Come to Grief, by Dick Francis

Dick Francis. Come to Grief. London: Michael Joseph, 1995. 278 pages. ISBN 0718137531.

In Come to Grief, ex-jockey turned private investigator Sid Halley has accused one of his best friends of the horrific crime of mutilating a series of horses. His friend Ellis Quint is a popular television personality, and it's unthinkable that he could be responsible for such crimes. Nevertheless, all of the evidence points to Ellis. One of the horses that was harmed was owned by a young girl whom Sid befriends, and he is driven to find the sick criminal responsible. Sid can't talk to the media or anyone else about the evidence because the judge has imposed a gag order, and during the time leading up to the trial Sid is harrassed, ridiculed, and even hated for making his accusations.

Sid Halley has appeared in several of Dick Francis' books. He's stubborn and relentless in his pursuit of criminals. He has an extreme sense of justice and nothing will stand in his way. In this as in other appearances, he faces overwhelming odds and suffers great violence in pursuit of those who commit crimes. One caveat: when an author writes solely about crimes or violence that take place in the world of horses, it's inevitable that some of that violence is perpetrated against the horses themselves. I found some parts of this book hard to stomach as a series of horses were mutilated and then put down. Nevertheless, Come to Grief was impossible to put down, and I finished the whole book in one Saturday afternoon extended reading session.