I always love Dick Francis' books. I'm slowly rereading his earlier books and reading some of his newer ones for the first time that I missed the first time around! This was short, but good as always.

Not the absolute best of the Dick Francis novels, but rattles along at a fair pace

I am not a fan of horse racing. It holds no appeal for me. I can watch the Kentucky Derby, but only from the moment the horses leave the gate to the time they cross the finish line 2 minutes later. As soon as they do, I change channels.

But from the time I read my first one – probably 60+ years ago – to today, I’ve enjoyed every Dick Francis book. High Stakes continued that string.

The plot here is less a mystery, and more a battle of wills between two strong characters – Steven Scott, a horse owner, and Jody Leeds, the trainer who is slickly robbing him – and a story of revenge with a touch of ‘The Sting’ but without the humor in that movie.

My only 'gripe' is a minor one. From the time they meet outside a restaurant, Francis hinted at Steven and Allie developing a strong, realistic relationship. But at the end, Francis treated it more like a casual fling. never making it clear which one it was.

Of the forty-three novels he wrote, there are only 3 remaining in my ‘To Read’ list. When the last one gets moved to my ‘Read’ file will be a sad day indeed