All the Time in the World

My all-time favorite Dick Francis book. Like most of Francis' protagonists, Sid Halley is Everyman, with a healthy dose of self-sufficiency and a quick mind that usually keeps him one step ahead of his enemies. In the first book featuring Halley, Odds Against, Sid has suffered a major injury that cost him not only his career as a top jump jockey, but his sense of self as well. In Whip Hand, Sid has become so successful in his new career as an investigator that his target decides the only way to scare him off is to threaten the very self-sufficiency at Sid's core.

Nearly every one of Francis' books is smart, intriguing, and a damn good read. What sets Whip Hand apart is his exploration of one man's path through despair and the internal voice that keeps him going past the point when anyone else would have given up.