I know I discovered Dick Francis's novels before he died (2010), but I hadn't read any in years. When Forfeit showed up for a bargain on my Kindle, I bought it. I am so glad I did. This was published in 1968, but the lack of modern technology did not make it seem dated (one major plot point did--no spoilers here- but I really didn't care). The horse racing world Francis sets his stories in seems timeless. The protagonist/narrator is a beautiful, flawed human being, very real. Because I know almost nothing about horse racing in Great Britain, some of the minutia of the plot were a little hard to follow at times; the action, however, was excellent. I am definitely reading some of the other Dick Francis bargains I came across--and maybe some of my old hardbacks too.

This book was a surprise.

The quality of the print, paper and artwork made it look cheap. A book about horse racing is not the sort of thing that I would normally read - but - it was pretty good.

A little dated and at times cringeworthy it has charm. Imagine Arthur Daley (from TV show Minder) working as a reporter - meeting up with dodgy geezers in pubs - and solving a crime in the racing industry.

Initially it was slow going and did not present very likeable characters, however once the racing angle and featured horse were prominent in the story, it became, like all Mr Francis' books, hard to put down. Not as complex as some of his others, yet the protagonist becomes more likeable as it goes on and exhibits unusual resolve and presence of mind.

The seventh Dick Francis novel, this one has, perhaps, less to do with horses directly than the others, despite the crooked gambling scheme that is the basis for the plot. Like the first six Francis books, it starts out quietly enough, then gradually builds to the point of almost unbearable intensity.

Love Dick Francis books! Horses, bad guys, good guys, etc. Oh, and an endearing love story. I couldn't' put it down. Found this at the thrift store...great find!

One of the better Dick Francis stories; reading this was a perfectly decent way to pass an afternoon spent on a plane. The only bit I didn't like was literally the very last sentence. I would have preferred Tyrone to make a different choice regarding Gail; also felt a bit gross that DF apparently wanted to "reward" Tyrone in this way.

This book had a lot of suspense, especially at the end. It had me gripping the chair, but it wasn't totally violent. I really like James Tyrone, the main character. He was a compassionate man looking for justice. He took such good care of his wife, Elizabeth, who could do very little for herself. He was angry that his friend, Ben, the newspaper man, had killed himself and wanted to seek justice for him. He plodded his way to finding out the man responsible for Ben's death. He worked his way up to the head man trying to fix the races so that that man could reap the rewards. A well done story.

I remember reading this book when I was young, and went searching for it many years later to see if it was as good as I remember. Holy cow, talk about a plot--keeping the time it was written in mind, 1968--I'd have to call this book groundbreaking on a number of levels and, as for suspense, it cannot be beat. I can't talk about the plot as it would spoil, but I hope if you're only going to read one Dick Francis book it will be this one. He's the master. This is perhaps the best of his dozens of amazing books. I am so pleased his son is writing now. Doesn't make me miss looking forward to his next book less, but does give me something to look forward to.

A fantastic read! This really romps along. It’s one of those books that you have to keep reading to find out what happens next! Brilliant!

James Tyrone is a sports writer for the Blaze and he also looks after his invalid wife but someone tells him not to write his article or something will happen to him, he writes it anyway and finds characters that will do anything to try and stop a racehorse entering a race so James has to keep the horse safe and his wife while trying to stop these men from their intentions

This is a very old (c. 1965 I think copyright) Dick Francis. Everyone I have met who read it once never forgets it. (Whereas other whodunnits including Francis, you can often pick up and say "I remember I've read this but can't remember the plot.")

Highly recommended.

Dame Agatha Christie and Her Peers
BOOK 23
CAST - 5 stars: James Tyrone (Ty) is a newspaper writer for the "Sunday Blaze" and is married to Elizabeth, a polio victim who is 90% paralyzed. Their relationship alone, here, is done so beautifully I'd give this novel 5 stars for the cast if there was ONLY Ty and Elizabeth. But this novel is packed with fascinating people. Luke-John Morton is Ty's editor, Derry Clark is Ty's fellow writer. Bert Chekov writes columns about horses for another publication. There is the "Lamplighter Race" coming up and some participants are Harry Hunterson (who won his horse, 'Egocentric' in a raffle) and his wife Sarah and their beautiful daughter Gail; Victor Roncy (Pa) who is the owner/trainer of 'Tiddely Pom' (a favorite to win the Lamplighter Gold Cup) and his wife Madge (who absolutely ROCKS during the actual race) and their five sons; and Norton Fox is the owner/trainer of "Zig-Zag" (Fox has a fascinating back-story about a previous horse, "Brevity"). Dermot Finnegan is a small-time jockey riding a small-time horse in the Lamplighter Race and he has recently suffered a race injury. You're gonna like all these people for various reasons, and at the end of the book, as the race commences, it's really hard to root for just one horse/owner. Then there is Charlie Boston who owns a number of betting shops...and his goons who are very, very bad people. Sensational heroes and rotten villians and a Fantastic LOVE STORY? It's hard to improve on a cast like this!
ATMOSPHERE - 4 stars: Francis has done a better job in the past 2 novels I've read at taking us into the stables and into horse training and more. I was confused at a couple of terms (antepost betting, for example) and I'm not sure if a "4-Day-Stage" actually exists (declaration day to put horses in races 4 days before the actual race) for all English races, for a limited number, or just for Francis to up the suspense. But up the suspense it does. The descriptions of the impact of polio on Elizabeth are handled just right and I learned much about this illness which, thankfully, has almost disappeared from the world due to science (yea, that kind of science for which there was a Congressional hearing concerning climate change and a testifying 14-y/o girl was asked, by a US Congressperson, "Why should we believe in science?" Her jaw dropped then she answered, "Because it's science." You see, here in America, science and climate change is all fake. I'd have answered, "well, stand up on your desk, Congressperson, and jump off, head first...would someone call an ambulance please."). Francis also takes us into newspaper rooms and betting and how really bad people make a ton of money on 'fixed'-type races.
PLOT/CRIME - 3: Ty notices that as of late, Bert Chekov has praised a large number of horses who were withdrawn from races about to occur, but after huge amounts of money had been through the betting process. That means the owner of the betting shops keeps the money! Bert had been drinking a lot recently, and suddenly decides to take a leap out of a high floor and dies in the opening chapter on the street right in front of Ty. Naturally, Ty wants to know why, and Ty also realizes there is some kind of sensational story to be written. I can't give this element a higher rating than 3 stars though because I didn't believe that 1)Ty would spill so much knowledge so soon and to all the wrong people as I didn't think he was that stupid and 2) Ty meets a villain or 2, but afterwards still trusts any ol' stranger. Francis throws in some coincidences that are oddly explained. Oh, this could have been a brilliant 5-star sting type plot, but there are plot holes.
INVESTIGATION - 2 stars: As stated, Ty does some stupid things for the sake of suspense and I just didn't believe some of it. And when Ty brags, in a newspaper article, that he has almost caught the villians, well, that was a jaw-dropping moment for me. NO, wouldn't happen. Early, and on page 61 in my edition, someone says, "They said-" then a phone rings and we never learn anything more. I don't like that kind of trick authors play: just when the reader is about to learn something, there is a knock or a ring or some kind of interuption and for some reason nobody ever gets back to the conversation.
RESOLUTION - 3: The race is absolutely thrilling. And do the villians get what they deserve? I liked those parts of the story. But I found the last paragraph detestable. I think you will also.
SUMMARY - 3.4. This is a very good story but with a plot hole or 2 and a writer, Ty, who just can't be that stupid. There is another point I didn't like at all, and it has to do with Elizabeth, but that would reveal too much, so I'll just say that overall, this is good entertainment which could have been so much better. (Not that I personally could write better than Francis, although I think I could perhaps improve on the plot a bit.)