Dead Heat - Dick & Felix Francis

One of the pleasures for me at this time of year was the release of a new Dick Francis novel. I must admit to disappointment when Dick stopped writing and then pleasure when books started to appear again.

Dick Francis does come up with some ingenious plot situations. As a former jockey there is always a horse element in every book.(#) The main character can be a jockey, trainer, owner or other direct contact. Or the principal character ...
...there.

We are introduced to the main character, Max Moreton, who has spent the night on the bathroom floor being very ill. Now this may be a position that some of us are familiar with, but this is not the best place for a successful chef. Max is the founder of Newmarket's prestigious restaurant "The Hay Net". Things then go from bad to worse with tragedy at the racecourse and Max's business being forcibly closed.

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One of the pleasures for me at this time of year was the release of a new Dick Francis novel. I must admit to disappointment when Dick stopped writing and then pleasure when books started to appear again.

Dick Francis does come up with some ingenious plot situations. As a former jockey there is always a horse element in every book.(#) The main character can be a jockey, trainer, owner or other direct contact. Or the principal character has some other more tenuous contact but it is always there.

We are introduced to the main character, Max Moreton, who has spent the night on the bathroom floor being very ill. Now this may be a position that some of us are familiar with, but this is not the best place for a successful chef. Max is the founder of Newmarket's prestigious restaurant "The Hay Net". Things then go from bad to worse with tragedy at the racecourse and Max's business being forcibly closed.

But like most hero's Max is not taking all this lying down. He wants to find out why this is happening to him. And this is the story of what is going on. There are no superheros heroics in these stories just an ordinary person who has been placed in an extraordinary situation. There can be equal measures of comedy and tragedy, pain and pleasure. The book is written in the first person style, so that we, the readers, follow the actions as seen and experienced through the hero, Max.

Perhaps I am wrong but I have thought I have noted somewhat of a trend in some novels and crime shows where the criminal is always a victim of the society. Somebody whose crimes can be excused by their treatment by the society either real or perceived. Nobody commits crime for the old fashioned motive of greed. Well you won't find any of that in these books. This is what could be called a straight forward old fashioned crime thriller. There are no long convoluted psychological plots. There is no gratuitous sex or violence. These may have there place in some novels but not here.

Dick Francis produces some very readable books. I have noticed that good seems to triumph in these books. This may be an old fashioned virtue, but one that I like. The other thing that I do like is the amount of detail that is put into the work. The research is always well done and the reader may well find many things that he/she did not know about some walks of life. This always makes for a very entertaining read.

It is always a pleasure to find that a new work has been released and to know that you are in for a good evenings read. Or even several evenings read depending on how fast you want to get through the book. I find that the story is always fast paced and a good page turner. The characters are always very believable. How much of this is from experience and how much for research for the story I have no idea.

This book is jointly authored by Dick and his son Felix. Dick has stated in the notes that son Felix has done research for him on many previous occasions. This is the first joint authorship. I wonder if son Felix will be following in father's footsteps and writing more books in this genre in his own name later.

RRP for this hardcover book is £18.99 but as this is a UK issue then you should find it in major stores like Smiths, Waterstones, Etc where discounts should be available.
It is listed for sale at Amazon.co.uk for £11.39, a saving of 40% but of course you have to have the delivery costs unless your order is large enough.
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Michael Joseph Ltd (Sep 2007)
ISBN-13: 978-0718153656
Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.8 x 3.4 cm

# Personal anecdote. I quite like to photograph horses even though one tore my anorak pockets, stood on my foot and bit me. All because I didn't feed him my peppermints! Someday I may tell the full story of this and other incidents!!

This book is a hardcover not an audio book 

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