This is among the better of the later Dick Francis novels. The protagonist is a young film director, Thomas Lyon, who finally has the chance to make a major motion picture. It's is big chance, and if he screws it up, he most likely won't get another. Lyon is clearly talented enough to make a very good movie, but there are all sorts of obstacles in his way, including people who desperately do not want this movie to be made and who will stop at nothing to see that it isn't.

The movie is being filmed on location in Newmarket, a major horse racing center, and is loosely based on a scandal and an unsolved mystery that occurred in the local racing world twenty-six years earlier. A beautiful young woman was found hanged, and it was never determined whether she was murdered or committed suicide.

Newmarket is also home to Valentine Clark, a former blacksmith-turned-newspaperman who had once shod the horses trained by Lyon's grandfather. Lyon has known Clark since he was a small boy. Clark is now dying and is largely incoherent, but mistaking Thomas for a priest, he makes a confusing deathbed confession.

Lyon has no idea what the confession means and, of course, is preoccupied with trying to make his movie on time and under budget. But then Clark dies and this sets off a chain of events that will seriously impact Thomas Lyon and the film he is attempting to make.

Lyon is an appealing protagonist and I found the details of the film making business to be interesting. The plot is entertaining and credible, although it lacks the malevolent villain that is so key to many of Francis's novels. All in all, a good, quick read.

Listened to the abridged version.
Odd story.
And unintelligible deathbed confession from Valentines, leads the director of a film, Thomas Lyon, to discover what had happened years ago. He was directing a film about the hanging of a woman, an unsolved mystery.
He wasn’t trying to solve the mystery, but when he was willed books, photos and papers from Valentine, he pieced the story together. Valentine’s sister, Dorothea, was almost murdered and his nephew, Paul, was. Paul was a member of the Gang of 5. Gang of 5 was four men and the hanged woman, Sonia.
They were having consensual group sex in the barn and wanted to see if strangulation would heighten Sonia’s response. Pig went too far.

It's surprising how strongly I prefer a 1 to 5 with 1/2 stars rating system. This one's a 3.5.

This one had been sitting on my shelf for years, untouched. Like most Dick Francis books, I found this an easy and engaging read that I'm unlikely to suggests my grandchildren read one day.

Francis is pretty formulaic while varying the internal parts of that formula, so if I leave enough time between his books, I enjoy them.

This one did well, but in 6 months I'm unlikely to remember any details.

Still, it was an enjoyable few days on the couch with a stinky candle next to me.

Yes! Not a single detail about the book!

This book has double information. Thomas Lyon is in England to film a fictionalized version of a 26 year old death. Not only is it engrossing to read the thought processes the director goes through to set the scene and get the actors into the right mindset but there is also information on wicked, deadly knives, and how blades can be hidden in nearly anything.
Even if the mysterious death was never solved, someone is feeling threatened and uses illegal, replica WWI knives to try to kill director Lyon

I first read this book in 1994 as my Monday after Christmas decorating vacation day. I read it in one day and did not remember the details. Boy is this book loaded with details. Very satisfying.

My husband thought it would be fun to go to the library and blindly pick me out a book to read. This was the book that was chosen for me.

I actually really enjoyed this one! There was murder, mystery, surprises, and fun drama (nothing that was unbelievable or far-fetched).

Synopsis: The MC is a Director, and is working on creating a movie from a book about a potential murder deemed suicide. The author is unhappy because the Director wants to find out what really happened to the victim; so there is drama between those two. Also, the MC is a friend of a elderly, dying man, who gives a deathbed confession, that he murdered someone (in the very first chapter). When the elderly man dies, weird things start happening involving his family and our MC. There are two mysteries happening at one time (technically three) and this book is full of drama.

Review: This book is not necessarily fast paced, but there is always something happening. I really started enjoying it once I switch to the audio. Reading it with all of the details just seemed to drag for me. I love the intricate storyline with so many different things happening. There are three main stories, all from our main character’s point of view, and they are all very interesting. There was never a point where I was, hoping that one story would end. The ending of this one ties everything together very well, and then even explains it. I truly do not have any complaints about this one, it just wasn’t a five star read for me.

The cover and the title are very misleading. I am extremely happy that this book was chosen for me!

Comfort Food

I love Dick Francis books. His hero's always lovable and so together. There's a predictable pattern to the hero getting beaten or otherwise thrashed, unfortunately. But triumphs in the end. There's always an element of surprise.

Love a Dick Francis book. Always an easy read and very engaging. He writes great suspenseful novels. This one is about a film somebody would like to stop being made. The characters feel real and it's hard to figure out who did it, but when you find out, it makes perfect sense.

Dick Francis books always good but I don't think this is one of his best.

One of the elements that I always find interesting in a Dick Francis novel is how his hero will get pulled into solving a crime. In this case, the villain is someone trying to stop a movie from being produced which is the motivating factor. The movie is very loosely based on a mysterious hanging of a young woman which occurred in the English racing world some three decades earlier. In self-defense the hero finds himself forced to discover what actually happened to the young woman in an effort to discover who is causing trouble now. The plot is actually very good and if you like the subject of movie production there is a lot of subplot revolving around how this is done. One can easily imagine Dick Francis picking up this cinema-making lore from his experience with his books being turned into movies. That being said, this is not one of Francis’ best works. In some ways it is more about making the movie than it is about the crime and while that is interesting it is ultimately a distraction from the things that makes Dick Francis books so interesting.

There are no surprises here. We get what we expect from a Dick Francis novel. A reliable Hero solving a mystery connected to Horse racing. Thomas Lyon is a Film director, directing a movie based on a true crime book, which was based on a 30 yr old unsolved death of a young woman, who apparently hanged herself in a horse Trainer husband's stable. Naturally Thomas has to solve the mystery as there are many attempts to stop the film.

The problem with the book was the way everyone was conveniently connected to the 30 yr-old murder and the way Thomas conveniently gets hold of the clues to the murder. The mystery was not up-to-the mark, but all the short-falls were made up by the breath-taking visuals and the interesting insights to the movie-making business. So I give this a 4 *, even though the 'Wild Horses' didn't have any connection to the main plot of this book.

Some may find this X-rated, if you don't want to hamper Dick Francis's clean image in your mind, you may want to avoid this one.

I have devoured many a Dick Francis novel in my life, but I was very surprised and turned off by the twisted nature in the solving of the mystery. I've loved almost all of the Francis novels I've read, and liked the rest. However, this one left a bad taste in my mouth. It was a bit too deviant for me. I also felt that all the connections were a bit too convenient. Everyone of importance is magically connected, and it felt a bit contrived. Up until the last bit, I enjoyed it enough, but wouldn't recommend it. If you're thinking of trying or a Dick Francis novel, start with "Bolt"!

I was disappointed with this Dick Francis book. Not enough character development and the plot was less suspenseful.