#Extract from #DarkHorse by Felix Francis | @zaffrebooks | @soph_ransompr

‘Felix Francis is back with the next racing thriller
featuring former champion jockey & private detective, Sid Halley’
– Dark Horse

Dark Horse by Felix Francis published September 25th with Zaffre Books. Felix Francis undertook extensive research for Dark Horse, drawing on a diverse range of inspirations and sources to bring authenticity to this latest chapter of the Sid Halley story.

To celebrate it’s release I am delighted to be part of the blog tour and have an extract to share with you all today.

‘Sid Halley returns in Dark Horse, his seventh outing over the years and the fourth time I have used him myself and slipping into Sid’s dialogue was like putting on a favourite pair of shoes! In this novel, he is a more reluctant investigator however still retains the same impressive skills as before. I enjoyed using his older, wiser character as a foil to Imogen’s younger, more inexperienced one and it was great to see this balance play out over the course of the story.‘ – Felix Frances

[ About Dark Horse ]

Imogen Duffy is a young Irish jockey, whose fledging career is given a huge boost when she wins a prestigious horse race at Cheltenham Steeplechasing Festival. But all is not well in her life. She has a violent and controlling boyfriend, also a jockey, and he becomes increasingly jealous of her success. As a result, she tries to break off their relationship, but he won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. He attacks her, and claims that he’d rather kill her than allow her to leave him.

Imogen flees her home in Ireland, coming to England to get away from him, and to continue her riding career at a racing stable in Lambourn, where she finds increasing success. But the abusive boyfriend follows her across the Irish Sea, stalks her, steals from her, attacks her again, and then tries to ruin both her career and her reputation.

Imogen’s desperate father turns to Sid Halley for help, and Sid reluctantly agrees to investigate, but then finds out that he is also being stalked and threatened. Can Sid find out what is going on, and before it is too late? This latest chapter of the Sid Halley story will have readers racing to the end as they are plunged into the dangerous and gripping world of horse racing.

[ Extract ]

“Don’t you bloody touch me!” I instinctively pulled my arm away from his grasp. “Ah, come on, Imo,” he said, in a somewhat pained County Carlow lilt. “I’m only wishing you good luck.” “I don’t need your good luck,” I replied, perhaps rather too sharply. “Go away.” “But you’re my girlfriend,” he whined. “Not any longer, I’m not,” I said. “I told you last week it was over.” “But I love you.” I stood and looked at him – the man with whom I had been in a relationship with for almost four years, and not once before had he told me that he loved me. I remained staring at him for some time, maybe a full minute or two. “I’m sorry, Liam,” I said finally. “I don’t love you.” “You did once,” he said unhappily. Did I? Maybe I had loved him once, in an adolescent sort of way – an eighteen year-old girl falling in love with a man four years older than her. But, if so, it had been a long time ago now. I knew I hadn’t loved him for at least the past year. But I’d felt trapped in an abusive entanglement that I hadn’t known how to end. That was until the previous week when I had finally plucked up the courage to pack my suitcase and leave the house we had shared, going home instead to my parents. “Maybe I loved you once,” I said. “But I don’t any more.” I could tell that he was hurt, and he was also angry. But Liam had always been angry. “Duffy, you’re late,” shouted a racecourse official. “Get outside now!” I turned away from Liam and faced the official. He gestured for me to go out of the open door. Everyone there turned to look at me. “Sorry,” I mumbled, and brushed quickly past the official, and out through the doorway into the watery March sunshine.

– From Dark Horse by Felix Francis

[ Bio ]

Felix Francis is a Sunday Times and New York Times international bestselling author and has sold almost a million copies of his books. He was born in Oxford and graduated from London University. His initial career led him into physics, where he was a successful teacher, and he went onto a second successful career as a bestselling author. His other accomplishments include being an outdoorsman, marksman and pilot. Felix Francis lives in Oxfordshire with his wife, Debbie, their family and two Irish Setters and a Cavapoo.