No Reserve by Felix Francis
Summary:
Theo Jennings is a young auctioneer at the Thoroughbred sales ring in Newmarket. The October yearling sales are where the big money exchanges hands in frenzied auctions: millions of Guineas paid for horses that are as yet unnamed, untested, and have never taken a step on the track. It’s the greatest gamble in all of horseracing, and one that can end in ruin.
Theo has just made the biggest sale of his life, when he overhears a secret conversation between the two bidders – can they really have colluded to fix the price of his big sale? When that same horse is found dead the next morning, he has no choice but to investigate, even against the wishes of his boss. But the more he uncovers, the less he can trust the people around him.
The higher the stakes, the greater the risk. And in the bloodstock game, the ultimate price can be murder . .
My Review:
So a little-known fact about me is that I love horses and have been to a few race meetings through the years. So I was thrilled to receive a review copy of No Reserve by Felix Francis (Zaffre) that hits the bookshops tomorrow Thursday 28th September. Flix is the son of the famous mystery author Dick Francis of and I enjoyed many of his books.
This is a riveting read set against the backdrop of the sale of thoroughbred horses for racing and this is where huge sums of money change hands in the blink of an eye. And No Reserve by Felix Francis goes to the heart of the story as Theo Jennings is an auctioneer at Newmarket and he has just brought the hammer down on a sale of a horse for a staggering amount of cash, but so what you may think this happens in horse racing. But this is where the story is just beginning.
The very next morning the same horse is found dead. Now you know this is more than just a coincidence and Theo cannot leave it here and has to investigate what is going on.
The more questions Theo asks the more he must investigate as there are some who just want him to leave the story alone. But what if Theo does not? At what risk to himself does this place him?
If you think watching horse racing was fast, then grab yourself a copy of No Reserve by Felix Francis and grab a coffee, this is a terrific read and one of my novels of the year so far.
400 Pages
My thanks to Sophie Ranson (Ransom PR) and Zaffre Books for the review copy of No Reserve by Felix Francis. Released in hardback on 28th September 2023 and will be available from all good bookshops and Amazon UK and UK Bookshop.org.