DEAD LUCKY

A team of horse dopers runs afoul of Harry Radcliffe. Big mistake.

How lucky is Harry? Lucky enough to be England’s champion jump jockey. Lucky enough to have his estranged wife, Annabel, still in love with him despite her devotion to her lover, Sir Jeffrey. Lucky enough to avoid serious injury when horsebox driver Keith Whellan, who’s already saved his life once, gets shot as they’re driving off together from the engagement party of Keith’s sister, Holly. Lucky enough that the villains intending to drug Baccus, his mount at Newbury Racecourse, mistakenly drug rival horse Bayard Boy instead, casting grave suspicion on trainer Albertine “Tal” Hunter. Despite Harry’s determination to stop investigating cases of criminal malfeasance, he feels obligated to dig up evidence that would prove Tal’s innocence, especially given the fact that suspicious character Lenny Backhouse has recently been pulled dead from the Smite. Harry’s luck continues when famous screen actress Dame Isabella Pullbright asks him to ride her mounts and when Lady Willamina Branshawe, Bayard Boy’s owner, invites him and a companion to a party, though he’s sorely pressed to figure out who the companion should be. Even the spill he takes when a horse falls from a jump leaves him with no concussion or other serious injuries that would cause the authorities to pull his card. When his luck finally does run out and he suffers the obligatory physical attack, it’s in an unlikely venue that guarantees prompt medical attention.

Excellent racing and track sequences, a so-so mystery, and some truly forgettable bad guys.