A Thoroughbred

Another thriller from Dick Francis,I read it many years ago and now I'm starting with them all over again,I thought then and again now a follow up was needed, did he become a trainer,how did Dozen Roses take to jumping,and of course Clarissa, but all in all a brilliant story I enjoyed it all over again.

One of my favorites of Francis's books

I always learn something new from his books, and this one was no exception. In addition, this book had a little extra for the ending, a little more than I anticipated, which I very much appreciated. Like with Derek and his brother, Greville, I wish I could thank him.

A decent thriller this one but somehow it's just a bit sluggish and so four stars rather than five, even though the actual mystery and its unravelling was satisfying to read. The opening death of the main character's brother, killed when the scaffolding he was walking under collapses, is certainly one that has stayed with me since I first read it and I still have a little concern when I am forced to walk under such a rig!

What drags this story really is that we as the reader are very aware that we're reading a mystery story, while our hero is not. Which makes sense but that sort of juxtaposition can only really work for so long and here it feels like for the majority of the story we readers are on the other side of the page wanting to yell at him to 'wake up' and realise something bad is going down. Even when some stuff becomes apparent it still feels like he's unusually unaware for a Dick Francis hero.

It doesn't help that the bad characters are barely interacted with either. The threat is there in the background, while the mystery of where the diamonds are runs through as the main point. But diamonds aren't characters, and so it's hard to really feel much emotional connection when we have no sense of who is really an antagonist until they are revealed and almost immediately dispatched. When you get to the end and 'view the mystery in reverse' it doesn't entirely feel like it hangs together, also in part because these characters aren't drawn strongly enough for us to get a good sense of the psychology at play, something Francis is normally much better at.

As a side point: when I first read this I had never broken an ankle so it's quite something to read through this where the hero has a broken ankle the whole way through. Francis is an old hand at dealing with knocks and the like so it's interesting to think that my 6 weeks of plaster and never putting any weight on my ankle was possibly excessive to err on the side of caution (although I was 15 years older than the main character here).

After his brother Greville dies suddenly, our hero Derek Franklin, has to, at least for a short time run Greville’s gemstone business. Not surprisingly, there is a mystery around Greville’s death, there are missing diamonds, and of course some questionable decisions being made around Greville’s racehorses. Fortunately, Derek is a steeplechase jockey, out of commission due to a recent fall, but quite knowledgeable about horses, trainers, and the various race courses. Unfortunately, he knows nothing about gemstones and it appears Greville didn’t have a second in command. So Derek is thrown into his brother’s life and tries to figure out what to do about everything. Spoiler - he figures everything out.

And now the ick factor; Derek has conciliatory sex with his brother’s mistress to help her get over Greville’s death.

Re-readable author Dick Francis is sadly missed talented favorite. Even quiet driver Brad is a real and prickly person. Starting with sadness, busted ankle, dead brother, missing diamonds and murderous pursuit are the mysteries, not death. The title refers to the straight-die honorable hero Derek.

I actually really liked this book, it is the first Dick Francis novel I have read and I loved the apathetic sarcasm of the narrator. I have absolutely no interest in horse racing or gems, but it was a fun read!

I’m pleasantly surprised how well this book holds up considering it was published in the 1980s. I’ve never been interested in Dick Francis’s books as I know little about horse racing; however, I can see why he’s a bestseller. I’ve only read two of his books so far, but his characters are noble and believable, and his pacing is perfect. A solid mystery. 4.25 stars.

When a sibling is suddenly incapacitated or dies, the news can be shocking even if the surviving sibling wasn’t particularly close to the injured or dead one. That’s the position that Derek Franklin finds himself in as the book opens. His brother, Greville, was savagely injured when scaffolding fell on him as he walked by a construction site. The injury would ultimately kill Greville Franklin, and it would be up to Derek, an ex-steeple chase champion jockey, to sort out Greville’s affairs.

But Derek isn’t in the best of health himself. He was injured in a race and uses crutches as a result.

This is Dick Francis at his best. He draws you into the book from the beginning, and if you’ve read him before, you know he’s going to teach you things about horses and racing that you never even thought of, let alone knew before. But even more satisfying is the mystery itself. Greville Franklin operated a gemstone business, and his will named Derek the new sole owner of the company. As you might imagine, Derek had to go on a crash course in learning about gemstones, especially when it comes to light that Greville had purchased diamonds—something the company ordinarily never did—and had told no one where they were kept. The search for them is difficult because Greville was so security conscious. He bought numerous gadgets designed to enhance his personal and company’s security. There were drawers with false bottoms in his house and seemingly harmless objects that turned out to be vastly different from their appearance.

While avoiding being killed by people who want to end his life because he is involved with Greville’s business, Derek must still deal with racing issues. It is his plan to return to the track as rapidly as his injuries will heal, and his narrow escapes from death inevitably prolong the healing process.

There’s plenty of suspense here to keep you reading, and the ending will be most satisfying for you. I started it late in the evening and just had to finish it early the following morning. It seems like years since I hung out with Dick Francis, figuratively speaking, and I was richly rewarded for having done so.

A well-executed story that fits nicely beside its peers in the Mystery genre featuring plenty of wit, Britishness, and horses.

One of the best Dick Francis novels have read. While there is still a horse racing connection, this one focuses on the world of gemstones. Very engaging plot, and some interesting characters. Very enjoyable.

This is one of Dick Francis' best books in my opinion.

It's a great story about a diamond merchant who dies and his brother has to take over the business.

There are mysteries and gadgets and puzzles to be solved.

The story is great, the characters compelling and the whole book just works. Could read it many times over.

This book was first published in 1989. Since then I must have read it many times over the years, but I never cease to enjoy it. I finished it again today, and the plot, narrative, characters - everything about it resulted in a profound and superb novel.

Dick Francis at his very best had a talent for setting a thrilling story in the right environment and for creating delightful characters. This particular novel rises above the others because of the way in which it tackles loss, grief and life changes, yet is in no way a depressing or sad read. Yes, there is sadness, even pain, but the author does not dwell on it - his main character just gets on with life, and the message is that perhaps we all should do the same because life can be cut short at any time.

Maybe I saw a different message in this book having read it again now that I am growing old, but I'll never decide this is the final read, because there will always be something in there on which to reflect.