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Dead heat
511 pages
A high-stakes race against time where culinary ambition collides with explosive sabotage.
What it feels like
This is a propulsive, high-stakes thriller that plunges the reader straight into a simmering atmosphere of sudden catastrophe and urgent survival. Driven by a famed narrative momentum, the story feels tense and perilous, capturing the sheer panic of a rising career derailed by inexplicable disasters. The mood shifts rapidly from the refined pressure of high-end culinary service to the gritty, smoke-filled aftermath of a deadly explosion. It is a story about resilience and the desperate need to clear one's name when the odds are stacked against you. Readers who devour tightly plotted mysteries set against unique backdrops like the competitive worlds of horse racing and fine dining will be gripped by this urgent fight for vindication.
- Mood
- tense
- high-stakes
- simmering
- perilous
- Tone
- suspenseful
- urgent
- determined
- gritty
- Pace
- propulsive
- Themes
- professional ruin · survival and resilience · clearing one's name · sudden catastrophe
- The writing
- Driven by a famed narrative momentum, the prose is tightly plotted and steeped in simmering suspense.
- The arc
- From the shock of sudden professional disaster to a desperate, high-stakes fight for survival and vindication.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave fast-paced, high-stakes thrillers where an ordinary professional is thrust into extraordinary danger.
Content notes
- food poisoning
- bombings and explosions
- death of colleagues
About the book
After a six-year absence from the bestseller lists, Dick Francis roared out of the gate with 2006's Under Orders, demonstrating once again every ounce of his famed narrative drive, brilliant plotting, and simmering suspense. Hard on the heels of that triumph comes Dead Heat, set against the backdrop of Britain's famed Two Thousand Guineas Stakes.Max Moreton is a rising culinary star and his Newmarket restaurant, The Hay Net, has brought him great acclaim and a widening circle of admirers. But when nearly all the guests who enjoyed one of his meals at a private catered affair fall victim to severe food poisoning, his kitchen is shuttered and his reputation takes a hit. Scrambling to meet his next obligation, an exclusive luncheon for forty in the glass-fronted private boxes at the Two Thousand Guineas, Max must overcome the previous evening's disaster and provide the new American sponsors of the year's first classic race with a day to remember.Then a bomb blast rips through the private boxes, killing some of Max's trusted staff as well as many of the guests. As survivors are rushed to the hospital, Max is left to survey the ruins of the grandstand-and of his career. Two close calls are too close for comfort, and Max vows to protect his name-and himself- before it's too late.
Description from Open Library.
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