What is there to say about Dick Francis? As I think about all of his books (yes, this review covers all of his books, and yes I've read them all) I think about a moral ethical hero, steeped in intelligence and goodness embroiled in evil machinations within British horse racing society - either directly or indirectly. The heroes aren't always horse jockies, they can be film producers, or involve heroes engaged in peripheral professions that somehow always touch the horse racing world.

But more than that, Francis's heroes are rational human beings. The choices made are rational choices directed by a firm objective philosophy that belies all of Francis's novels. The dialogue is clear and touched with humor no matter the intensity of evil that the hero faces. The hero's thoughts reveal a vulnerability that is touching, while his actions are always based on doing the right thing to achieve justice.

Causing the reader to deeply care about the characters in a novel is a difficult thing to do. No such worries in a Francis novel. The point of view is first person, you are the main character as you read the story (usually the character of Mr. Douglas). The hero is personable, like able, non-violent but delivering swift justice with his mind rather than through physical means. This is not to say that violence is a stranger to our hero. Some of it staggering and often delivered by what we would think of normal persons living in British society.

You will come to love the world of Steeple Chase racing, you will grow a fondness for horses, stables, trainers and the people who live in that world. You will read the books, devouring one after the other and trust me Dick Francis has a lot of novels (over 40 by my last count).

There are several series woven into the fabric of Francis's work: notably the Sid Halley and Kit Fielding series.

Assessment: Dick Francis is one of my favorite writers. I read his books with a fierce hunger that remains insatiable and I mourn his death.

I've been reading -- and appreciating -- the work of Dick Francis since high school. I read this story for the first time in college, when I was still shooting black and white and my default perfume was "eau de fixer." I loved puzzling out the mysteries then, and still enjoy revisiting this book every so often, even though I'm familiar with the story line. I do so in part because of the personal connection I suppose most anyone who worked with and loved making photographs back in the days of manual metering and working with temperamental enlargers and equipment.

Beyond this, however, is Francis's ability to create a sympathetic yet flawed protagonist, and to craft a journey that this person takes, spurred on by decency and other factors. Along the way, we readers learn a bit more about the world of racing, and about tangentially related fields. In Reflex, that field is photography; in other books, it can be anything from painting to art glass.

For deftness, word choice and story line alone, this would be one of my favorite books by Dick Francis. The photography logic-puzzles help n  Reflexn vault into a secure position on my "favorites" list.

Reflex by Dick Fancis, what can I say, another great book by Dick. Miss you Dick. I am sure I read this years ago, but well worth a second read.

Jockey, Philip Nore has never known who his father was, and was dumped on different people all his life. He never attended school, and was taught by the different folks he was dumped on. His mother, was a butterfly on drugs, and he believed that she must have died sometimes in his teenage years. Left with Charlie and his partner, Philip had learned all about photographer, and when Charlie died, an inheritance of the photography equipment was left to Philip. This became Philips hobby. He had been left as a teenager at some stables, and his passion was racing, he became a jockey.

As a jokey he had been asked to lose a race, which did not make him a happy camper. His friends father (another jockey) was a professional photographer at the race track, he had been killed, his wife beaten, and his house later burned. While trying to help his friends mother, Philip had obtained some of the photographers prints, though he was unaware of what he had.

In the meantime, a grandmother, who Philip had never met materialized, via some solicitors, and he was asked to see gran on her deathbed. Gran is not a nice person, and she informs Philip that he has a half sister, and if he finds her, she will tell him who his father is. Twists, turns, beatings, killings and who dun it, and a new girlfriend all add to this great read.

Classic Dick Francis, Phillip Nore, steeplechaser & amateur photographer ‘inherits’ a box of apparent junk from a deceased professional sport photographer. Demanded to find his half-sister by his dying grandmother with whom he had a contentious relationship draws him into a relationship with a local solicitor. Upon trying to develop some of the junk photographic material Nore finds some potentially scandalous letters to prominent people.
While reluctantly searching for his half-sister he discovers one of the friends his mom dumped him on as a child.
Francis weaves an intriguing tale intertwining Nore’s racing exploits, search for family and unraveling the mystery hidden on the junk photographic material with a a twist ending I wasn’t expecting.
Enjoyed the read

Phillip Nore was not a usual jockey because he was tall and had to be careful about his weight.
He didn't get a lot of races and at one time had followed his owner's plan to fake a fall so the horse wouldn't win.

But now he has decided not to do that anymore and told the owners that he would race to win not do a fake fall. As he steeplechases jumping over barriers he does his best sometimes to the owners' annoyance.

A famous race photographer crashed his car into a tree and was killed but Phillip wonders if the last drink he had with Lance Kinship was to blame so he starts investigating and asking questions which ended up with Phillip getting a terrible beating from 2 tough thugs.

Phillip got a number of the photographer's 'junk' photos which as he studies them reveals crooked things happening on the race track. In the end Phillip solves the case but then changes his career to a topnotch photographer with Clara as his agent.

A fun and complex mystery with interesting characters, setting, and fun dives into the worlds of horse racing an photography! Some of the social stuff was a bit outdated but in general the main character was a gentleman and even somewhat progressive for that time I think, so that helped. The mystery itself didn’t feel super tight- like it didn’t feel really like an investigation with suspects- more like a bunch of mysterious threads that slowly got unraveled nicely. Not good or bad, just different from whodunnits I’ve read. Definitely interested in reading more Dick Francis stuff in the future!

4 Stars

Reflex by Dick Francis is an engrossing story that starts when an amateur photographer dies in a horrible accident. This accident seems a bit suspicious to Philip Nore who wonders if it was actually murder disguised to look like an accident. This leads him on an investigation where he uncovers corruption, blackmail, secrets, and agendas. Interwoven with tension, mystery, suspense, horse racing, drama, and more- made this quite an engrossing read.
->2023 Reading Challenge.
->Glennie's Collection
Dick Francis novels were a familiar fixture in our household when I was growing up, as both my parents loved his books. He was amongst the first ‘adult’ reads that I explored at the time, and over the years I have read everything he’s written. I remember every time my mother read one of his books, she'd tell me about him and how he'd gone from being an RAF pilot to being the Queen Mother's favourite jockey, before retiring to become a journalist/writer.
Since my mother passed away over a year ago, I have been making my way through her book collection, finally. I decided to make reading her entire collection a part of my reading challenge for the next couple of years (she has a HUGE collection), as well as a way to pay tribute to my mum, who was such a voracious reader..... Reading her collection of books has stirred up a lot of memories, mostly of our shared love of reading. I am forever grateful that she passed on her love of reading to me.

The reviewer Jim Barlow of the Houston Times once wrote that Dick Francis "writes believable fairy tales for adults—ones in which the actors are better than we are but are believable enough to make us wonder if indeed we could not one day manage to emulate them."

I've been a fan of Dick Francis for many years, and so when I was having a tough day, I sat down with Reflex and remembered why I liked his work so much. He's so post-War British. You fall off a horse, you get back on the next one. You get beat two-thirds to death by thugs, you spend a few days mopping up and then ride another steeplechase because, after all, it's your job. The people around you need help, you help them, even if you don't like them. It's stiff-upper-lip all the way 'round the course.

Jockey Philip Nore is ingenious in his everyman way, figuring out the people and things around him in a calm, non-Bondish fashion that James Bond himself would admire. He wants little for himself, but things work out well for him in the end regardless, because fairy tales require meritocracy—hard work and intelligence unfailingly, if perhaps belatedly, rewarded.

This is my first book by Dick Francis. Although race and jockey have never been my cup of tea, I find this novel quite interesting. I was able to finish reading in 24 hours. yay!!

I chose this book, as it had fewer pages, and I wanted to catch up on my reading challenge for the year. Surprisingly, I found this book to be steadily paced with no abrupt twists and turns like other crime writers, which sometimes is too much and you want to take a pause.

Love, crime, action, and thrill - Everything was subtle and very decent. Recommend this book if you want a quick one to finish without too much drama.

I would definitely try more of his books.

A delightful horse racing story centered around jockeys and trainers who throw races. Philip Nore has been an average jockey and retreats to the world of photography as a career to replace racing. When a race track photographer dies he investigates the circumstances placing himself in danger.

Had no idea what to expect- this was recommended to me by a friend who loves the Russell series by Laurie R King, and it was a good mystery; layered, dark at times, steady revealing of clues and an interesting ending. The main character’s discovery of himself was at first hard to relate to- he was kind of a jerk, honestly- but as it unfolded, was interesting to watch and made him more human.

I have always been a Francis fan. Thanks to a friend's basement collection and lots of time on my hands, I read nearly all of them some 30 years ago.

Reflex is one of the standout mysteries in a library's worth of work. Maybe it's the clever puzzles that draw me in - I've always loved photography and darkroom work, and I was a commercial printer - but what keeps me there are the many layers of storytelling.

I reread Reflex again this past week. I'm relieved it still stands up, from the steady development of the central character Philip Nore, to the host of supporting characters from George and Marie Millace to Caroline, Clare and Jeremy. A less gifted writer would need hundreds more pages to describe this community: Nore's childhood, his difficult relations, his life as a not-entirely-honest jockey - all woven against the windy grasses of Lambourn. I don't know this part of Francis's England, but if I ever have the chance to go, I know it will be as though I've been there before, so strongly are the steeplechasing stables and towns drawn in every story.

One of the treats in a Francis novel is how strongly written are the female characters. They stand by themselves, from Clare, a woman with a future as a publisher and editor, to Marie Millace, who suffers one setback after another and yet comes out the other side, smiling.

My one off note in this entire novel is how lightly Francis treats heroin addiction. Other than that, it's still a favourite.