This is a curious Dick Francis book. The intro to the book says it is based on something that happened to him or someone close and that might explain the odd vibe to the story. It's very bittersweet. The villains are unrepentant at the end. Public opinion is still with the villains. And the hero has a hollow victory where he's not sure it was worth the price he paid. He got his pound of flesh but it cost him two. Justice is served but only partially. So there's no fairytale ending (as the book states at the end) or even a gratifying one. Overall, I liked the book but I was left a little sad by the conclusion.

The book is somewhat frustrating in the 1st act. The hero could've prevented a lot of trouble in the outset. His horse is stolen twice by the trainer in the 1st chapter. If Stephen hadn't let the horse out of his sight, he would've saved himself a lot of trouble, but Stephen is somewhat of a naïve character, which is still a troublesome element to the book.

Solid and pleasantly recognizable like all of Francis' books: you're thrilled and excited and at the same time settling into a sense of "ahhh, we are at this point in the book now". I owe my English to Francis. As a 13 or 14 year old I simply couldn't get myself to start reading in the language. Until a Francis book fell into my hands and I was so hooked I had to stick it out. These books are a true comfort.

Excellent. This is only my second Dick Francis book but won't be my last. Extremely well written with well developed characters. Great narrator

Surprisingly, I had never read this one before. I own a lot of Francis’ books, but not this one. I listened to an audio version. The story was interesting, the characters were familiar, but this story just seemed a little more fun than others. The protagonist pulls together an odd assortment of friends to help him get even with the horse trainer who’d been stealing from him. I’m not sure who the narrator was, but when he was voicing the words of the American girlfriend, he sounded like a guy imitating Barbara Stanwick in Double Indemnity. Tough, matter of fact, cavalier. A little distracting but, at the same time, funny.

Reread 12/16/21
Oddly enough I read this book exactly three years ago. This story was a blast. To right the wrongs done against him, inventor Stephen Scott, invents an elaborate plot with tight time lines, relying on the acting skills of his new found friends. His plan also wasn’t necessarily legal. So much tension! Suspense! This also had a nice romance.

This was a real treat. I bought it because use it was on sale and I always buy Dock Francis on sale, he is one of my favorite authors, I re-read him regularly. To my delight I discovered that I had not read this book before. I thought I had read all his books. I found him 30 odd years ago and scoured my local libraries reading everything I could get and have been following him ever since. This book written the year I was born somehow slipped by me. It is pretty standard Francis fare which is to say it is pretty great. It is a good but not great Francis book and you can tell that it is an early effort. It doesn’t lack polish and all the style and tone is there but the writing doesn’t have the maturity of his finest work. A good read for anyone, unmissable for fans.

I had forgotten how much I enjoy a Dick Francis novel. He creates very engaging characters and weaves a good story.

Steven Scott is a wealthy, novice horse owner. He has had some success, but then determines that his trainer has been cheating him. When he fires him, it gets ugly and the horse racing community sides with the trainer - the underdog - rather than the rich owner. Things get more tense as the trainer continues to try to cheat Scott and Scott fights back. Decent, quick read. Nothing fabulous.

Fun story as always. I hope to find more of his books in the future.

In this excellent Dick Francis novel, Steven Scott is a very successful businessman, who discovers that his friend, Jody Leeds, the trainer of his horses has been stealing from him, and its not a small amount. Leeds has been charging him for trips that were not taken and jockey training rides that were not ridden. This is just the tip of the iceberg, however, because Leeds and as Scott discovers in this engaging story, his crew have been using Scott to line their pockets in a nefarious scheme.

Scott, who was a neophyte in horse training has relied on Leeds, the son of a member of the jockey club, Leeds has help picked out the horses for Scott to buy, trains them, then races them in England. Scott has also bet with Leeds bookie -- Ganser Mays.

The horses all do well but Scott discovers that somehow or other when he has his biggest bets on his horses, they all seem to lose. He basically figures out that Mays and Leeds are conspiring to fix the races. Figuring this all out, at the start of the novel, Scott fires his trainer and takes his horses back. However, Leeds conspires to steal Energise, Scott's latest horse, and when Scott goes to get the horse back, he discovers that Leeds plot is even more complicated, as the horse that is returned is not Energise, but looks like him.

Enlisting the help of a business man, a lovely girl that he meets and courts during the novel, and another bookie, Scott decides to get Energise back.

Unusually for a Francis novel, Scott's courtship of the girl is done well and Scott's business background is also well drawn, but its the story itself that is just sublime.

In the end, even after all that transpires, Scott knows that it was worth it.

And so will the reader.

Dick Francis has a simple pleasing style that I find particularly satisfying. High Stakes is a good helping of that. Like a good chocolate with the right coffee, this book fit nicely into my morning. The characters were just enough and the plot fair enough to engross me without requiring mental commitment or attachment. That’s perfect for a light relaxing read. For a couple of hours of escape I suggest you find your favorite corner, pour your favorite beverage and give this one a go.

Enjoyed this one — definitely adding this author to my future reading list!

I have requested that GR remove this from "Nerve" where it was misplaced.

Francis is here again running against his strong fanbase’s preference for books featuring a jockey (or trainer). Here Steven Scott is a horse owner who has been taken for a ride by his trainer who has found multiple ways to siphon off money from his naïve and well-off boss.

Steve made his money designing and manufacturing challenging and unique children’s toys. He lives in a posh section of London and has acquired an interest in horses. Though he has never been on a horse, he now owns a few who race in quite different circumstances – steeplechasers and flat runners.

In trying to extricate himself from this vampirism, he only gets himself in deeper troubles. It’s not only his wealth that is threatened, but his life as well. Part of the “fun” of the arc of this novel is that we experience Steve’s increasing understanding and empathy for his horses.

Even though this is a bit out of Francis’ mainstream, he is a master of this (self-invented) genre. The thrills and the pace build nicely and the end is satisfactory.
3.5