Sweetfeed: A Mike Flint Murder Mystery

A dream of publishing the next Dick Francis can be the only reason behind the second appearance of Mike Flint (after The Ninth Race). The former CIA agent and NYC cop investigates the deaths of two women connected to the Saratoga racing world. Eight years after a famous horse farm was almost completely destroyed by fire, Claire Valova, former Russian ballerina and society maven, dies in NYC, and Ann Bifford, a veterinarian, dies while vacationing in the Caribbean. In Saratoga, Howard ""Sweetfeed"" Thompson, an 80-year-old backstretcher honored for his way with animals and his unique mix of horse mush, has been poisoning Thoroughbreds. This is just the beginning of a web of corruption in the racing world that stretches from Saratoga to the Caribbean and attracts the attention of the CIA, the FBI, the Navy and assorted private detectives. A suspect who has been concealing an important clue is ready to give it up to a newspaper editor; a killer conveniently leaves his weapons and address book at the home of a friend; another killer confesses when he mistakes Flint for a priest. It's a good thing Flint gets so much help--because his investigative technique isn't much better than a horse's. With a plot too slowly unfurled and prose blander than hay, Healy won't find himself in the same field as Francis for a long time. (July)