I am rarely disappointed with a Dick Francis mystery; him and his wife were masters of the balance between affable protagonists and intensely cruel villains. Bonecrack carries you along effortlessly through the British countryside, and dumps you in the middle of life-and-death action and onion-layer mystery immediately. Incredible book!

I think this is my favorite Dick Francis. When Neil takes over his father's racing stables, he finds himself the victim of an insane extortion. I love the way Neil works toward solving a seemingly insoluble problem, while feeling his way into the profession of developing expensive race horses into winners. He could only have reached such heights in his former career, as a doctor to failing businesses, with a remarkable feel for human beings.

Read 9 times

Not the usual Dick Francis. I have been reading Dick and Felix Francis for years but this book really strained credulity. The plot was repetitious and truly boring. How many times can the same threat be made and fulfilled before it makes one quit a book? If it weren't Dick Francis, I would never have finished this.

A book of good intentions, exploring the father-son dynamic is wrapped around a paper-thin, implausible, and redundant plot. A mystery/suspense book with neither, though many parts are nicely written.

Neil Griffon ran away from his horse trainer father’s domineering ways when Neil was a young teenager. But now, his father has been badly injured and Neil comes to his aid to run the business involving millions of dollars of horses until a highly reputable horseman can be found to take over.

But before that can happen, Neil is kidnapped. He is told that the kidnapper’s son must be taken into the racing stable and allowed to act as a top jockey, riding the favorite horse or the entire stable will be destroyed. To back up his threats, a horse has its leg broken. When Neil doesn’t please the kidnapping thug as to the way his boy is progressing, another horse dies.

Neil must stay and see it through.

It’s an interesting look at two very different dysfunctional father and son relationships: the first where the son resisted his father; the second where the father demands the unreasonable to indulge his son’s whim.

As in most of Francis’ novels the protagonist Neil is a good guy who also endures incredible amounts of pain.

But can he hold things together, using what is at best an amateur jockey backed by his sociopathic father, for the months until his own father can once more take the reins?

I was glad to see that even written in 1971 (fifty years ago!), there is a reasonably good women’s role as the head ‘lad’ who became the actual trainer was a talented woman.

Dated but still good

Attitudes toward women remain most problematic in the oldest DF titles- for the most part I can set them aside long enough to enjoy the read...

mmm has to be said, this one was a bit crap really. The whole thing was based on a leap of faith, a suspension of disbelief on the part of the reader. Once you accept the unbelievable premise, then it's quite a good story, but i really struggle with premises where the characters have to do illogical and unreasonable shit to make the story work the way it is.

This is a 4.5, really an excellent story for the genre. Having a cold father, I found the story line of the two horrible fathers and two damaged sons compelling. I really liked that the main character's girlfriend was full figured and plump and their sweet relationship was a bonus to the story.

Francis writes very well and his books are fun.

I've read a LOT of Dick Francis (and plan to read many more) and this one and Nerve are two of the best.

A racewhorse stable is terrorised into allowing the son of a vicious rich man to race in the Derby (the son wanting to be a jockey). Much pain ensues - anyone who has broken a bone will wince at some of what happens. What characters are portrayed doing with a broken collar bone is not in the least credible, but makes a colourful, if wince-inducing, thriller.

What can I say Neil was taken threaten be being beat up, force to take on this man's son as a jockey to ride a certain horse. He had a couple of his horse's killed because he was not following/doing what he was told but he had to follow other rules and this man could not see that and would not accept that. Well in the end he lost more than he thought.. Plus Neil also lost too. It was a very good book and I enjoyed it.

I thought about giving Bonecrack two stars because 1a) I read the whole thing, and 2a) the writing was okay, but then I remembered that 1b) I DNFed three times before finally biting the bullet, and 2b) the writing is very pretentious, sometimes trying so hard to appear intelligent that it no longer reads fluently.

The cover is kinda compelling though.


POPSUGAR 2022 Reading Challenge: A book with an onomatopoeia in its title

I don't think I've ever read a Dick Francis that I didn't like. This one has the usual unflappable and unlikely hero, horses and horse racing that don't dominate the story, and a satisfactory ending. In spite of those similarities I've found each story to be unique and also satisfactory.

Feb. 20, 2020
Every time I read one of Dick Francis' books I make a resolution to be more like the protagonist - unflappable, clever and patient. Ok, I don't have to be clever but the other two would make life so much easier. Yup, I've read this one before - multiple times - and still enjoyed it. :)