Raised in a family of jockeys, Dick Francis rode professionally for ten years, became Champion Jockey in 1954 and nearly won the Grand National on the Queen Mother's horse, Devon Loch. Mystery still surrounds the event. Ahead by several lengths, the horse faltered and fell just before the finish line. Because Devon Loch was not injured, Francis is sure it was the deafening noise of the crowd which startled the horse.

Retiring soon after, Francis began working as a racing correspondent while writing his autobiography, The Sport of Queens. He followed that with mystery novels and has written one a year, with great success, ever since. Most of his books involve the world of racing and are often criticized for being too violent. But having experienced innumerable broken bones while racing, Francis feels that writing such pain into his books has helped him deal with his own injuries. He...