very real.
I kept turning the pages until I got to the unexpected conclusion and really enjoyed the read.  I am quite sure that you will too.
Pashtpaws