An enjoyable read and a solid 3.5. Daniel an Australian is employed by October to find out how horses are being doped. A bit farfetched bit very gritty in the description of Dan’s working and living conditions in the Humber stables. Set over an English winter near Durham where Francis captures the squalid atmosphere of the stables well.

Dan is playing a subservient role as a stable hand that goes against the grain. Lord October’s daughter create a distraction with one good and the other manipulative. Coupled with the psychopath Adams makes a good tension filled story.

The way the horses are able to win with the use of dog whistles and a blow torch is chilling. I wonder whether Francis heard of this method and incorporated it into his story. A good read.

Daniel Roke accepts a job to go undercover to investigate a series of doping incidents among British race horses. The ruse is to be hired as a stable hand, and a not-too-honest one at that, and infiltrate the ranks to learn how the horses are being doped. Only a few weeks in, he witnesses a horse behaving as if it had been shot full of adrenaline. Tests come back negative, just as they had in every other incident. Gradually Daniel figures out what is really going on and is able to gether the evidence. But will he live long enough to report it to the authorities who hired him....
Re-read in 2012. I guess I was about 2/3 of the way through when I began to remember some things but I still didn't remember how it was all going to play out. In true Dick Francis fashion, it's a race to the finish with a crisis or two along the way that you know he'll find a way out of - you just don't know how.

I thought I had read all of Dick Francis' books, but I found this one, first published in 1965, at a thrift store. I expected it to feel dated but, except for the situations where a cell phone would have helpful, it was not.
I thought mystery of who was causing race horses to lose races they should have won was interesting and when the method used by the perps was discovered, it was unusual.

This was my third Dick Francis read and I didn't care for it as much as the first two I read. Something about the main character failed to draw me in; still, it will probably appeal to fans of his work. I seem to be the only one who didn't get it, many other reviews are favorable, so maybe it was just my mood.

A first-rate adventure, spy story set in the world of British horse racing.

Daniel Roke, a successful young horse breeder from Australia, takes an opportunity to escape what has begun to feel like the inescapable burden of supporting three much-loved younger siblings (dependent on him since their parents died in an accident when he was eighteen), and travels to England where he goes undercover as a stable lad in an effort to expose what appears to be a doping ring which is threatening the reputation of the British racing industry. Little does he realise the risks he will be facing and how the experience will test him to the limits.

The characters in this book are extremely well-written – real, interesting, human, flawed, heroic, villainous – Daniel Roke in particular, is the kind of protagonist you can admire, care about and root for. It is not just the strong plot and desire to solve the mystery that keeps the pages turning, but your personal interest in the characters. The ending is also particularly satisfying.

If you like adventure, mystery, and a book that captures your interest from beginning to end, this book is definitely for you.

In "For Kicks" Francis continues to demonstrate the mastery of the horse-thriller genre he established in "Nerve." Even more so than "Nerve," "For Kicks" is slightly bizarre, unrealistic wish fulfillment, but that in no way diminishes its charm--in fact, it is one of the key factors in its charm. Who doesn't want to run off from their life from time to time in order to go have exciting and important adventures? The difference is that Daniel Roke, the hero of "For Kicks," actually does so.

An Australian stud farm manager, Daniel is invited to go undercover to investigate a mysterious string of doping cases in England. Evil deeds ensue, and the plot Daniel uncovers will horrify any horse lover or anyone with any sort of a conscience at all.

Where Francis excels is in the pacing of his story, starting off slowly, almost innocuously, and then building to a nail-biting conclusion. Where he excels even more is in the psychological development of his hero, who rather impulsively gives up a life of duty in order to go on this mission, and who has to shed his air of competence and command in order to fit in as a lowly, not-very-good stableboy, and who has to undergo humiliation and privation in order to uncover the truth. In the end, Daniel realizes that:

"I wasn't the stuff of martyrs; and the prosperous business had already driven me once into a pit of depression.

"I knew now clearly what I was, and what I could do.

"I remembered the times when I had been tempted to give up, and hadn't. I remembered the moment when [...spoiler!] my mind made an almost muscular leap to the truth."

Daniel's "muscular leap" to the truth is such a vivid description of the experience those of us who figure things out have, that the book is worth five stars for that alone. I've always been sorry that Daniel was not brought back as a repeat character, like Kit Fielding and Sid Halley, but perhaps that would dull his luster as a hidden thrill-seeker, unable to enjoy a safe, prosperous life and needing to lie, cheat, and steal, not to mention commit violence, in order to feel alive and fulfilled, no matter how much he knows that to be irrational. I can't exactly say that "For Kicks" is Francis's absolutely best work, but it's incredibly enjoyable and will deliver its kicks again and again.

This is my second Dick Francis novel and I enjoyed it as much as the first. It felt almost more of a thriller than a mystery, which did not take away from any of the fun. I didn't realize this book was published in 1965, and in trying to guess the time period I was thinking 80s or 90s. It obviously predated the cell phone age. But, when talking about the horsey set sometimes it is very hard to place the era because not much changes.

As an American I'm always a little surprised by how obvious caste is in the UK. That just is how it is. If that makes you squeamish you might not like this book.

I found our main character to be a likable, independent, interesting character. There's a bit of play on "othering" because Daniel is Australian in culture although British by birth. And that's ok, his Australian traits seem to be presented in a positive light.

Some of the other reviewers mentioned this is a book they go back to, enjoying re-reading it. I don't know if I will or not, but that I would even consider re-reading a mystery-type novel says something about the writing. The prose is quite effective at painting the picture of what is going on, there's no lazy writing here. He writes to the level of someone who grew up before TV was prevalent and actually describes things - which I like. I like to imagine in my head what is going on while I read.

Some other reviewers have asked me if I have only good things to say about a book why do I sometimes rate them only 4 stars instead of 5. To that I will explain I like to save "5" for the truly, honestly, exquisite, exceptional books. Books that are not just well written, moving, memorable, but also philosophically and intellectually important - - and mystery novels/thrillers etc., while entertaining usually don't rise to that level. Never say never! But I can't in sincerity mark this one as such.

The prose is so fine I suspect if he had wanted to Francis could have written a life changing piece of literature. But his personality seems to favor entertaining subjects over controversial ones, so I dunno, I would have to read more of him - maybe a non-fiction offering - to see if he ever ventured out to address important topics.

I was pleasantly surprised that there could be another engaging and still relatively fresh feeling mystery surrounding English horse racing. Quite enjoyable.

Library audible Outline

Proprietor of a stud farm in Australia's Snowy Mountains or muck-raking stable boy in Yorkshire? Danny Roke decides on the latter. It is the change of scene and the challenge that pushes Danny Roke undercover, on the scent of a suspected racehorse dope scandal.

Daniel Roke, had to raise orphaned siblings, accepts undercover stable lad job from the Earl of October, investigating steeplechase doping in England. At least ten horses win adrenalin-high stimulated, but regular lab tests show nothing. Horses conditioned to be afraid at the high pitch whistle so when blown the horse is frightened into a final spurt to the finish line. So avoids dope tests.

Gorgeous October daughters distract, detract, and fatally endanger. Tension builds into an explosive fight to the death. Adams and Humber beaten in a final fight. psychopathic Adams is killed in Daniel self defence. At the end he is offered and accepts a job in espionage for a British organisation. Not identified but current work is uncovering foreign agents posing as refugees.

An Australian stable owner is hired to find out who is doping steeple chase horses and how.

Some tension, but seems terribly old fashioned.

One of my favorite Dick Francis books. Daniel Rork (is that right?) at a very young age has to take care of his younger siblings when his parents are killed. He makes a great success of breeding horses at his home in Australia but feels that weight of being too tied down and grown up at 28. He is approached by a Lord from England who is looking for someone to come and be an inside man in the racing world and to investigate why horses are winning and looking "doped" but not testing as doped. He decides to take the challenge and comes on as a stable lad which is far different from his every day job as boss at his stable.

I find this a very interesting study of characters and how we treat people differently based on how they look and what their jobs are. It is a good one.

Daniel Roke owns a stud farm in Australia. He and his siblings were orphaned at an early age and Daniel, the eldest, has assumed the responsibility for raising his brother and two sisters, even though it means sacrificing his own dreams in the process. The farm is thriving, but it and the beautiful country in which it sits constitute a veritable prison for Daniel who yearns for other things.

Along comes a prosperous British Earl who is one of a handful of men who oversee the world of British horse racing. Someone is fixing races, but the Powers That Be are unable to figure out how the manipulation is being done, and the future of British racing may be on the line. The Earl hopes to hire one of Daniel's stable boys to go to England and provide intelligence by working undercover.

Sadly, the man that the Earl hoped to hire is clearly not up to the task, and the Earl shocks Daniel by asking if he would be willing to undertake the mission. Daniel's immediate reaction is to refuse, but as the Earl points out, Daniel's siblings are off at school and he can hire someone to run the farm while he is away. The Earl makes a financial offer that he believes Daniel could not refuse, but the Earl fails to realize that when Daniel accepts the job, he does so for reasons that have nothing to do with the money.

This is very much a typical Dick Francis novel, and Daniel Roke is very much a typical Francis protagonist--a stubborn, clever and intelligent man who will subject himself to any number of indignities and who will put himself in very grave danger if that's what's necessary to complete the assignment. It's a clever plot and the pages turn rapidly; any fan of the series will not want to miss this one.