I remember reading a lot of Dick Francis mysteries when I was younger and lived in the states. I've always loved horses and the horse aspect of his books is what interested me then. I forget where I picked this one up. I found it on the back of the shelf one day digging for more to reread.
A well-known race horse trainer (steeplechase mostly) wants a ghostwriter for his memoirs. He expects the author to come live with him for a month or so to do the research and interviews.
When a starving author is kicked out of his attic apartment because of frozen pipes, he begs the agent to get him the job with horse trainer. The agent isn't happy about the idea, but does the job.
The author suddenly finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation.
Longshot was published by Michael Joseph Ltd (a UK division of Penguin)and has a 1990 copyright.
This was filled with excitement and action. The equine aspect was interesting but not dominant.
Tense
Past.
POV
First person. Writer John Kendall, but he mentions things he couldn't know yet. That is kind of annoying even though it is written in past.
page 92 the POV breaks to a third person omniscient POV that talks about a body and the police reactions. This POV switch repeats several points in the book.
Deaths
p. 37. A girl died a year earlier at a party. Trial underway--a jockey who rides for the trainer and is related to one of the owners.
p. 71. The author reads a news clipping about 6 months old mentioning a missing female groom.
p. 87. A body is found in the woods. More details would be spoiling.
Suspects
The investigation searches pretty far for suspects, but focuses primarily on the jockeys, especially the one charged in the party death, and the husband of one of the horse owner's.
Other
An accident eliminates one of the suspects on p 167.
Mention of horse doping interesting to me--may be useful in my own book--caffeine and theobromine (both found in chocolate) are banned substances. So giving a horse chocolate can result in doping charges!
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