Dick Francis's Gamble [Hardcover]

Felix Francis (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 26, 2011

Felix Francis continues his father's New York Times- bestselling legacy with another edge-of-your-seat read that's classic Francis.

Nicholas "Foxy" Foxton, a former jockey who suffered a career- ending injury, is out for a day at the Grand National races when his friend and coworker Herb Kovak is murdered, execution style, right in front of him-and 60,000 other potential witnesses. Foxton and Kovak were both independent financial advisers at Lyall & Black, a firm specializing in extreme-risk investments.

As he struggles to come to terms with Kovak's seemingly inexplicable death, Foxton begins to question everything, from how well he knew his friend to how much he understands about his employer. Was Kovak's murder a case of mistaken identity...or something more sinister?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Felix Francis is the younger of Dick Francis's two sons. Over the last forty years, Felix has assisted with the research of many of the Dick Francis novels, not least Twice Shy, Shattered, and Under Orders. Since 2006, he has taken a more significant role in the writing, first with Dead Heat and then increasingly with the bestsellers Silks, Even Money, and Crossfire, all father- and-son collaborations. He lives in England.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; 1 edition (July 26, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399157476
• ISBN-13: 978-0399157479
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #372,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 76 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Francis Family Fiction Factory lives on with a Gamble & gusto July 27, 2011

By Sharon Isch TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

In an interview with second son Felix that I read online while waiting for this, his first solo thriller, to arrive from Amazon, I learned that the Dick Francis mysteries have always been a family affair, with Dick (the late Queen Mother's former jockey) creating the plots, his wife doing much if not most of the writing and second son Felix, the science teacher, contributing the tech aspects and other off-the-racetrack story elements. After Mrs. Francis died in 2000, Dick called it quits. When, after several years, the cry for more from readers and publishers had failed to die down, Felix gave up his teaching career to join "the family business" full time, the annual Dick Francis thriller was reborn and the second son's secondary byline began appearing on the book jackets. Now Dick is gone and the last surviving collaborator is going it alone for the first time. So how's he doing? Spectacularly well, I'd say.

That wasn't my take on it at first. The first couple dozen pages or so, involving an execution-style murder at the Grand National, seemed sort of same old/same old. But once the tale left the track and jumped into the world of international internet gambling, Bulgarian hit men and independent financial advisors (the current profession of our hero, a former jockey who'd broken his neck near the finish line a few years ago and could never ride again), we were off to the races with a fresh, complex and cleverly crafted nail-biter of a thriller. "Couldn't put it down" has become such a cliché on these pages and I'm a bit embarrassed to see myself using it, except that it really and truly does apply here for me and I suspect it will do the same for you.

The Francis family business seems to be in very good hands indeed.

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Felix hits his stride July 27, 2011

By Elizabeth Chamberlin

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Entertaining, suspenseful, and satisfying. I have found all the novels produced by the son since the death of Dick Francis acceptable, but this one truly attains the previous high standard. Practically a lifelong fan, I eagerly await the next.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a very good book - what a relief! August 3, 2011

By Blue77Moon

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Normally I wouldn't have purchased a book so recently published that had been written by someone, even a son, taking over a series but the reviews this book has received convinced me otherwise. The book is well written, fast paced, interesting, and a lot like Dick Francis' books. Identical? No, but really close with that same hint of terseness, the same kind of tough-minded protagonist, and the same sort of bad guys that I've enjoyed for long in this series. Several times in the book I was really reminded of Dick Francis' earlier books - which were also the ones I enjoyed the most. Felix Francis is an enjoyable author in his own right and I hope to continue reading this series for years.

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Stilted, plodding prose August 13, 2011

By Mikarma

Format:Hardcover

I loved Dick Francis' books, reading and rereading them for the interesting characters, exciting mysteries and insights into the horse world. I read the ones co-authored by Felix and while they weren't quite as good as the earlier works they were still quite satisfying. I hoped that meant that Felix was involved enough in writing those books that he could carry on his father's legacy but I am deeply disappointed. This book could probably have been salvaged by a ruthless editor or writing coach but it's so bad I don't think I'll be able to finish it.

The prose is stilted and plodding, full of passive voice, "whereas" and "however." It reads like a schoolboy essay that will be returned heavily marked in red. An example: "Cheltenham had been the first racetrack I had ever known and I still loved the place. I had grown up in Prestbury village, right alongside, and I'd ridden my bicycle past the backstretch every morning on my way to school." The dialogue is even worse. One of the best things about Dick Francis novels was the inner voice of the narrator and the unique voices of the characters. All of the voices are the same in this book, and no one in real life talks or thinks in such stilted prose. It makes it impossible to develop any real sense of the characters and removes any drama and excitement.

Sadly, it's just boring.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars An also-ran August 25, 2011

By Sirena

Format:Hardcover

This was a very disappointing first solo effort by Felix Francis. I had high hopes, as I had found his collaborative efforts with his father to be good reads, but this book is not up to the par established by Dick Francis over so many years.

The plot was plodding, and the characters were not well developed or well presented. As examples:

The lead character doesn't show much imagination or initiative.

There is no explanation as to why the main character is fond of his girlfriend. Their conversations are exceptionally mundane, and she is not given any personality or endearing characteristics.

Horses appear, but there is no appreciation of horses as a species or as individuals. One horse breaks a leg during a race and is put down, and its owner's reaction is pretty much, "It happens. He was a slow horse anyway."

There is not even an attempt to create believable characters. Here are bits of dialogue from a woman character raised in Kentucky: "Herb had always been one for an occasional flutter on the horses." "He may have liked the odd bet...." "He can't have done." All British vernacular, certainly not southern American.

And there's a 40-something woman who wants the main character for sex, because, you know, these older women find it hard to get sex partners. Snort.

The Dick Francis era is clearly over.