Francis_Dick

by

Book-Review-Front-Runner

 

Front Runner

by

Felix/Dick  Francis

(Jefferson Hinkley #1)

 


Front Runner, was my fifth novel bearing the Francis surname and my second featuring Jeff Hinkley who is still a BHA (British Horse Racing Authority) investigator.

A morning phone call from a jockey sees Jeff on a train to meet said jockey in person.  The jockey is nowhere to be found and while trying to find him Hinkley finds himself in a life-threatening situation, which, as it turns out, is only the first of several life-threatening situations Hinkley is to experience in Front Runner.  Situations that see Hinkley spending a few days in hospital with Henri(ettia) becoming a constant visitor.  Henri invites Hinkley to the Cayman Islands for Christmas and New Year.   To Hinkley’s surprise transportation to the Caymans is not via a commercial airliner, rather, it is the company private jet of which Henri is a board member.

At his stage, I was beginning to ask myself how the Cayman section had anything to do with British horse racing.   However, among all the wealth surrounding his host, Hinkley still managed to find himself in hot water, so to speak.

I thoroughly enjoyed Front Runner and would recommend this book to lovers of the ‘whodunit’ genre.

While Front Runner has its foundation in British Horse Racing, much of the action takes place in the Cayman Islands.  There are a few pages at the end to tie up the wholly British storylines at the beginning of the book.

Overall another delightful book albeit, loosely about the British Horse Racing industry.

A solid four-star read from Dick Francis.

***

I rated

Front Runner

as a solid

read.

***

At the time of writing my review

other Goodreads readers had awarded

Front Runner

an average of 3.93 stars

from 2,177 ratings

and 263 reviews.

Front Runner

can be purchased online at

Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon

 
by

Book-Review-Damage

Damage Francis’s

Damage

by

Felix  Francis

(Jefferson Hinkley #1)

 

Damage was my second Francis book and I felt I was so invested in the previous Sid Halley novel that it took a while to accept that this was a totally different investigator by the name of Jeff Hinkley.

Like Halley, Hinkley is also a retired jockey, albeit a much younger character and if you have not guessed by now Damage also revolves around the British racing industry with murder, horse doping and extortion/blackmail being the crimes investigated by Hinkley.

The British Horseracing Association (BHA) is having its meetings disrupted.   The Grand National Steeplechase is stopped mid race; at some meets nearly all horses test positive for a banned stimulant; jockeys and stewards are fed laced food with the balance of the card being abandoned on each occasion.

Eventually, the BHA receives a demand for money and all the interference will stop.  And stop it does with a surprise ending.

I have only given damage a three star rating while most readers have rated it 4 or 5 stars.  Damage is not a slow read and I think that if the element of sameness increases, (horse racing) I can still see this type of book holding my interest even if they are not favourites.

I rated

Damage

as a


read.

 

At the time of writing my review

other Goodreads readers had awarded

Damage

an average of 3.94 stars

from 2,240 ratings

and 246 reviews.

Damage

can be purchased on-line at

Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon

 
 
by

Book-Review-Refusal

Refusal

by

Dick  Francis

 

Refusal, was my first novel written by Dick Francis and the fifth book featuring Sid Halley.  Sid is a retired jumps jockey who conducted an investigation until he received one bashing more than his wife could stand.  Now he earns an income from his stocks and shares.

His quiet life turns a tad awry when a good friend, Sir Richard Stewart, approaches him with a list of horse races which Stewart maintains have been fixed.  Sid refuses to help.  The following morning Sir Richard is found dead.  Police call it a suicide, whilst those who knew Stewart think murder.  

Shortly after Stewart’s death, Halley receives a phone call Om a male with an Irish accent suggesting the Halley should indeed write a report clearing racing of any wrongdoings. 

From here the story moves up another gear, terrified jockeys, child abduction and arson are some of the incidents which make Refusal a page turner.

 I thoroughly enjoyed Refusal and would recommend to lovers of the ‘whodunit’ genre.

I have also been informed that all Dick Francis books revolve around the Britain’s racing industry.  Therefore I look forward to more novels authored by Francis.

Refusal, moves along at a fast pace and I believe would make a good read and is an excellent audiobook.

 

I rated

Refusal 

as a


read.

 

At the time of writing my review

other Goodreads readers had awarded

Refusal

an average of 3.94 stars

from 2,763 ratings

and 347 reviews.

Refusal

can be purchased online at

Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon