Customer Reviews

Come to Grief

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Francis addicts will cheer on "friend" Sid Halley as he faces old ghosts (first wife), old demons (as in WHIP HAND), and new demons (his friend & that of a little girl's fatal disease). The best part of any Dick Francis book are his characters. You always LIKE them. The action keeps you turning the pages, but the characters have you on their side cheering for them. COME TO GRIEF is no different. There are mixed feelings at the end of every Dick Francis book: good, the character is OK; and nuts, now the character is gone away because the book is finished. It has been nice to welcome back Sid Halley for the third time.

Dick Francis wrote only three books about Sid Halley, a former jockey turned investigator, and in each book, Sid and his views about his crippling injury change just a little.

In COME TO GRIEF, Francis tells us right up front who the villain is, a "least likely" suspect indeed. Ellis Quint is a former champion amateur jockey, a friend and rival to Sid in his halcyon days, and a man who has gone on to outstanding success as a TV commentator and talk show host. So why would such a man stoop to crippling ponies and racehorses by chopping off their feet?

It's a mesmerizing picture: Sid reluctantly investigating and Ellis going to the brink, both men sharing a nature that loves and craves risk. Francis points this up in the character of Jonathan, a bored almost-delinquent, who got into trouble with his friends for stealing a car. Jonathan at this point could go either way: full fledged criminal or hot-shot investigator.

As in all Dick Francis, there's such forward momentum to the plot that the book is hard to put down. Even though we know "who done it" it's not apparent that the criminal will ever be found guilty. I peg this as one of Francis's best.

I will admit going into this that I am more than halfway in love with Sid Halley. However, we would not be a good match, since I, like his ex-wife, would be aggravated because he wouldn't be reliable and be home on time for dinner.

Levity aside, I am predisposed to like and of Francis' books about Halley, and there are things I like here. I like Sid having a chance to develop relationships with some people and having a chance to genuinely love, as he does with the little girl with leukemia here. I also really want him to have a satisfying relationship, and he seems to be interested in that, although I don't think the love interest in this one is as pleansant or as good a prospect as in Whiphand.

However, as some other reviewers have noted, this seems to be a rather mean-spirited book. I don't understand why the handsome man who appears to have everything stoops to mutilating horses, and I don't understand what the fundamental message about human nature is here. I think Francis was really trying to say something profound here, but I can't get to it. I was left feeling like I missed something important, and it made me frustrated and sad.

Dick Francis always write well constructed mysteries with good character representations and believeab le motivations. The only thing that kept me from giving this book five stars is that it is less suspenseful when you know before the end of the book who did it.

The third novel featuring Sid Halley, the unfortunate jockey who lost his left hand in a steeplechasing fall at a fence. He's still full of his complexes, including the one of guilt towards his former spoiled and bitchy wife. The inevitable villain in this one is a very popular TV presentator, and reminds too much of the one in "Nerve", a book of 31 years before. All in all, the Sid Halley epic is getting tired and stale. "Odds against" (first episode) was very good, and original; the second one, "Whip hand" a bit re-hashed but still palatable. This one is showing worn-off edges.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Come to Grief," as I enjoyed "Whip Hand," the second of Francis' three Sid Haley novels. Insomuch as all of Francis' main characters are essentially the same person, Sid Haley fits his bill, but - perhaps by simple virtue of being ressurected through three novels now - Haley is a much deeper, more real person than some of the others. Francis really threw himself into writing Haley, exploring his motivations, fears, bravery, and tenaciousness to a far greater extent than his typical character, and you end up caring about the outcome quite a lot. I listened to this book (narrated by Simon Preebles) simultaneously to reading "Hot Money," and there's really no comparison in quality. "Hot Money" is average, "Come to Grief" is well above the norm.
The other reviewers' comments about this being a darker, more disturbing book than Francis' average are all true, of course, but in my opinion this improves the read.

Sid Halley, former champion jockey, looks small, harmless and naive. He's so inconspicuous that you may not even notice he has a prosthetic hand.

But in fact, Sid is a brilliant private investigator skilled at espionage, lock picking, computer hacking and judo - a man of action who never shows fear.

His good friend Ellis Quint, another ex-jockey, has retired from racing to become a TV chat show celebrity. He's utterly charming and inspires happiness everywhere he goes. Everybody loves him.

But in fact Ellis is secretly indulging in sick acts of cruelty to animals. No one would believe it of him. Sid Halley is nearly destroyed trying to expose the truth.

Dick Francis heroes almost always get badly battered in a fight or two. But Sid Halley's tribulations go far beyond that. Though totally without self-pity, he`s never gotten reconciled to the loss of his hand. In this book, Sid must also bear the burden of betraying a friend.

I find the Sid Halley books challenging because life is so very hard on the handicapped investigator. I don't want my heroes to suffer this much! But Dick Francis felt he had reached a higher level with these books. They delve into the nightmares that won't go away - without, however, losing the essential optimism that epitomizes Dick Francis.

Dick Francis, puts Sid Haley back in the saddle for an Edgar Award with COME TO GRIEF.
A sick child fighting a losing battle begs Sid's help to discover who mutilated her pony so viciously it had to be destroyed. Sid's heart goes out to the bewildered little girl as other prime colts are attacked in the night.
Sid risks a life-time of friends and his professional reputation to being a killer to justice. He knows the identity of the attacker, but he lacks the proof necessary for a conviction. Jam packed with tension, chills and horror as Mr. Francis gives readers the ride of their lives.
Mystery fiction that stands among the best. Take a long day for this one you won't put it down.
Nash Black, author of TRAVELERS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.

This is the third novel by the author about ex-jockey turned PI Sid Halley. I did not think it was as good as the first two, but that is often a problem with sequels. Mainly, I did not like the structure of the novel which starts out near the end of the story, then flashes back to the start of the case and works its way back forward. In some ways the story seemed to be left unfinished.

The novel is about a person with a sick mind who gets thrills by mutilating horses. The novel is also about misplaced loyalties, where people cannot believe bad things about a person, or where people have reasons for not wanting to prosecute even if they know a person is guilty. Many pedophiles and such remain active for similar reasons.

In this novel, Sid Halley becomes villified because his investigation results in charges against a friend who people admire. There are some underlying motives revealed as the book develops. There is also Sid's affection for a young girl suffering from leukemia, and his attraction to a young woman working as an investigative reporter.

The three novels, "Odds Against," "Whip Hand," and "Come to Grief," are also available in a combined omnibus edition, "Win, Place, or Show." "Come to Grief," is included in a Reader Digest collection of condensed novels by various authors..

I enjoyed this book--it was IMHO a fun read. As usual, DF has an indestructible hero who seems to court trouble but with impeccable morality. It's easy to root for him. Less than the other 8 books of his I've read, DF has only a bit of technical detail on textiles, leukemia, & horse foods--usually he goes into great detail on some profession such as photography. Of course, there are some difficult-to-believe successes such as a no-armed hero defeating two professional security guards...but it IS light fiction--not Hemingway etc. The crimes are a bit ugly though DF's descriptions are always after-the-fact not during the dastardly deeds. In addition, there are very poignant vignettes with a child suffering from leukemia--& we are left hanging over this. Still, DF IMHO manages to keep the reader interested throughout the novel.

In addition, as in many of his works, DF has some delightful turns-of-phrase (herein mostly concerned with his love-hate "relationship" with a reporter (India Cathcart) with a nasty reputation: "They said she kept a penknife handy for sharpening her ball-points...She trailed me [Sid Halley] behind her like a comet's tail (Halley's Comet?) while introducing me to no one...The serial reputation-slasher...one doesn't cuddle up to a potential cobra.

As for the absurdity of the culprit's actions: "Half of human actions don't make sense in the eye of the beholder."

p.s. Francis has written 4 Sid Halley novels at this writing. (Odds Against, Whip Hand, Come to Grief, & Under Orders--in that order). The 1st 3 have been anthologized: "Win, Place, or Show" 042519972X, "The Sid Halley Omnibus" 033049242X, & "3 Titles by Dick Francis" B000MN3WV4.