SOURCE: A review of Come to Grief, in Kirkus Reviews, Vol. LXIII, No. 14, July 15, 1995, p. 986.

In the following review, the critic discusses the return of the protagonist Sid Halley in Francis's Come to Grief.

Big news for Francis fans: He's broken his rule against recycling heroes and brought back one-handed p.i. Sid Halley (Odds Against, 1966; Whip Hand, 1980) to investigate a series of mutilations of two-year-old ponies. Sid naturally feels close to the equine victims, who've had their off-fore-feet amputated; but he feels even more unnervingly close to the suspect he soon uncovers—his old friend and former racing competitor Ellis Quint, now turned immensely popular TV entertainer. Despite the mountain of evidence that leads to Ellis's arrest, Sid, gagged by England's sub judice rule from discussing the case until the trial begins, falls victim himself to a campaign of smears and revenge so vicious—the weekly paper...