England, ca 1968, november
Journalisten James Tyrone skriver om sport i The Sunday Blaze. Hans svigermor ser ned på det og synes at han skulle skrive for The Sunday Times i stedet. The Sunday Blaze betaler bedre og The Sunday Times var ikke interesseret, så han er en anelse træt af hendes stikkerier. Hans kone Elizabeth er lammet af polio og afhængig af en Spiraphlex respirator og det er heller ikke billigt. Han har en redaktør Luke-John Morton og en kollega Derry Clarke. En fordrukket kollega Bert Checkov giver James et råd om ikke at sælge ud og ikke lade sig afpresse. Kort efter at de har taget afsked med Bert, falder han ud af et vindue på syvende sal og dør. Selvmord eller uheld? James får lov af sin redaktør til at skrive en artikel til et andet blad Tally (selvfølgelig mod at gemme evt sladderstof til The Sunday Blaze). Han besøger Harry og Sarah, der har vundet en hest, Egocentric, i et lotteri. De har Harry's søsters datter boende, Gail, og hun er både ung, smuk, mulat og interesseret i uforpligtende sex, så da Harry og Sarah tager afsted for at spille golf, overtager James og Gail skindet foran pejsen.
James fortsætter med at snuse rundt for at artiklen til Tally, men han kommer til at opspore hvorfor Checkov begik selvmord. Derry har lagt mærke til at Checkov oftere end andre journalister var begyndt at anbefale heste, som endte med ikke at stille til start. Et kig i arkiverne viser at Derry har ret og at det begyndte for halvandet år siden. Derry laver en liste over hestene og James kigger nærmere på hvorfor Charles Dembley først trak sin hest Brevity fra et løb og derefter solgte sine heste og trak sig helt ud af hestesport. Charles vil ikke tale om det, men James har allerede gættet at det er afpresning, så han gætter på at det er Charles teenagedatter Amanda på 15 år, der er blevet brugt som muligt mål. Charles tøver, men bekræfter så. En "pæn" mand med chauffør dukkede op og truede Dembley til at trække Brevity fra løbet. James fortsætter til major Colly Gibbons, der bekræfter at nogen ser ud til at have gang i en forretning med at få en del væddemål i gang på en hest og så få den trukket ud af løbet en dag eller to inden. Så ryger alle pengene i bookmakernes lommer.
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Dick Francis bøger er pudsige, for hovedpersonen er også fortælleren, dvs vi ved allerede fra start at hovedpersonen overlever. ( )

This one is not as in depth as some by Dick Francis but I still like it. What a silly sentence. Of course I like it. It's Dick Francis! This one felt more dated that some because the hero's wife suffers from severe polio with life threatening consequences. Most people under 50 in the developed world today have no real life acquaintance with polio. In addition to solving a case of horse race fixing, this story deals with what happens in a marriage where love is still there but all chance of any physical relationship is gone. Strength comes in many forms. ( )

newsman with crippled wife attacks bookie ring

I enjoyed this, as I usually do enjoy Dick Francis books. A quick adventure, quickly forgotten.

This one however, had some particularly insightful views into the life of a man whose wife had polio and now only survives due to a breathing apparatus called a Spiroshell. She is mostly paralyzed, except for the limited use of one arm and hand. The main character, Tyrone, loves her and cares for her at home. He is also unfaithful to her. I thought the emotional struggles of both characters were well outlined, until the end when it all seemed a bit pat. But hey, fiction. Oh yeah, there were bad guys out to get him for exposing them and their dastardly deeds through his journalism. ( )

Sportswriter James Tyrone writes about horse racing. But something odd is happening with fellow race writer Bert Checkov – whenever Bert touts a horse, the horse loses badly or fails to show up for the race. Bert drunkenly confesses to Ty that he has sold his soul; and then falls to his death out of a seventh story window.

Ty discovers there is a rigged betting scheme and the bad guys expect Ty to be the next one to fall in line. Not only does he resist, but he must protect his paralyzed wife from murder and mayhem from people who will literally stop at nothing. And then there’s the lovely Gail, whom Ty is falling in love with, although he knows he can never leave his wife.

Ty is a conflicted and complicated protagonist. Like many of Francis’s main characters he has a heroic moral sense along with intelligence and physical strength to win through solving the mystery and a beating or three. In this one we see the character’s more human side as he wrestles with the moral dilemma of choosing between his beloved paralyzed wife and a woman who could be lover, companion and equal. ( )