Crisis by Felix Francis

Hardback, 448 pages.

Harrison Foster is a crisis manager, sent to Newmarket after a fire in the Chadwick Stables slaughters six horses, including the short-priced Derby favourite. Harry (as he is known) finds there is far more to the fire than initially meets the eye. For a start, human remains are found in the burnt-out shell. Who is the mystery victim?

The Chadwick family are a dysfunctional racing dynasty, with the emphasis being on the nasty. Resentment between the generations is rife and sibling rivalry bubbles away like volcanic magma beneath a thin crust of respectability. Harry represents the Middle-Eastern owner of the Derby favourite and, as he delves deeper into the unanswered questions surrounding the horse’s demise, he ignites a fuse that blows the volcano sky-high, putting him in grave jeopardy. Can Harry solve the riddle before he is overcome by the toxic emissions from the eruption and is bumped off by the fallout?