Thoroughly enjoyable read (actually listen)! My dad read Dick Francis mysteries back in the day. I was always intrigued because there were horses on the covers. They are mysteries that take place around the steeplechase race tracks in England. If that setting captures your attention I highly recommend you give one a try. This story is the second in a two book series with “Break In” being the first. Just really fun mysteries and a great horsey theme!

Wow What a story! If you like Dick Francis don't miss this one.

Extremely glad Francis wrote a sequel to the first Kit Fielding book, and this one was a great read, with its own good story as well as tying up some loose ends. Not sure, though, if some of the characters/relationships would have some of the same compelling force if the reader hadn't read the first one first. So recommend going in order.

Amarnic februarie, şi-afară, şi-n sufletul meu. O stare de spirit pe potriva vremii; cer mohorât, frig, aproape de îngheţ. Am pornit din camera cântarului spre padocul de prezentare de pe hipodromul din Newbury încercând să nu caut chipul care n-avea să fie acolo, chipul pe care-l ştiam atât de bine al Danielle-ei de Brescou, cu care eram logodit în mod oficial, după tot tipicul, cu inel cu diamant şi toate celelalte.

O cucerisem pe această tânără în noiembrie trecut în chip neaşteptat şi trăisem sentimente de profundă emoţie, de elan… de fericire. Dar s-o păstrez pe gerurile de dinaintea primăverii se dovedea al dracului de greu.

Tânăra şi mult adorata mea iubită cu părul negru părea a-şi muta în mod îngrijorător atenţia de la un jocheu de steeplechase (adică eu) spre o persoană sofisticată, de viţă nobilă (un prinţ), mai bogat şi mai în vârstă, care nici măcar nu avea decenţa să arate prost.

Mă străduiam pe cât puteam să nu mi se citească tulburarea pe chip, dar frustrarea se revărsa, în schimb, în timpul curselor, făcându-mă să sar peste obstacole imprudent, să caut cu tot dinadinsul pericolul ca pe un drog care să-mi aducă uitarea. Poate că nu este înţelept să practici o meserie plină de riscuri când mintea îţi este plecată la două sute de mile distanţă, dar pentru mine primejdiile erau ca un tranchilizant.

Prinţesa Casilia, fără a fi însoţită de Danielle, nepoata din partea soţului, aştepta, ca de obicei, în padocul de prezentare urmărindu-l din ochi pe Cascade, calul său din cursa următoare. M-am îndreptat spre ea, am strâns mâna ce mi s-a întins, am făcut o mică plecăciune, ca un semn de recunoaştere a rangului său princiar.

― Rece zi, a spus ea cu o voce ale cărei consoane erau uşor guturale, vocalele pure şi clare, singur accentul amintind vag de ţara ei de baştină.

― Da, rece, am răspuns.

Danielle nu venise. Bineînţeles că nu. Era stupid din partea mea să mai sper. Ea îmi spusese veselă la telefon că n-o să fim împreună în acest week-end pentru că se va duce cu prinţul şi câţiva dintre prietenii lui la o manifestare de artă florentină, cu totul de excepţie, care va avea loc la un hotel din Ţara Lacurilor, unde custodele secţiei de pictură italiană de la Luvru va ţine câteva conferinţe despre Renaşterea Italiană urmate de alte acţiuni de acelaşi gen. Era o ocazie unică şi extraordinară, aşa că mai mult decât sigur aveam s-o înţeleg.

Ar fi al treilea week-end consecutiv când ea apelase cam în aceiaşi termeni la înţelegerea mea.

Prinţesa, o doamnă de vârstă mijlocie, suplă, de o deosebită feminitate şi căldură, în haina-i de samur ce se unduia pe umerii înguşti avea un aer de o mare distincţie, ca întotdeauna. De obicei, nu-şi punea nimic pe cap, păru-i negru şi moale fiind strâns într-o coafură montantă, dar în ziua aceea avea un fel de căciulă rusească de blană, înaltă, cu urechile mari prinse în creştet şi m-am gândit în treacăt că puţine femei ar fi putut-o purta cu atâta eleganţă. De peste zece ani îi călărisem caii, fuseseră vreo douăzeci, la număr şi ajunsesem să-i cunosc bine îmbrăcămintea de curse. Căciula aceea era nouă.

Excellent character study, pretty good suspense plot (harmed a bit by the cartoonish villains), and the usual strong evocation of the world of horse racing. Not as good as the previous Fielding book, largely because it covers very similar ground, but still entertaining.

Note that this book has the usual sort of firearms nonsense that one finds with British authors: There's the scare-mongering about Glock "plastic guns" and even more dangerous fully plastic guns. And there's a claim that "2,000,000" Americans own handguns. When this book was written, approximately 45% of all US households owned at least one gun. Other studies indicate that approximately 2/3 of gun-owning households have at least one handgun. That would imply that about 30% of US households owned handguns. Rather more than 2 million.

I understand why Dick Francis thought every book would be his last. Making something this flawless must have been really draining. Great plot, great placing, great characters, great twists, and above all amazing smooth, tight prose that appears to be effortless. The sort of effortlessness that totally belies the amount of effort that most likely went in.

Once again set in the racing world. Kit Fleming, who appears in another Francis book I read eons ago, is back. The horse racing world wouldn't ordinarily interest me, but Dick Francis was just that good.

Dick Francis books are readily found at yard sales, thrift stores, and flea markets. They are well worth a buck, if they even cost you that much. They are worth much more, but who can argue with just a lousy buck?

Plodding, disappointing plot, an ending that did not satisfy, rudimentary writing. Blah.
Many better mysteries out there.

Always a good page turner mystery.

My favorite Dick Francis book of all time, this one features the second appearance of jockey/detective Christmas "Kit" Fielding (and his twin sister Holly-I mean, why not?). I adored this character, had a major crush on him, and just loved the book. Bolt-which refers to a device used to put race horses down when they are injured and/or no longer profitable-is one of my DF favorites of all time. You can't go wrong with a Francis whodunnit, but this is one of his best.

Brilliantly written

I love Dick Francis books, I am reading them and can see it all so clearly. Brilliant storyline, absolutely love it, really worth reading xx

Very enjoyable!! I had read somewhere that the two Kit Fielding stories were among Dick Francis' best work, and I can well believe it. Liked this one even better than the first, well drawn characters, lots of action.

"Bolt" is a bit darker than its predecessor "Break In," dealing as it does with arms trading and the murder of horses. While "Break In," for all its villainy, was at its core a fairly lighthearted thing, "Bolt" takes the same characters and puts them in danger of losing their actual lives, not just their honor. "Break In" introduced us to the extremely personable Christmas (Kit) Fielding, his sister Holly, and the charming de Brescous, including most especially the lovely Danielle, with whom Kit falls deeply in love, and mixes them up with some people intent on ruining their reputations; "Bolt" brings in actual sordid evil deeds and villains who are willing to kill to get their way.

One of the particularly charming things about both the Kit Fielding books is the way they harken back to old-fashioned, romantic notions of honor, feuds, and aristocracy. They're set in what is recognizably the mid-1980s, when they were written, but everyone lives a kind of old-fashioned lifestyle, either training horses or being aristocrats, and lives according to old-fashioned principles. While one can criticize the aristocracy for many things, the *idea* of dealing with honor is certainly attractive, and Francis uses that in a way that works while still seeming natural.

The vivid sensory details that Francis uses so well are also deployed in full force here, with everything from the wallpaper of the Princess's house to the cream that Kit's rival for Danielle's affections eats for breakfast described in life-like detail. As a side note, Francis novels always make me extremely hungry, especially for toast; the fact that his jockey characters are always watching their weight makes the descriptions of food especially enticing.

"Bolt" has not just the earthy sensual details one would expect from a Francis novel, though, but is one of the first ones in which he began developing the particular lyricism that would be notable in several of the novels from the late 80s and early 90s, peaking and ending with "To the Hilt" and "Wild Horses," in which his characters achieved heightened spiritual states through contact with nature. The ending of "Bolt" is bittersweet, ambiguous, and beautiful, the clean natural world of horses finally winning out over the dirty, sordid world of petty human greed and ambition. A must-read for Francis fans, and for anyone who loves horses or wonders why people do.