When Harry Radcliffe stumbles across the body of local prostitute Alice Goode, he’s once again forced to turn reluctant sleuth. The prime suspect for Alice’s murder is ex-con Jake Smith. If Harry doesn’t find out who really killed Alice, and gets Jake off the hook, Jake will be coming after Harry and his estranged pregnant wife, Annabel.
As Harry begins to question Alice’s former clients, he uncovers some surprising secrets in her past. But, as determined as Jake is to ensure that Harry tracks down the real killer, a series of increasingly disturbing incidents makes it clear that someone else is equally determined to stop him finding out the truth.
This is the first book I’ve read by the author but I’ll now be reading the previous two Harry Radcliffe novels. Whilst this could be a stand-alone book It took a little time to ’get into’ the book as references were made to the earlier books, my enjoyment of the book wasn’t spoiled by this. If you like Dick & Felix Francis’ or John Francome’s books then I’d highly recommend this book. I’d also highly recommend it if you like a good mystery, thriller. In fact I just highly recommend it. The characters are very well portrayed Harry is very likeable & Jake is frightening so I enjoyed his comeuppance. The plot is very well paced & I was loathe to put the book down. There were plenty of twists & turns & I certainly didn’t see some of them. All in all a very good read

I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House for an advance copy of Dead Reckoning, the third novel set in the racing world to feature jump jockey and amateur sleuth Harry Radcliffe.

Harry is making a late call on friend and prostitute Alice Goode when he stumbles across her murdered body. Alice had a tangential link to one of Harry's previous cases which makes Jake Smith, a violent psychopath with a short fuse and relative of the dead from that case, the prime suspect. Jake insists that Harry finds the real murderer and threatens to kill Annabel, his pregnant by another man ex-wife, if he fails.

Complicated? It sounds it but is actually quite easy to follow once you get the gist. Dead Reckoning won't win any prizes for plausibility but it's a great read. I couldn't put it down until the end and read it in one sitting, desperate to know how it would all pan out. It is very reminiscent of early Dick Francis - courageous, smart jockey gets embroiled in dodgy situations, suffers physical abuse, escapes through clever thinking and rides a few winners along the way.

It works as a stand alone but I think I would have got more from the references to past events and their implications if I had read the previous two novels.

The characterisation is good. Harry Radcliffe is a very engaging protagonist, smart, likeable, caring and gentlemanly. He is surrounded by good friends who have his welfare at heart. It is a pleasant change to meet such nice characters. The only fly in the ointment is Jake Smith. I know there are nutters like him out there in the big bad world who react first and think later but I kept thinking "surely no one can be so stupid" , obviously they can. He is extremely well portrayed.

I thoroughly enjoyed Dead Reckoning which is an exciting read so I have no hesitation in recommending it.