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Dick Francis was one of the most successful postwar steeplechase jockeys, winning more than 350 races and riding for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. After his retirement from the saddle, he published an autobiography, The Sport of Queens, before going on to write more than forty acclaimed books, including the New York Times bestsellers Even Money and Silks. A three-time Edgar Award winner, he also received the prestigious Crime Writers Association s Cartier Diamond Dagger, was named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, and was awarded a CBE in the Queen s Birthday Honours List in 2000. He died in 2010 at age eighty-nine, and remains among the greatest thriller writers of all time.

Felix Francis is the younger of Dick Francis s two sons. Over the last forty years Felix has assisted with the research of many of the Dick Francis novels, not least Twice Shy, Shattered, and Under Orders. Since 2006, Felix has taken a more significant role in the writing, first with Dead Heat and then increasingly with the bestsellers, Silks and Even Money. Crossfire is the fourth novel of this father-and-son collaboration. Felix Francis lives in England.

New York Times bestselling Grand Master of Crime Fiction

Fabulously wealthy gold trader Malcolm Pembroke has in his possession something the whole world wants-and anyone could kill for. In fact, even Malcolm's closest kin are moving in a little too close.

Publishers Weekly

Francis has another winner, as skillfully constructed as his previous bestsellers. This time, amateur British jockey Ian Pembroke tells what happens after the murder of his father Malcolm's fifth wife, Moira. A rapacious, sharp-tongued woman, she has caused a break between Malcolm and Ian, who despised her for marrying his father solely to get her hands on his considerable fortune. But two attempts on the old man's life compel him to ask Ian for help. Although the trusted son isn't fond of his eight half-siblings or their motheror even of his ownhe's loath to suspect them of conspiring to kill Malcolm, which seems to be the case. To protect his father, Ian takes him to America and other countries, where the two attend the glamorous, big-purse horse racesscenes at which the author excelsbefore returning warily to England. The story gains momentum, with extended family members furious over Malcolm's spending spree and blaming Ian for wasting their inheritance. A real spellbinder, the mystery ends when the miscreant plays one trick too many. Reader's Digest Condensed Book selection; Literary Guild dual selection and Mystery Guild alternate. (March)