Books like Front runner by Felix Francis

Felix Francis’s *Front Runner* follows Jeff Hinkley, an undercover investigator for the British Horseracing Authority, when a multi‑time champion jockey confides in him about deliberately losing races. The conversation sets off a lethal chain of events: the jockey’s apparent suicide, an attempted murder on Hinkley, and a series of suspicious deaths linked to the racing world. Never one to ignore a mystery, Hinkley dives into the jockey’s history, the races he may have thrown, and the darker undercurrents of horse racing, betting, and the authorities that govern it. With tension mounting and danger close at hand, the story explores the blurred line between sport, power, and criminal intent. Key themes include the thrill of horse racing competition, the illicit influence of betting, and the risk faced by those who investigate corruption in elite sports.

First publish date: 2015