Things have been pretty exciting lately in Crozet, Virginia -- a little too exciting if you ask resident feline investigator Mrs. Murphy. Just as the town starts to buzz over its Civil War reenactment, a popular local man disappears. No one's seen Tommy Van Allen's single-engine plane,...  more

Things have been pretty exciting lately in Crozet, Virginia -- a little too exciting if you ask resident feline investigator Mrs. Murphy. Just as the town starts to buzz over its Civil War reenactment, a popular local man disappears. No one's seen Tommy Van Allen's single-engine plane, either -- except for Mrs. Murphy, who spotted it during a foggy evening's mousing. Even Mrs. Murphy's favorite human, postmistress Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen, can sense that something is amiss. But things really take an ugly turn when the town reenacts the battle of Oak Ridge -- and a participant ends up with three very real bullets in his back. While the clever tiger cat and her friends sift through clues that just don't fit together, more than a few locals fear that the scandal will force well-hidden town secrets into the harsh light of day. And when Mrs. Murphy's relentless tracking places loved ones in danger, it takes more than a canny kitty and her team of animal sleuths to set things right again....

Instead of a proper second honeymoon, the newly remarried Harry and Fair Haristeen leave cozy Crozet, Virginia, for Shelbyville, Kentucky, site of the famous saddlebred horse show. There they’ll visit dear friends Joan Hamilton and Larry Hodge and enjoy a week among some of the finest...  more

Instead of a proper second honeymoon, the newly remarried Harry and Fair Haristeen leave cozy Crozet, Virginia, for Shelbyville, Kentucky, site of the famous saddlebred horse show. There they’ll visit dear friends Joan Hamilton and Larry Hodge and enjoy a week among some of the finest horses, trainers, and riders in the country. But soon after they arrive, events veer mysteriously–and murderously–off course. First, Joan’s ruby and sapphire horsehead heirloom pin is stolen from her private box at the fairgrounds. Next, a young film star’s prize three-gaited mare disappears into thin air. There is no lack of suspects, from hotheaded trainers and jealous rivals to vicious ex-spouses. Then a body is found flagrantly murdered and it’s obvious to Harry that someone at Shelbyville is sending a strong message: winning is only secondary–first prize is survival. As Harry searches for clues, rediscovers life as a married woman, and deals with her upcoming fortieth birthday, her four-legged detective friends are already on the case. But is animal instinct any match for human depravity? Especially with two humans to protect and a killer on the prowl? From the Hardcover edition.

Harry’s beloved and tart-tongued Aunt Tally is about to turn the big 1-0-0. The alumnae association of her alma mater sees an opportunity to honor the event and make some loot off the centennial as well. The plan is to hold a big fund-raiser in Aunt Tally’s honor to recoup some of...  more

Harry’s beloved and tart-tongued Aunt Tally is about to turn the big 1-0-0. The alumnae association of her alma mater sees an opportunity to honor the event and make some loot off the centennial as well. The plan is to hold a big fund-raiser in Aunt Tally’s honor to recoup some of the school revenue lost in the cratered economy. But soon there’s more at risk than investments and endowments. First, an impending blizzard threatens to ruin the whole affair. Then a suspicious transaction is discovered in the association’s account: board member Mariah D’Angelo has mysteriously withdrawn and then replaced $25,000.   But was that enough to get her killed? Mariah’s car is on campus, she’s gone missing, and Tucker has found human blood near the school’s stables. What’s behind the disappearance? Was it Mariah’s donations to crafty politicians and crooked charities? Her rivalry with fellow board member Flo Langston? And is there a connection to the forty-year-old unsolved death of an old acquaintance of Aunt Tally’s? Using animal cunning and human canniness, Harry and her menagerie of mystery solvers must sniff out the answers or -- even at a hundred years old -- Aunt Talley may outlive them all.

It's mid-May, and Crozet, Virginia, is heating up fast, or so it seems to Harry. The town's beloved ex-post mistress is never idle, dividing her time between raising this year's bounty of crops; taking care of her veterinarian husband, Fair; indulging her passion for classic cars;...  more

It's mid-May, and Crozet, Virginia, is heating up fast, or so it seems to Harry. The town's beloved ex-post mistress is never idle, dividing her time between raising this year's bounty of crops; taking care of her veterinarian husband, Fair; indulging her passion for classic cars; and adding further to her reputation as a nosy neighbor. It starts when Harry's dear friend Miranda Hogendobber takes her on a leisurely drive that ends in a narrow drainage ditch. The chaos continues when the Very Reverend Herbert Jones's Chevy pick-up also abruptly goes kaput. But these vehicular mishaps are nothing compared to the much more distressing state of a mechanic discovered by Harry in a local repair shop: His head's been bashed in. Despite numerous warnings from her much-loved coterie of friends, human and otherwise, Harry rather quickly surmises that the time has come to pop the hood and conduct her own investigation. Her animal companions see disaster fast approaching but can do little except try their best to protect their foolishly intrepid human. Harry's race to the truth leads straight to powerful forces determined to avoid scrutiny at any cost - even if it means running Harry Haristeen off the road for good.

Ask not what your cat can do for you -- ask what you can do for your cat. Tired of politics as usual? Despair not: Rita Mae Brown’s intrepid feline co-author, Sneaky Pie, is taking time off from her busy schedule writing bestselling mysteries to run for President of the United States....  more

Ask not what your cat can do for you -- ask what you can do for your cat. Tired of politics as usual? Despair not: Rita Mae Brown’s intrepid feline co-author, Sneaky Pie, is taking time off from her busy schedule writing bestselling mysteries to run for President of the United States. It’s never too late to start! With help from her friends -- the irascible gray cat Pewter, the wise Corgi Tee Tucker, and Tally, the exuberant Jack Russell -- Sneaky crisscrosses her home state of Virginia hoping to go where no cat since Socks Clinton has gone: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. After all, who better to get the economy purring again than an honest tabby with authentic political stripes? Sneaky has an animal-friendly agenda to unify all Americans -- regardless of whether they walk on two or four feet or even if they fly. Human candidates have had their chance in Washington, and nowhere does it say in the Constitution that the next president cannot be a cat. Vote Sneaky!

Hannah Swensen and her bakery, The Cookie Jar, bask in the glow of Hollywood glamour when Main Street becomes a movie set.  And although tensions simmer as the cameras roll, no one expects the action to turn deadly...until it's too late... There's no such thing as privacy in...  more

Hannah Swensen and her bakery, The Cookie Jar, bask in the glow of Hollywood glamour when Main Street becomes a movie set.  And although tensions simmer as the cameras roll, no one expects the action to turn deadly...until it's too late... There's no such thing as privacy in Lake Eden, but Hannah never thought things would go this far.  Everyone has been telling her what to do ever since she got not one but two marriage proposals.  The votes are evenly divided between Detective Mike Kingston and town dentist Norman Rhodes. Movie mania soon shoves Hannah's marriage dilemma into the background and even gives her cat a shot at stardom.  The Cookie Jar serves as snack central with Main Street rented out for the week.  Hannah is stunned to see producer Ross Barton, an old college buddy who is now handsome, famous, and single.  She stirs lots of fresh gossip whipping up treats for cast and crew, including demanding director Dean Lawrence's favorite - cherry cheesecake. Everything's on schedule until Dean demonstrates a suicide scene with a prop gun that turns out to be all too real.  Hannah's on the case in a flash.  There are plenty of suspects to go around, starting with the lead actress Lynne Larchmont - one of a slew of female visitors to Dean's trailer - whose husband Tom is financing the film.  Then there's Tom Larchmont himself, forty years his wife's senior, and smitten enough to be motivated by jealousy.  Ross Barton was constantly keeping Dean out of trouble...could he have had enough?  Local Winnie Henderson publicly threatened to kill Dean to stop him for moving her brother's statue.  And what about male star Burke Anson?  He's argued with Dean about something mysterious the morning of the murder. As filming continues, Hannah shifts through the clues, hoping against hope that the person responsible for Dean's death is half-baked enough to have made a mistake.  When it happens, Hannah intends to be there - ready to rewrite a killer's lethal script with the kind of quirky ending that can only happen in Lake Eden.

The Cookie Jar's busiest time of the year also happens to be the most wonderful time...for Christmas cookies, Hannah's own special plum pudding - and romance! Holiday orders are high, and Hannah's slated to provide dessert at the Reverend Knudsen's upcoming...  more

The Cookie Jar's busiest time of the year also happens to be the most wonderful time...for Christmas cookies, Hannah's own special plum pudding - and romance! Holiday orders are high, and Hannah's slated to provide dessert at the Reverend Knudsen's upcoming nuptials. She's busy as can be and loving it. She also gets a kick out of 'Lunatic Larry Jaeger's Crazy Elf Christmas Tree Lot', a kitschy carnival taking place smack-dab in the middle of the village green. Larry thinks he's crazy like a fox with his wild business schemes, but this time, the entrepreneur may have bitten off more than he can chew. Rumour has it that Larry's in the red - an idea that takes a sinister turn when Hannah discovers the man himself dead as a doornail in his own office... It seems quite a few people would have liked to fill Larry's stocking with coal and then bash him with it - including his bitter ex-wife, his ex-partner's daughter, a woman he was wooing, and the Crazy Elf Tree lot's extremely exasperated investors...Now, with so many suspects to investigate and the twelve days of Christmas ticking away, Hannah's running out of time to nab a murderous Scrooge who doesn't want her to see the New Year.

GINGERBREAD COOKIE MURDER by Joanne Fluke When Hannah Swensen finds her neighbor Ernie Kusak with his head bashed in and sprawled on the floor of his condo next to an upended box of Hannah’s Gingerbread Cookies, she discovers a flurry of murder suspects that’s as long as her...  more

GINGERBREAD COOKIE MURDER by Joanne Fluke When Hannah Swensen finds her neighbor Ernie Kusak with his head bashed in and sprawled on the floor of his condo next to an upended box of Hannah’s Gingerbread Cookies, she discovers a flurry of murder suspects that’s as long as her holiday shopping list. THE DANGERS OF GINGERBREAD COOKIES by Laura Levine Jaine Austen has been enlisted to help with her parents’ retirement community’s play The Gingerbread Cookie That Saved Christmas. Playboy Dr. Preston McCay is playing the role of the gingerbread cookie when he "accidentally" falls to his death during the final act. Now Jaine must figure out if one of the doctor’s jealous lovers was capable of murder. GINGERBREAD COOKIES AND GUNSHOTS by Leslie Meier When Lucy Stone discovers the body of Rick Juergens, whose five-year-old son Nemo disappeared, she senses foul play. Crumbs from a gingerbread cookie Lucy gave to Nemo are found in the back seat of Rick’s car. With the hours quickly ticking till Christmas, Lucy races against the clock to find a killer.

Horse racing can be a dangerous sport, but it becomes a deadly one when a champion is killed. Steeplechaser Alan York knows well the dangers of the sport. But when his best friend and rival, Bill Davidson, takes a fall in the middle of a race and doesn't get up again, Alan discovers that...  more

Horse racing can be a dangerous sport, but it becomes a deadly one when a champion is killed. Steeplechaser Alan York knows well the dangers of the sport. But when his best friend and rival, Bill Davidson, takes a fall in the middle of a race and doesn't get up again, Alan discovers that it was no accident. Someone rigged a trip wire to take down the running horse. The more Alan investigates, the more he suspects that there is more to the plot than just murderous horseplay. But even as he approaches the finish line to this mysterious race, those responsible for his friend's death are already planning for Alan to have a fatal accident of his own...

Rob Finn was a bit of a misfit: a struggling young jockey in a family of accomplished musicians, a man in love with a beautiful woman who wouldn't have him -- he suddenly looked like a rider who had lost his nerve. Could it be, though, that the horses were unusually sluggish, and that there...  more

Rob Finn was a bit of a misfit: a struggling young jockey in a family of accomplished musicians, a man in love with a beautiful woman who wouldn't have him -- he suddenly looked like a rider who had lost his nerve. Could it be, though, that the horses were unusually sluggish, and that there was something more sinister attempting to sabotage him...?

Henry Grey was considered hard to get along with. But he knew a change of job was all he needed. No more part-time office work/amateur jockey races for him. So he took a new job, air- transporting racehorses to change his luck and see the world. But he saw something quite unexpected in the cargo...  more

Henry Grey was considered hard to get along with. But he knew a change of job was all he needed. No more part-time office work/amateur jockey races for him. So he took a new job, air- transporting racehorses to change his luck and see the world. But he saw something quite unexpected in the cargo hold....

When English agent Gene Hawkins told his boss he'd forego his vacation to search for millionaire Dave Teller's prized missing stallion, he didn't know his retainer would include the attentions of his boss's beautiful daughter--or Teller's seldom sober wife. Nor did he know that a trail from...  more

When English agent Gene Hawkins told his boss he'd forego his vacation to search for millionaire Dave Teller's prized missing stallion, he didn't know his retainer would include the attentions of his boss's beautiful daughter--or Teller's seldom sober wife. Nor did he know that a trail from London to New York to Las Vegas to Califonria would eventually lead to murder....

When reporter Bert Chekov falls to his death, his colleague James Tyrone is suspicious. Chekov’s column had recently recommended some ‘can’t-lose’ horses, who then wound up out of the running on race day. Tyrone thinks he can prove it was murder, but he may not live to...  more

When reporter Bert Chekov falls to his death, his colleague James Tyrone is suspicious. Chekov’s column had recently recommended some ‘can’t-lose’ horses, who then wound up out of the running on race day. Tyrone thinks he can prove it was murder, but he may not live to tell the tale. Because as the dead man has already made clear, there’s no such thing as a sure thing...

A closed-door enquiry has found Kelly Hughes guilty of the lowest crime imaginable by a horse racer, throwing a race for money. He’s been framed, his reputation is scarred, he’s been banned from racing, and there’s nowhere to turn for help. But that doesn’t mean he has...  more

A closed-door enquiry has found Kelly Hughes guilty of the lowest crime imaginable by a horse racer, throwing a race for money. He’s been framed, his reputation is scarred, he’s been banned from racing, and there’s nowhere to turn for help. But that doesn’t mean he has to take it. He’s begun his own investigation to uncover the people who ruined his career, and to find out why they want him off the track. But when the enquiry gets too personal, asking the wrong questions might just get him killed.

Hired to fly four racing buffs to the track, pilot Matt Shore expects it will be the kind of job he likes: quick and easy. Until, that is, he’s forced to make an emergency landing just minutes before the plane explodes. Luckily, no one is hurt, but it isn’t long before Matt realizes...  more

Hired to fly four racing buffs to the track, pilot Matt Shore expects it will be the kind of job he likes: quick and easy. Until, that is, he’s forced to make an emergency landing just minutes before the plane explodes. Luckily, no one is hurt, but it isn’t long before Matt realizes that he’s caught up in the rat race of violent criminals who are dead-set on putting anyone who stands in their way on the wrong side of the odds…

Violence suddenly takes the lead in the life of Neil Griffon. First his father, a stable owner, suffers a grisly accident, then Neil is brutally assaulted and abducted. The price for his freedom will mean the betrayal and deception of those who trust Griffon most. But he has no choice: A...  more

Violence suddenly takes the lead in the life of Neil Griffon. First his father, a stable owner, suffers a grisly accident, then Neil is brutally assaulted and abducted. The price for his freedom will mean the betrayal and deception of those who trust Griffon most. But he has no choice: A no-compromise crime czar has made an ultimatum--that his own eighteen-year old son be hired by Griffon's stables to ride the superstar horse, Archangel, in the Derby. And the young man must be trained to win. Or else....

Edward Lincoln is a worldwide celebrity who plays detectives on the big screen. But when his godmother asks him to investigate her racehorses in South Africa, he's out of his depth. Soon enough, he's plunged into a plot of gold, greed, and gilded lives that forces him to uncover a killer...  more

Edward Lincoln is a worldwide celebrity who plays detectives on the big screen. But when his godmother asks him to investigate her racehorses in South Africa, he's out of his depth. Soon enough, he's plunged into a plot of gold, greed, and gilded lives that forces him to uncover a killer and give a bravura performance he'll never give again....

Eight all-new stories of high-rolling intrigue from today's best authors make up this unique collection that looks at the chances we take, the laws that we break, and the fortunes we hope to make...

Charles Todd is an English artist, well-known for his renderings of sleek and athletic horses. But what he sees at his brother's he cannot capture on canvas. His sister-in-law has been murdered, and his brother is the prime suspect. Todd sudenly finds himself in a dangerous manhunt as he...  more

Charles Todd is an English artist, well-known for his renderings of sleek and athletic horses. But what he sees at his brother's he cannot capture on canvas. His sister-in-law has been murdered, and his brother is the prime suspect. Todd sudenly finds himself in a dangerous manhunt as he searches for an elusive killer who paints his own picture of mayhem....

Winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup Steeplechase can be hazardous to your health.... Roland Britten, accountant and champion steeplechase jockey, wakes to confusion. He's cold, blind and can't find his hands. Something above prevents him from sitting up, and a rumbling din fills his...  more

Winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup Steeplechase can be hazardous to your health.... Roland Britten, accountant and champion steeplechase jockey, wakes to confusion. He's cold, blind and can't find his hands. Something above prevents him from sitting up, and a rumbling din fills his hearing and rattles his bones. Obviously, he surmises, it t is pitch-dark and he is bound near some kind of engine. But why? And where? And by whom? All the staggering answers come when Roland manages a bold escape -- then is quickly recaptured in a deadly game of cat and mouse. What is at stake is his very life, and that is worth any risk....

Ex-steeplechaser Randall Drew is reluctantly off to pre-Olympic games Moscow, as a favour to royalty. One of the blue bloods is destined to compete in the games and there are concerns - both of safety and of scandal - that only Drew, with his racing connections, can clear up. On arriving -...  more

Ex-steeplechaser Randall Drew is reluctantly off to pre-Olympic games Moscow, as a favour to royalty. One of the blue bloods is destined to compete in the games and there are concerns - both of safety and of scandal - that only Drew, with his racing connections, can clear up. On arriving - speaking no Russian and wishing he were back home - Drew is supposed to identify and contact one Alyosha to clear up the scandal. Instead, he finds himself tailed by the KGB and embroiled in foiling a terrorist plot - or die trying. Home seems an awful long way away - and if he's not careful, he'll be going back in a box . . .

Sid Halley had been a champion jockey. But those days were lost in a fall beneath 500 pounds of horse that cost him his left hand and his racing future -- and fractured his marriage in the bargain. Now medical and engineering science have provided him with a marvelous mechanical substitute...  more

Sid Halley had been a champion jockey. But those days were lost in a fall beneath 500 pounds of horse that cost him his left hand and his racing future -- and fractured his marriage in the bargain. Now medical and engineering science have provided him with a marvelous mechanical substitute for his whip hand. But there are no substitutes in Halley 's life for his two great loves: his beautiful, bitchy ex-wife., and thoroughbred racing. And they're both in trouble ..trouble that has led him into a battle of nerves with an elegant, vicious aristocrat -- where losing could be worse than the loss of his hand, his career or his wife -- and where surviving means a desperate confrontation with his own worst fear.  

Jockey and amateur photographer Philip Nore knows all too well how it feels to take a tumble from a horse. He also knows what it's like to feel the wrath of furious owners and trainers. You can't always be a winner. George Millace hated winners. As a photographer he specialized in...  more

Jockey and amateur photographer Philip Nore knows all too well how it feels to take a tumble from a horse. He also knows what it's like to feel the wrath of furious owners and trainers. You can't always be a winner. George Millace hated winners. As a photographer he specialized in taking pictures that exposed the failings of riders. But now he's dead - and no one seems very sorry. But when Millace's home is broken into during his funeral and Nore finds himself helping clear up, he finds something unexpected. Millace had other pictures - ones people will go to desperate lengths to possess. Now he must find out who wants them - and fast. Because if George Millace's death was no accident then his killers are getting closer...

When physics teacher Jonathan Derry is unwittingly given some computer tapes containing a bookie-breaking betting system, his sharp-shooting abilities come in extremely handy against the thug who comes looking for them. Fourteen years later, Jonathan’s brother William is about to fall...  more

When physics teacher Jonathan Derry is unwittingly given some computer tapes containing a bookie-breaking betting system, his sharp-shooting abilities come in extremely handy against the thug who comes looking for them. Fourteen years later, Jonathan’s brother William is about to fall victim to the same thug. But this time, William is determined to play a cautious and crafty game. After all, once bitten...

Kidnapping is Andrew Douglas's business: they take them, he finds them. But it isn't so simple when Alessia Cenci, golden-girl jockey, disappears, followed by the young child of a derby winner and the senior steward of the Jockey Club. From Italy to England to Washington, D.C.,...  more

Kidnapping is Andrew Douglas's business: they take them, he finds them. But it isn't so simple when Alessia Cenci, golden-girl jockey, disappears, followed by the young child of a derby winner and the senior steward of the Jockey Club. From Italy to England to Washington, D.C., Andrew's caseload is suddenly, violently overflowing. And he must fight triply hard to keep his own name off the growing list of victims. . . .

Wine merchant Tony Beach will do anything for a quiet life. But when a party to celebrate the end of the racing season ends in eight violent deaths, he is drawn reluctantly into the subsequent investigation. Meanwhile, the police, having evidence of the sale of illicit alcohol at a local club,...  more

Wine merchant Tony Beach will do anything for a quiet life. But when a party to celebrate the end of the racing season ends in eight violent deaths, he is drawn reluctantly into the subsequent investigation. Meanwhile, the police, having evidence of the sale of illicit alcohol at a local club, ask for Tony's help in closing it down. Thanks to his intervention, Tony comes to the attention of the criminal underworld. And that's when he reluctantly realizes that the deaths and the illicit alcohol are connected. Tony doesn't want to be a hero. But if the choice is that or dying...

Steeplechase jockey Christmas "Kit" Fielding has had more than his share of close calls both on and off the course. But trouble hits close to home when a grudge between his family and his sister's in-laws turns into a blood feud.

Kit Fielding will do whatever it takes to stop the killing of racehorses. Not an easy task considering that the woman he adores is leaving him, an international arms dealer is threatening him, and Kit's nemesis has plans to knock him off the track -- and plant him under it.

Wealthy gold trader Malcolm Pembroke has five ex-wives and nine chidren between them, all fighting among themselves. But when violent death strikes the least likable of his former spouses, Malcolm himself feels threatened, and he calls on his most capable son, Ian, the family jockey, to protect...  more

Wealthy gold trader Malcolm Pembroke has five ex-wives and nine chidren between them, all fighting among themselves. But when violent death strikes the least likable of his former spouses, Malcolm himself feels threatened, and he calls on his most capable son, Ian, the family jockey, to protect him from his nearest and dearest. While he's at it, Ian is also commissioned to delve for the final, critical clue in the darkly buried Pembroke past, simmering with the greed, hate, and vengefulness that could motivate blood to strike against blood.

As Derek Franklin, an injured steeplechase jockey, nears the end of his career, his older brother, Greville, is killed, and he inherits all the confusion and danger that lay hidden in his brother's life. With peril everywhere, Derek's only hope is to identify the enemy. And he must call...  more

As Derek Franklin, an injured steeplechase jockey, nears the end of his career, his older brother, Greville, is killed, and he inherits all the confusion and danger that lay hidden in his brother's life. With peril everywhere, Derek's only hope is to identify the enemy. And he must call on all his stamina and endurance to make the final, straight run in his brother's life -- without losing his own....

A superbly crafted collection of thirteen tightly plotted tales that treats readers to murder, mystery, and mayhem in the world of horseracing.

TV meteorologist Perry Stuart has never witnessed the catastrophic power of a giant Caribbean hurricane - his preferred area of expertise lies in predicting drab periods of English drizzle with the obligatory heavy rain and sunshine to follow. That is, until a fellow forecaster offers him a...  more

TV meteorologist Perry Stuart has never witnessed the catastrophic power of a giant Caribbean hurricane - his preferred area of expertise lies in predicting drab periods of English drizzle with the obligatory heavy rain and sunshine to follow. That is, until a fellow forecaster offers him a hurricane-chasing ride in a small plane as a vacation diversion. The diversion turns tragic when the plane is downed - and Stuart barely escapes with his life. But he can't escape what he saw on the island - and if the people who have tracked him back to England have their way, Stuart's forecast will call for a 50 percent chance of showers, along with zero chance of survival...

On the first day of Royal Ascot, the world's most famous horse race, the crowd rejoices in a string of winning favorites. Ned Talbot has worked all his life as a bookmaker- taking over the family business from his grandfather- so he knows not to expect any sympathy from the punters as they...  more

On the first day of Royal Ascot, the world's most famous horse race, the crowd rejoices in a string of winning favorites. Ned Talbot has worked all his life as a bookmaker- taking over the family business from his grandfather- so he knows not to expect any sympathy from the punters as they count their winnings, and he his losses. He's seen the ups and downs before-but, as the big gambling conglomerates muscle in on small concerns like his, Ned wonders if it's worth it any more. When a gray-haired man steps forward from the crowd claiming to be his father, Ned's life is thrown into far deeper turmoil. He'd been told since he was a baby that his parents had died in a car crash. Barely an hour later, his newly found father is stabbed by an unknown assailant in the Ascot parking lot. Blood oozing from his abdomen, his father warns Ned to "be very careful." But of whom? Of what? Ned finds himself in a race to solve his father's riddle-a race where coming in second could cost him more than even money-it could cost him his life. . . .