Dead Lucky

British author Wilson’s plodding fifth mystery featuring champion jump jockey Harry Ratcliffe (after 2019’s Dead Heat) opens with a literal bang. The noise wakes up Harry, who’s been dozing in the horsebox that his friend Keith Whellan has been driving, to see Keith has been shot and is bleeding profusely. Quick-witted Harry takes control of the vehicle, gives Keith medical aid, and calls for an ambulance. Since Harry has a reputation for solving murder cases, the question on everyone’s lips is: was the bullet meant for Keith, who survives the shooting, or Harry? Despite emphatically stating that he won’t investigate, Harry gets on the case. His first lead comes from Ginnie Cutler, part of the cleaning staff for racing venues in the Midlands. Ginnie overheard a suspicious conversation between two thuggish men who, when they discovered her, threatened to harm her grandchild if she told anyone what she had heard. She, of course, tells Harry, who’s soon chasing a small but deadly pack of vicious criminals. Authentic racetrack scenes make up only in part for characters who tend to merge (the villains are all one-dimensional nutcases) and a routine plot. Dick Francis this is not. (May)