From the acclaimed master of mystery and suspense comes the story of a self-imposed outcast who must refresh his detection skills in order to save himself and his family. Dick Francis was born in South Wales in 1920. He was a young rider of distinction winning awards and trophies at horse shows throughout the United Kingdom. At the outbreak of World War II he joined the Royal Air Force as a pilot, flying fighter and bomber aircraft including the Spitfire and Lancaster. He became one of the most successful postwar steeplechase jockeys, winning more than 350 races and riding for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. After his retirement from the saddle in 1957, he published an autobiography, The Sport of Queens , before going on to write more than forty acclaimed books. A three-time Edgar Award winner, he also received the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association’s Cartier Diamond Dagger, was named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, and was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2000. He died in February 2010, at age eighty-nine, and remains among the greatest thriller writers of all time. A New York Times Bestseller “EXCITING.”— The New York Times Book Review “FRANCIS HAS ADDED ANOTHER WINNER TO HIS STABLE.”— The Indianapolis Star “DELIGHTFUL . . . The Mystery Writers of America honored Francis as a Grand Master; this novel again shows why.” — Publishers Weekly TO THE HILT Hailed as the “master of crime fiction and equine thrills” ( Newsday ), New York Times bestselling author Dick Francis delivers one of his most engrossing novels—the story of a self-imposed outcast who must refresh his detection skills in order to save himself and his family . . . The black sheep of a prominent family, Alexander Kinloch is content to paint pictures and play the bagpipes in his ramshackle Scottish home. But the artist’s peaceful life is suddenly interrupted—first by a savage, mysterious beating, and then by a sudden call from his near-bankrupt family, asking for his help. Now Alexander is trying to keep several family treasures safe from harm—including a steeplechaser called Golden Malt. But if he wants to prevent a cold-blooded killer from sending him straight to his grave, he’s going to have to get the hang of the art of detection . . . “NOBODY SETS UP A MYSTERY BETTER THAN DICK FRANCIS.” — San Francisco Chronicle “FEW THINGS ARE MORE CONVINCING THAN DICK FRANCIS AT A FULL GALLOP.” — Chicago Tribune MORE PRAISE FOR To the Hilt  . . . “STEPS OUT SMARTLY ON THE VERY FIRST PAGE . . .  To the Hilt delivers the pleasures people pay for.” — The New York Times Book Review “DICK FRANCIS’S BOOKS KEEP GETTING BETTER . . . Kinloch is altruistic and warmly likable, like all of Francis’s heroes, but he becomes a real person on the pages, not a generic good guy.” —The Associated Press “TYPICALLY ENJOYABLE. Francis keeps the action bouncing from heather to hearth, painting a delightful portrait of his own luscious British countryside and a doddering aristocracy.” — Chicago Tribune “LIKABLE CHARACTERS ABOUND.” — Publishers Weekly “REMARKABLY, AFTER MORE THAN THIRTY-FIVE NOVELS, DICK FRANCIS IS STILL GETTING BETTER.” — Booklist “BY TURNS UNEXPECTEDLY HUMOROUS AND MOVING.” — Kirkus Reviews “THE PLOT SKIPS RIGHT ALONG . . . just what Dick Francis fans expect.” — San Antonio Express-News “BRAVE AND RESOURCEFUL, level-headed and modest, Alexander makes an engaging hero . . . a host of winning characters . . . Like his hero, Francis is steadfast and dependable, someone you can always turn to when in need of a good rousing mystery.” — San Francisco Chronicle . . . AND RAVE REVIEWS FOR DICK FRANCIS “It’s either hard or impossible to read Mr. Francis without growing pleased with yourself : not only the thrill of vicarious competence imparted by the company of his heroes, but also the lore you collect as you go, feel like a field trip with the perfect guide.” — The New York Times Book Review “One of the most reliable mystery writers working today . . . Francis’s secret weapons are his protagonists. They are the kind of people you want for friends.” — Detroit News and Free Press “After writing dozens of thrillers, Dick Francis always retains a first-novel freshness.” — The Indianapolis Star “He writes about the basic building blocks of life—obligation, honor, love, courage, and pleasure. Those discussions come disguised in adventure novels so gripping that they cry out to be read in one gulp—then quickly reread to savor the details skipped in the first gallop through the pages.” — Houston Chronicle “Dick Francis stands head and shoulders above the rest.” — Ottawa Citizen “Francis just gets better and better . . . It can’t be as easy as he makes it look, or all mystery writers would be as addictive.” — The Charlotte Observer “[Francis] has the uncanny ability to turn out simply plotted yet charmingly addictive mysteries.” — The Wall Street Journal “A rare and magical talent . . . who never writes the s