Refusal by Felix Francis

Sid Halley is back, but he's given up the literally bruising world of investigation for investment banking and a settled life with his wife Marina and daughter Sassy. But then Sir Richard Stewart chairman of the British Horseracing Agency comes to see him pleading for him to look into race fixing. Halley refuses and the next day Stewart is found dead. Despite his best efforts Halley becomes drawn in as a lethal Ulsterman has Sassy kidnapped and Halley realises he has no option but to fight back.

Felix Francis is now writing at a really good level and this is a brave return to one of Dick Francis' most beloved characters. Felix Francis uses his father's best technique of combining thriller with a real heart, we see Halley deal with the idea of hand transplantation and the possibility of once again having two hands, and of course face losing his beloved family. Powerful and moving.

Even Money by Dick & Felix Francis

Ned Talbot is a bookmaker, one of the last independents working his pitch at Royal Ascot. As his day draws to a close he is pestered by a man, who claims to be his father, and then is attacked and stabbed in front of him in the car park. But Ned's father is dead, both his parents died in a car crash when he was a baby and he was raised by his grandparents. Ned is plunged into a brilliant plotted but unfortunately not so well written story about the secrets hidden in his past, the mental fragility of his beloved wife, murder, money and fraud.

Crossfire by Dick & Felix Francis

Thomas Forsyth's life as a career soldier is brought to an abrupt end by and IED in Afghanistan. He returns to his racehorse trainer mother's stable in Lambourn struggling to come to terms with his maimed body and the loss of his future with the Army. In his childhood bome he is drawn into a roller coaster ride of hedge funds, fraud, blackmail and murder and finds a place for his military training in planning and executing a war against an unseen enemy. Discusses heavily relevant issues within a thrilling story.

The Horse Boy: A Father's Quest to Heal His Son by Rupert Isaacson (AUDIO)

Deeply moving and inspirational. Isaacson's son Rowan is diagnosed with autism and as his rages, difficult behaviours and inability to toilet train bring Isaacson and his wife to the edge of their coping abilities at age 5 he is walking one day with his father in the woods and throws himself at the feet of a neighbour's horse, Bessie. She spontaneously submits to him, some kind of non-verbal communication takes place. Isaacson begins to ride with Rowan in front of him on Bessie and then gets the crazy idea of taking Rowan to meet with the horse shamans of Mongolia to see if they are able to heal him. What follows is the tale of an amazing journey from the States (a meeting with Temple Grandin) via the UK to the dirty urban sprawl of Ulan Bataar, a healing ceremony performed by 9 shamans from all over Mongolia and an epic journey north by jolting van and horseback to seek the reindeer shaman Ghost in the great Siberian Taiga forests. Isaacson explores faith, desperation and describes the journey he, his wife and Rowan take with a healthy cynicism. An unmissable book, and the proceeds from the book go to help the family in their project to help more autistic children by giving them the chance to work with horses.

Silks by Dick Francis and Felix Francis

I've always loved Francis, I return to his early works as a homecoming. Silks was really good, the title being a reference both to the brightly coloured outfits jockeys wear on the course to identify themselves, and to the promotion of barristers to Queen's Council judges. Silks goes between both worlds, defence barrister Geoffrey Mason is a part time amateur jockey who ends up defending a jockey accused of murdering another jockey.

Francis' collaboration with his son is a welcome return to form, utterly compelling and brilliantly written and researched. This isn't the first team work, Shattered is one of my favourites and is written by the pair, but this is only the second time it has been a full on partnership.