Bonecrack

Dick Francis (1920-2010) was a British crime writer who used his formative experiences as a horse jockey (he won over 350 races between 1946-1957) as the basis for a number of best-selling novels set in the world of horse racing. Published in 1971, Bonecrack is Francis's tenth novel, and it involves the blackmail of a horse owner's son. The story's formula is pretty obvious from the start, but Francis does a good job of creating narrative tension and his characters (especially the father and son) are often quite strong.