I’ve had this on my bookcase forever. Knowing that I had enjoyed a previous book years’ ago by the author, I thought it’d be a fun, quick read during a busy time. It didn’t grab me right away, I had trouble keeping the characters straight, but then it progressed and was enjoyable drawing me to find just what was the answer to the mysterious, unsolved death so many years before. For me the test to a good book is when it’s finished and the next day I’m missing it as well as feeling I want to jump back in and spend more time with the characters. This book did just that.

Not my favorite. Sometimes confusing and could be triggering to some. A woman dead for no real reason and the main character falls for a 18-year old girl, no real character growth in the main character. Kinda creepy. But it did keep me reading to figure out who the murderer was. Wouldn’t read again.

We're avid Dick Francis fans and thought we had read his entire booklist, but somehow missed this novel when it was new in 1994. What a delight awaited! It’s what we’d call one of his “research” books – while there is a minor backdrop of horse racing, it’s really about the making of a major motion picture about the (unsolved) mystery of a woman’s death some 25 years ago in a small English town setting. While the most desired familiar aspects of Francis’ work were surely on display, from the leading man who is nothing but admirable in every way, to mild sexual tension from the women that he meets – to us the real prize, in addition to the clever plot and irresistible whodunit, was that the story told from the eyes of the film’s director gave us an incredible insight into movie making. Indeed the roles of the director were explained in a way we hadn’t encountered before, as well as the importance of physical scene selection, lighting, the acting abilities of the players, and the ability of the director to coordinate diverse activities into a whole way greater than the sum of its parts.

The plot is equally compelling, beginning with the death of a sick man befriended by our director who on his deathbed makes a mysterious confession. That provides clues about the very mystery being addressed in the movie, and we wonder all book long whether that actual whodunit might be solved, on top of the villainy that emerges as various real life players in the old story get increasingly agitated over the pursuit of their tale. A series of knifings along the way add to the suspense, and kept us on edge till the end.

All-in-all, we’d rank “Wild Horses” among the author’s very best, high praise considering we’re talking a booklist some fifty titles long! Obviously, very highly recommended!!

*Actual edition I used: Audio book read by Simon Jones, presented by Simon & Schuster Inc. *

I tried this audio book over the weekend and I liked the experience. I've been hesitant to try it because I figured me for a touch, feel, smell, curl with a paper book kind of gal. Same reason I'm hesitant to try Kindle and the sort. I did try ebook reading from my computer and that went alright. That's only because I wanted to get through the book to read the sequel. Anyway, the audio experience was convenient for me. I used an old school portable audio player and listened while I folded my laundry and other household chores. I even took it to go and listened to it in my car when I went to the store (my kids were good and didn't peep much). The audio experience was also relaxing. I forgot how pleasant it is to be read to. Having a voice other than oneself was a nice change of pace. It was a plus that Simon Jones did a pretty good job at actor-reading. The vocal changes in language and intonation for each character worked here. The genre of mystery seem to be perfect for this venue. However, there are downsides. For instance, it is condensed from the original book version so you're at the mercy of their interpretation and presentation. Therefore, having a similar question in your mind as that of a movie based on a book ... how close did it get to getting it right? Also, it's pretty hard to mark a favorite part, like a quote. Overall, I like it enough to do this again. I must admit though, that upon completion of listening to this, I felt a sense of guilt. Another book done and barely a sweat! Did I cheat by not reading the book? Hmm, maybe I will read the actual book one of these days and compare.

If you haven't tried audio books, I recommend that you give it a shot. It might be convenient and a relaxing break for you as well.

Happy listening!! =]

As usual with a Dick Francis I found it very difficult to out this book down, and I don't remember reading it before. The main character ( and narrator) Thomas Lyon is a caring and yet forceful character as he is e director of a film about a death that happened over 20 years ago. He is also helping to support his old friend Valentine at the end of his life and finds out more than he bargained for. The action, while quite scary is not as violent as it has been in some of his previous books. Ton as has to be quite clever at reading people to be a successful director as well as to solve the mystery.

Reading again in October 2014.

This was my first Dick Francis novel, and it started out really great... I was super into it... and then... it got lame. Really, really lame. No horse pun intended. Lots of content I could've done without, and a lackluster wrap up that was just... did I mention lame? I've heard that Dick Francis books are fun... maybe this one is the exception to the rule. I might try another one again someday. Maybe.

Wild Horses has a powerful storyline built around movie making, Race horces and a 26 year old mysterious death, which are inter-related to one another. The technical details of horce racing was informative and amazingly explained, which is natural to Francis as he was a former Jockey. Also, as a reader, one gets to see a movie in its making from the director's perspective, which I thought was brilliant and new. The plot twists near the end of the books are unpredictable, even though the clues were thrown at the reader's face, which I happened to ignorea as they were too simple. Overall I enjoyed the book, I liked all the narration of movie making and the overall way of writing, which kept me on the hook.

This got me out of a reading rut - and was one of the better Francis novels, IMO. It's got some heavy themes, so not for young readers, but the prose combined with the cinematic world made for some compelling visuals that I felt like I could almost see what he was describing. Excellent who-dunnit.

I have been 'comfort re-reading' Dick Francis books every now and again when I see them on special offer in Kindle. In fact I bought this one in part because I thought I might have not read it (mid-90s being around the time I stopped reading them) but no, I did.

It's actually got one of his (their?) better plots here. Usually the villain is more clearly telegraphed near the beginning but this one does a lot of sleight of hand. However, two stars because the conservatism has led to it aging badly.

There's a ready-acceptance of abuse of women within the film industry that jars sharply with recent events and MeToo, and on top of that frequent disparaging of feminism and a general disdain for 'youth'.

I have enjoyed all of Dick Francis books, but this one was my least favorite. The movie making explanations became tedious and, after a good beginning, the plot went steadily downhill. The main character’s strange infatuation with a sixteen year old was sort of creepy and the answer to the mysterious death that inspired the movie was equally creepy.

Enjoyed learning unexpectedly about film-making this time from Dick Francis. Hadn’t picked the killer and found the last paragraph a bit of a shock. Really liked the character f Robbie. Well written as always.

It's a bit forced. I remember when I read it the first time, I was swept away and horrified that such a thing could ever happen. But then again, I was very young when I first read this book. This time round (many, many, many years later), I paid more attention to the actual movement of the plot and what the plot actually was and found it to be rather lacking. The way Lyon's extracts information is rather manipulative but also very realistic and tbh, works like a charm (and I could see ppl falling for that line in real life exactly as they do in the book sadly). So maybe for me, the book was just disappointing bc it didn't live up to my memory. Maybe it just wasn't as fast paced as many other Francis novels. Maybe the flaw wasn't in the plot but rather the pace, or rather my memory. In any case, I don't think this is a Francis I'll reread.