aJulian Trent, you have been found guilty by this court of perpetrating a violent and unprovoked attack on an innocent family including a charge of attempted murder. You have shown little or no remorse for your actions and I consider you a danger to society.a

When defense lawyer Geoffrey Mason hears the judgeas ruling at Londonas Old Bailey, he quietly hopes that a substantial sentence will be handed down to his arrogant young client. That Julian Trent only receives eight years seems all too lenient. Little does Mason realize that heall be looking Trent in the eyes again much sooner than that.

Setting aside his barristeras gown and wig, Mason heads to Sandown racetrack to don his colorful racing silks. As an amateur jockey, he fulfills his true passion by pounding the turf in the heat of a steeplechase. Yet when a fellow rider is brutally murderedaa pitchfork driven through his chestaMasonas racing hobby soon becomes too close to his work. The prime suspect is one of their brethren, champion jockey Steve Mitchell, and the evidence against him seems overwhelming.

Mason is reluctant to heed Mitchellas plea for legal helpabut he soon finds himself at the center of a sinister web of violence, threats and intimidation. Mason is left fighting a battle of right and wrong, and more immediately, a battle of life and deatha]his own.

"After collaborating on Dead Heat (2007), bestseller Francis and his son, Felix, deliver another gripping thriller with a thoroughbred racing backdrop. Soon after London barrister Geoffrey Mason, an amateur jockey by avocation, starts receiving a series of threatening messages from a former client, Julian Trent, whose conviction for assault was overturned on appeal, Mason reluctantly accepts the defense of a jockey, Steve Mitchell, accused of the pitch-fork murder of fellow rider Scot Barlow at a steeplechase event. Mitchell and Barlow had fallen out over Barlow's sister, a vet and Mitchell's former girlfriend, who took her own life just a short while before. When unknown parties order Mason to lose the case, he must balance his professional ethics and his sense of self-preservation. The solid writing and engaging lead will carry readers along at a brisk pace, though some may find the dramatic courtroom revelation of the murderer overly theatrical. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

From award-winning author Dick Francis and his son, Felix, comes Geoffrey Mason--a defense barrister whose true passion is riding his thoroughbred. When a fellow jockey is accused of murdering a colleague, Mason is torn between doing what's right--and what will keep him alive. Available in a tall Premium Edition.

The Grand Master returns in prize-winning form

Geoffrey Mason did it for the money. It is obvious that his client Julian Trent is guilty, and itas about time rich boy Trent is taught a lesson for his violent ways. The only thing still bothering Geoff is that he is going to miss participating in the Foxhunter Steeplechasea the aGold Cupa for amateur ridersabecause the trial has taken a lot longer than expected. Although still an amateur, Geoff is well known (as aPerrya Mason) among the pro riders, including Steve Mitchell and Scot Barlowaarguably the two top pros. So when Scot Barlow is murderedawith Mitchellas pitchfork nonethelessaGeoff finds himself pulled into the case as a junior barrister. The problem is: which side is he on? Mitchell claims he has been framed, but Geoff knows there was tension between Mitchell and Barlow; in fact, Geoff stumbled across Barlow beaten and bloody not too long ago, and Barlow claimed it was Mitchell who had done the dirty work. To make matters worse, Julian Trent has somehow finagled is way out of prison and has sworn to hunt down Geoff unless heas a agood little lawyera and does what heas told in the Mitchell case. Geoff is left facing adversaries from all sides, tearing him between doing what is right and what will keep him alive.