This one is just okay. While the thriller side is decent enough (although not quite zinging) it's let down by the romance plot which drags the whole thing. I feel like this is often the case with my re-reads, the romance plot having odd or poorly aged aspects that stand out.

In this case it's also entwined with IDEOLOGY which hasn't surfaced much in my recent re-reads. Published in 1970, the main 'romantic antagonist' (for want of a better term) is a hippie who also engages in a lot of casual sexual assault. First up, his politics are left but the book is pretty clear in painting him as a villain who doesn't live up to his claims. And the term 'grow up' is used so overall we're left in no doubt that progressives are generally people who either need to learn that leftwing views are terrible, or who know it and are hypocrites.

And then there's the sexual assaults, which the book simply treats as 'someone who's a bit handsy' - this guy constantly grabs the main female character's breasts and attempts to snog her, all against her will. No one does much more than tut and, on top of that, there's a lot of "ah well, she doesn't seem to entirely mind this". Maybe some would claim that's just how 1970 was and they might be right, but it doesn't make that stuff any less unsettling to read.

As for the central thriller narrative, it's a decent one. The use of the air taxi side is nice as it gives a lot of time for Mary and Dick to inject their own love of flying and knowledge. I quickly recalled the main aspects of the plot which was a bit of a shame but TBH, unless this was one of the very first Francis books you read I'd expect any reader would have spotted what was going on, whereas the protagonist Matt takes quite a while to tie things together, which is a little frustrating. And then in the finalé we don't really get much to satisfy us in the way of a face off between our hero and villain, which is a shame.

Always a pleasure to read Dick Francis. Uses much research for more than horse racing. Each mystery theme is different. He rarely disappoints. This one involves air taxi service. 5

Favorite

This book is fantastic. I have reread this I don’t know how many times, and it is still fantastic. I am over the moon that it finally came out on kindle!!! I love Matt Shore, human iceberg, and Colin, and Nancy, and Midge. Such a lovely fun story, with a grand mystery too.

This is one of the more complicated Dick Francis mysteries. Matt Shore is a pilot for a small airline service that makes most of its money ferrying owners, trainers and jockeys to and from horse races. Matt’s a very capable pilot who’s had a run of bad luck which is just about to get much worse. His plane blows up right after he and his passengers have disembarked. No one is killed but when the investigation shows that a bomb caused the explosion, it certainly raises the question of whom someone wanted dead.

Things get more mysterious as Matt tries to figure out who could have planted the bomb and who was the intended target. Even when he thinks he’s figured out the identity of the assassin he can’t figure out the motive and in this case motive is absolutely key to proving guilt. This is a good mystery with some of Francis’ better personal relationships. A fine novel all around.

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just the usual page-turner!

Francis always pleases, but this one -wow! couldn’t put it down! Tight fast-paced story. Plus the bonus of Francis’ personal background in the forward!

Rat Race

Dick Francis was a master at suspenseful mystery. Every time I reread one of his books I can’t put it down until I finished it. Thankfully his son Felix picked up where he left off.

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

n  Rat Racen is a mystery/thriller written around the horse racing community in Britain. Originally published in 1970, this reformat and re-release out 2nd May 2019 from Canelo is 170 pages and available in ebook format (earlier editions available in other formats).

This is an enjoyable and fairly typical Dick Francis thriller. Former commercial pilot Matt Shore has been demoted to flying 'puddle jumper' commuter flights for racing personnel to the race days. On the return flight from the trip up, he makes an emergency landing just minutes before the plane explodes. The protagonist is a flawed good guy dealing with some tough breaks in his life (through no fault of his own). There's a light potential romantic subplot and the bad guys get their comeuppance in the end. Pure Francis. Still enjoyable for all that.

I love the author's oeuvre (even the ones supposedly ghost written by his wife and the ones his son helped finish). This was a very enjoyable short read for me. For non-fans or new fans, this is a standalone and if it's maybe not at the apex of his large body of work, it's certainly not near the nadir.

Four stars. It's really nice to see classic works by popular authors being released in ebook format for new generations of readers.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

In this novel, Dick Francis combines his experience as a racehorse jockey and a pilot (who successfully ran an air taxi service, mostly for clientele involved in horse racing), to present an exciting thriller. His practical knowledge of planes and horses becomes apparent, and it is clear that he doesn’t rely on 2nd hand research. He acknowledges his wife, who was also a skilled pilot.

One of my favorite books about aviation disasters is the short novel The Shepherd by Frederick Forsyth, in 'Rat Race' novel, the hero, Matt Shore, does a similar maneuver to shepherd another flight in danger.
This was an enjoyable thriller with a clever plot of multiple murders, bomb scare, insurance fraud and a well-balanced romance.

I love Dick Francis's writing. Even if it is in 1st person, his heroes are modest and very likeable.

A great rollicking yarn. Matt Shore a loner, divorced and a pilot working as a taxi pilot for wealthy people between race courses in England. He gets in embroiled in a thriller with first a near miss with a bomb and then a rescue of a sabotaged plane. Which the lovely Nancy is flying.

Easy to read and a good plot with an absentminded, kindly Duke and his nephew. The reason behind the bomb and sabotage is a fraud. Good characters and escapism.

Not my favorite Francis book. Matt is a pilot who shuttles jockeys, trainers and owners to and from racetracks. Colin is a hot jockey so when the plane that he is on is bombed as soon as it lands, everyone is shaken. But fear not! There is a new insurance fund that everyone can join to protect them from such unforeseen misfortunes. Matt becomes friendly with Colin and his twin sisters, Nancy and Midge. Nancy, an amateur pilot, flies Colin to the race one day and Matt learns that the plane has been tampered with so he flies after her and guides them to a safe landing. He begins to figure out that the motive for the near deaths is to get more people to join the insurance fund. The problem is that it is nothing more than a scam and the promoters are not only threatening lives but are planning to run off with the money, leaving everyone high and dry. Matt catches the thieves before they can do more damage and then moves in with Colin and his sisters. I found this book to be a bit boring, unfortunately.

Matt Shores life and career as a pilot have been on a downward spiral. His latest job is with a flying taxi service for racecourses and his first flight ends with the plane exploding after he lands from sensing a problem with the aircraft.

Although all the passengers are safe, its another black mark on Matts career and he wants to know why.


The story GRIPS you from the first page and does not let you go till the very last page! Dick Francis knew a thing or two about pace & in this novel he delivers another winner to the winning enclosure!

I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of an apparent wash-up who clearly has a lot of hero left in him. A bit dated, but that added charm.