Under Orders

A former jockey turned private investigator is hired to investigate a death at a racecourse, and the case pulls him into a conspiracy involving a race-fixing ring and a corrupt official — classic Dick Francis crime-mystery structure. The tone is tense and gritty rather than the lighthearted adventure of his earlier books, and the plot is driven by a mystery-box setup (who is involved in the fix, who is the mole) rather than pure action, hence crime/suspense/mystery. No romance or comic relief elements warrant a lighter mood tag.