261 pages

Up to Francis' usual standard. Immensely and easily readable. Love a good bedtime book that relaxes me into sleep. (That's a compliment, by the way.)

Enjoyable read. Enough twists and turns with a little love story in the mix. Surprise ending ….

Not the greatest Dick Francis I’ve ever read, but far from the worst. I really liked the detailed descriptions of horse veterinary procedures and accurate representations of the effects of various toxins. DF really did his homework. And the main character, Peter Darwin, was engaging and had a certain depth with his diplomatic handling of the situation at hand.

The best of the three I've read this week, with an interestingly complex story about vets and horses dying unexpectedly, with a good cast of supporting characters, plenty of suspects, and a story where the protagonist's past plays an unexpected role.

Surprisingly, Comeback is a very good read. Dick Francis was an excellent writer in the murder mystery genre. About at the same level of excellence as Daphne du Maurier was in her own romantic genre. But then Francis allegedly had his wife as a co-writer, to spice stories up or to hold up the women’s end of things. Lol ! The UK racehorse circles must have been full of very important people, the best and the brightest people to give him such a fillip for writing, to drive Francis on to deliver dozens of his literary works. Who knew jockeys could be so literate or erudite?
A horsey setting in this novel as usual for Francis, ever the champion jockey, the darling of the British aristocracy. An eye-popping veterinary surgical horse hoist really grabs the reader’s attention. I thought the gizmo was de rigeur, but no, there are other ways to get an anaesthetized horse onto a surgical table for a major operation. The story is plot and action driven. Little description of the countryside, so a bit difficult to feel transported to England by the story.

There's a love story between Peter and Ken, but that's just my opinion.

One of the author's best, this book comes from the latter part of his career. The scene near the end where the mc is in extreme danger is a memorable variation on this familiar Dick Francis scene. The heavily-researched book can sometimes read like a book report, but it is telling that you accept without question that these characters are experts in what they do: veterinarian, diplomat, lounge singer, you name it. What a contrast to the lazy writing style of a book I just read, where the authors could not be bothered to do their homework!

Dick Francis memorably spoke about co-writing his books with his wife, Mary Francis. She did all of his research while she was alive and also served as his sounding board and co-author. He once said that he was Richard, she was Mary, and together they were Dick Francis. Her hard work has allowed Francis to write a good book set in a very specific world outside his own experience...and ours. Recommended.

This is another fun entry in the Francis series. I especially enjoyed this one because it centers around a mystery at a veterinary clinic. As usual, the Francis team obviously did a lot of careful research on the subject before writing the book; in general, their understanding of the topic shows impressively throughout the book.

Took awhile to get going. 3.5 starts

A Dick Francis mystery does not disappoint. Well written with an insider's clear understanding and experience backing the story and infusing the characters and the world.

typical francis. fun, not too mysterious, likeable and hateable characters.