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Kit Fielding #2

Bolt

dick francis

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Kit Fielding will do whatever it takes to stop the killing of racehorses. Not an easy task considering that the woman he adores is leaving him, an international arms dealer is threatening him, and Kit's nemesis has plans to knock him off the track—and plant him under it.

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1,1986
Series
Kit Fielding

This edition

Format
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published
May 3, 2005 by G.P. Putnam's Sons
ISBN
9780425202883
ASIN
0425202887
Language
English
Characters More characters

More editions

About the author

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dick francis

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Dick Francis, CBE, FRSL (born Richard Stanley Francis) was a popular British horse racing crime writer and retired jockey.

Dick Francis worked on his books with his wife, Mary, before her death. Dick considered his wife to be his co-writer - as he is quoted in the book, "The Dick Francis Companion", released in 2003:
"Mary and I worked as a team. ... I have often said that I would have been happy to have both our names on the cover. Mary's family always called me Richard due to having another Dick in the family. I am Richard, Mary was Mary, and Dick Francis was the two of us together."

Praise for Dick Francis: 'As a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing' Daily Mirror '

Dick Francis's fiction has a secret ingredient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding it tight until the very end' Sunday Telegraph '

Dick Francis was one of the most successful post-war National Hunt jockeys. The winner of over 350 races, he was champion jockey in 1953/1954 and rode for HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, most famously on Devon Loch in the 1956 Grand National.

On his retirement from the saddle, he published his autobiography, The Sport of Queens, before going on to write forty-three bestselling novels, a volume of short stories (Field of 13), and the biography of Lester Piggott.

During his lifetime Dick Francis received many awards, amongst them the prestigious Crime Writers' Association's Cartier Diamond Dagger for his outstanding contribution to the genre, and three 'best novel' Edgar Allan Poe awards from The Mystery Writers of America. In 1996 he was named by them as Grand Master for a lifetime's achievement. In 1998 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2000. Dick Francis died in February 2010, at the age of eighty-nine, but he remains one of the greatest thriller writers of all time.

Series:
* Sid Halley Mystery
* Kit Fielding Mystery

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Community Reviews

Rating(3.9 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
27(27%)
4 stars
40(40%)
3 stars
33(33%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
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100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
hallaballu
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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I hated this book, though I read it quickly start to finish. Four horses dead. It seems an after thought to the plot. As a horse person I was appalled at the cavaleir treatment of their death. Maybe one to heighten the intringue. But 4? And one right in the last few pages. As a person of the horse world, I was shocked that Francis had so little feeling as to treat them as pawns.

Now I know this was fiction. But even imagined? I have several other Francis books -- I had always enjoyed his writing -- but I'm not sure whether I want to risk reading any of them. Sad,
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Usagimi
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Nice ending, would have liked to have seen more descriptions on the characters and locations particularly on Allardeck.
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FRESHShaZaM
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Dick Francis returns us to the world of jockey Kit Fielding, who we met in an earlier novel. Kit is engaged to the beautiful Danielle, but their relationship seems to be on the rocks. Lately, Danielle seems rather distant to Kit, and he worries he may be losing her to another man. The story begins at the races, where Kit is riding for Princess Casilia deBrescou, a fine woman who owns several racehorses she enjoys watching at various racetracks. Kit and the princess are fairly close, and after the races he finds her speaking with a very rude man. At her request, Kit comes home with her, to the palatial London house where she lives with her businessman husband Roland and Kit’s fiancée Danielle. Another cousin, Prince Litsi, an apparent rival for Danielle’s affections, and Beatrice Bunt, Roland’s unpleasant sister, are also in residence. Kit talks with the princess and her husband and finds that the rude man is Roland deBrescou’s business partner from France, Henri Nanterre, who wants Roland to sign papers agreeing to use a plastic they had developed in the making of firearms. Roland is highly opposed to the idea and refuses, and that’s when the trouble starts.

In the middle of the night, someone goes to the stable where the princess’ horses are kept and shoots two of them with a bolt, a humane killer used by veterinarians. One of the horses was a particularly fine prospect for the Grand National. Additionally, a man follows Danielle on her way out of work one night, and she flees to call Kit for help. Henri Nanterre is behind the attacks, and even Roland’s sister Beatrice is a spy. Beatrice wants the money Nanterre promised her, if she could get Roland to sign the papers enabling his company to make guns. Nanterre calls the deBrescou house often, making dire threats. Roland is near to signing off on the guns, but Kit persuades him not to. Instead, Kit hires a guard and a dog to patrol the stable where the princess’ horses are kept, and also hires a bodyguard for Roland for the times when he and Litsi aren’t at home. Nanterre plans an attack on Litsi that almost kills him, and then Kit and Litsi decide to make plans of their own to trap Nanterre.

Nanterre falls into their trap, and they effectively save the future of the deBrescou family. It seems like life is about to go back to normal, but Francis throws in one more twist at the finish, neatly tying up the last loose end.
Like all Dick Francis books, Bolt was delightfully English, peopled with likeable characters. While there wasn’t a great mystery for us to solve, he leaves us waiting breathlessly for something to happen at every turn. We know who the villain is from the very beginning in this book, and it’s the reaction of our hero that keeps us turning pages. The delicate social balance between the characters is intriguing, as well. There just aren’t any bad Dick Francis books.
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blooish
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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3.5 Continuing to re-read Dick Francis from my collection. This is the second book featuring Kit Fielding (only the second recurring character in his books), and while I enjoyed the read, I thought it not as good as the first one.
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Caninse
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Sequel to ‘Break In’, returning us to the world of crime-solving jockey Kit Fielding. Princess Casilia, Kit’s primary employer, is facing a hostile takeover of her and her husband’s business. The man concerned, Henri Nanterre, is not above threats and violence to get what he wants – people the princess cares about are being attacked, and her racehorses are being killed. Kit is determined to put an end to all this, whilst also struggling with romantic issues of his own. Can the heroic jockey ride to the rescue again?

I found this book a very enjoyable read, perhaps even more so than the first one, though the horse deaths were obviously unpleasant to read about.
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tapewormslurper
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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In his sequel to Break In, Francis shows his old racing colors to advantage. Champion jockey Kit Fielding whom I've come to hugely admire. He's awesome--again proves his mettle when Henri Nanterre, the ruthless business partner of his fiancee's uncle, tries to convert their road construction company into an armaments enterprise. Nanterre threatens the life of Princess Casilia, his partner's wife, who also owns many of Kit's mounts. Nanterre is foiled, but then some of the princess's horses are found dead, killed, ironically, by captive-bullet bolt guns designed for ""humane'' deaths. This makes my blood boil when they damage and kill the horses.

Next come several near-lethal attacks against humans, including Kit's Danielle, and our Kit must devise a plan to thwart Nanterre for good. Soon Danielle has second thoughts about sharing the dangers of a steeplechaser's life. Maynard Allardeck, racing steward and hereditary enemy of the Fielding family, reappears and makes Kit's life even more difficult. The characterization isn't especially profound, but the plot races along wonderfully well, right up to a jolting twist at the end.
Really good book. Highly recommend.
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Kyxor
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Atraktívne pokračovanie s tradičnými postavami, ale aj zápletkami, ktoré narušujú vývoj z prvého dielu. Šablóna príbehu sa trochu opakuje a zakončenie je trochu predvídateľné. Ale inak je to stará známa dobre vygradovaná klasika.
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ImRingo
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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I loved this book!

Kit Fielding was (and still is) one of my favourite Francis characters. The fact that there are two books written about him only makes it better, as it allows for more growth and development of his personality. And, as usual, the mystery and plot are up to the gold standard. Who knows how many times I have read this? I certainly don't, but I'm sure I will again.
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