Nikki Latrelle Racing Mystery Books
Jockey Nikki Latrelle gets the chance of a lifetime – to ride the favorite in a stakes race – only to have her dream destroyed when a mysterious intruder kills her mount the night before the race. Evil is at work at Maryland’s Laurel Park race track, and when Nikki stumbles over the body of a gunshot victim, she quickly becomes the prime suspect in a murder case. Framed and facing a possible murder rap, Nikki is ruled-off the track. Even deprived of job and income, she cannot abandon a mistreated, ill-tempered racehorse doomed to the slaughter house. Nikki and the filly wind up at a seedy stable with a motley group of felons, drunks, and drug-addicts. With unexpected help from a fashion-conscious wholesale meat-seller, a recovering addict, and an ancient groom, Nicky follows a crooked trail of insurance scam and betting fraud. But with the odds against her, can she clear her name – and put the real criminals behind bars?
"STEAMROLLER; A Nikki Latrelle Short Story, by the author of multiple award winning and award nominated novels, including FLAMINGO ROAD, Winner of the Dr. Tony Ryan $10,000 Award for Best Book in Horse Racing Literature. Ruled off Maryland's Laurel Park racetrack, for a crime she had no part in, jockey Nikki Latrelle struggles to survive at a seedy training track, where a convicted murderer terrorizes a young Latina groom. Faced with clearing her name, the last thing Nikki needs is to get involved. But she's never been one to stand by and watch somebody else be abused. PRAISE FOR THE NIKKI LATRELLE SERIES "First-time novelist Hill, herself a Maryland horse breeder, is a genuine find, writing smooth and vivid descriptive prose about racetrack characters and backstretch ambience that reek authenticity." - Jon L. Breen. Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, February, 2011. "The gritty, exciting Full Mortality by Sasscer Hill . . . a thrilling, eye-opening read written by a former steeplechase jockey who now breeds racehorses. Hill knows what she's writing about." - Betty Webb, Mystery Scene Magazine, Winter Issue 2011 "When Nikki Latrelle swings into the saddle and takes the reins, all we can do is sit back and enjoy the ride. Hill takes us into the stables; she lets us smell the sweet clover and timothy and yes, the sweat and manure, too; and she sets our hearts pounding as Nikki races to find a killer. This is a major new talent and the comparisons to Dick Francis are not hyperbole." --Margaret Maron, New York Times Best selling author and winner of the Edgar, Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. "If you like the work of Dick Francis or Sue Grafton, you will like Sasscer Hill. With a true insider's knowledge of horse racing, Hill brings us Nikki Latrelle, a young jockey placed in harm's way who finds the courage to fight the odds and the heart to race for her dreams." - Mike Battaglia, NBC racing analyst and TV host, veteran track announcer, and "morning line" odds maker for the Kentucky Derby. "Nicky is one of the most appealing fictional characters I've ever met. You are rooting for her every inch of the way. The descriptions of backstretch life are enchanting." - Lucy Acton, Editor, Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred.
Racing at Virginia’s beautiful Colonial Downs twists into a nightmare for jockey Nicky Latrelle. A sociopath sells diet cocktails – killing jockeys who struggle to make racing weight. Alarming events greet Nicky and exercise rider Lorna Doone upon their arrival at Colonial – strange noises echo in the nighttime woods, a man with haunted eyes drags a dirt-smeared shovel from the forest, and the body of a burn victim lies on the road outside the track. Nicky’s unease turns to dismay when bad-boy Bobby Duvayne mesmerizes young Lorna with his raw sexuality and a dangerous supply of drugs. A hidden meth lab, an old family secret, a body buried years ago in the woods, and Lorna’s disappearance pull Nicky into a race against death.
When Nikki works the January meet at Gulfstream Park near Miami, something about new racehorse owner, Currito Maldonista, worries her. Bad enough she’s expected to handle Maldonista’s evil-minded colt, Diablo, but Nikki begins to suspect Maldonista may be a Colombian drug lord. Worse yet, could he be abducting underage American girls and forcing them into the sex trade? Nikki’s world and Maldinista’s collide when Nikki’s oldest friend, Carla Ruben, comes to Florida to find Jade, the teenage daughter she gave up for adoption years ago. Jade’s adoptive parents are dead; and the exotically beautiful girl is missing. Could Maldonista be involved? Nikki and Carla put their lives on the line to find out!
Who is so determined to keep Nikki from winning on the favorite? GAME is Sasscer Hill's first published work. It is a short story about gambling and deceit that appeared in an obscure journal in upstate New York in 2007. It is the story that launched the Nikki Latrelle Horse Racing series. It is the story that, rewritten, became chapter three of FULL MORTALITY. GAME features a character named Joan who does not appear in the later novels, and, the very first and more detailed appearance of Will Marshall who plays an increasingly important role in the three-book trilogy of FULL MORTALITY, RACING FROM DEATH, and THE SEA HORSE TRADE. If you have read FULL MORTALITY, then some of this short story will be familiar, but the ending is new material and very different!
Nikki Latrelle’s mother suddenly dies, leaving the thirteen-year-old girl in the hands of a pedophile stepfather. Escaping his attempt to assault her, Nikki flees through the nighttime streets of Baltimore. She climbs a razor-wire fence into Pimlico Racetrack, the place she and her mom spent their happiest days together. Nikki’s drawn to horses, knows how to ride, and dreams of being a jockey. But how can a runaway with no ID, no family, and no income survive?She needs to earn money, yet hide from both the police and her stepfather who relentlessly search for her. As these men close in, a groom named Carlos helps her escape. Carlos has problems of his own, but through him, she meets the old horse-trainer Ravinsky. Will the old horseman take her under his wing? Risk his status and reputation to help her? And what evil has befallen Carlos’s young son, Pedro? The boy is missing, and Nikki senses evil forces are at work. Because she knows too well how it feels to be alone and frightened, she puts her life on the line to find Pedro.
When Nikki’s ex-lover Will hires her to protect the horses used to film a movie at Santa Anita Racetrack, she learns evil is alive and well in Hollywood. Keeping Thoroughbreds safe from a director who doesn’t know a horse from a hamster is tricky. More difficult are the unresolved feelings between her and Will, especially when sexy, young movie star, Jamie Jackson, sets his sights on Nikki. But when a sniper’s bullet shatters the brain of a cameraman close enough that she can smell his blood, Nikki’s need to protect the film crew overrides everything. Her sleuthing unearths a trail of corruption and when she must lie to Will to protect his life, she’s on her own. Can she identify the evil behind the scenes before she and Will become the next victims? Shooting Star is the fifth rocket-paced story in the award-winning Nikki Latrelle mystery series. If you like protagonists with heart and courage, unexpected twists, and a thrill ride to the finish, you’ll love Shooting Star. Find out why this series has so many fans. Buy Shooting Star today!