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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Viruses and fleas are scarier than lions and bears oh my,
By
This review is from: Driving Force (Mass Market Paperback)
OK, let me say first that I like pet rabbits, and in a way, a pet rabbit is one of the heros of this story. I like a lot of Francis's books, but this one had that something extra for me.Dick Francis has a winning formula: he writes books about a young man of around 30, in a career most people might think is boring, but which turns out to be exciting. His hero is usually taken for granted and under-appreciated by his family, and under-employed, but in the course of the book proves he is far smarter, cleverer, and more observant than anyone supposed. Usually, there's a highly intelligent middle-aged career woman who recognizes his worth and helps him along. It's a formula, but the details that Francis provides makes it work every time. Our heros in this book include not only Freddie Croft, who owns the horse transport business, but a veterinary epidemiology researcher who is quite a character. We learn more, perhaps, about viruses, parasite-born diseases, and other related things than some people might want to know; if you're squeamish, you might not want all the details of some of the illnesses we hear about along the way. The stock middle-aged woman character this time is a rather unusual woman truck driver; Francis has always been in the forefront of having women in interesting careers; even back in the 60's, many of the women in his books held jobs. One doesn't tend to think of mystery writers/racing writers as being on the leading edge of trends, but Francis has shown himself to be so, in having career women, gays, and the disabled as important and strong characters in his books, even in the midst of the old-fashioned and conservative racing world.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun read for both mystery lovers and the 'horsie set',
By
This review is from: Driving Force (Mass Market Paperback)
This 1992 mystery focuses, as do all of Francis' books, on some part of the racing industry. This time it is the horse transport business. Freddie Croft had been a successful jump jockey (like Francis himself) for many years. When he retired from racing he began a transport business based from the farm he had inherited in Pixhill, a popular horse training area. The business had begun to flourish but as the novel opens Croft has discovered that two of his drivers had broken company policy by picking up a hitchhiker who died during the ride.
As the story progresses Croft's problems increase, he is attacked, kidnapped, his property vandalized, his computer hacked, an employee killed and to add to the aggravation his drivering force is succumbing to the flu that is sweeping the area. As is the case in all of Francis' work, his hero is a flawed individual, a loner with a secret problem from a dysfunctional family. He bravely and stoically endures his trials, finds romance and a way to cope with his burden along the way just as Francis' heroes all do. Despite the formulistic nature of Francis' work he once again manages to breathe life into his characters and to make the story come alive. Even though a longtime reader of his books knows quite well were the story is going there are always surprises along the way. This would appeal to fans of mysteries in general as well as horse enthusists. The mysteries are clever, orginal and fairly laid out with all the necessary clues for the reader to follow.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
What's your driving force?,
By
This review is from: Driving Force (Mass Market Paperback)
I've yet to read a Dick Francis book I didn't enjoy. His leading men all tend to be kind of the same guy, but it's a character that works. Freddie Croft is tough, but not too tough... smart, but not too smart.. and somewhat of a reluctant ladie's man. I always find myself picturing Francis's leading men as the Daniel Craig version of James Bond.
But enough about Freddie! The story here is pretty solid and interesting, even to someone who doesn't know patooie about horse-racing. Everything is from Freddie's point of view... there are no sneak peeks into the mind of the bad guys or what's happening while Freddie is elsewhere. I found that quite refreshing. I think too many suspense novels fall into that multiple point-of-view trap and it takes something away from the story. I found myself trusting the people Freddie trusted and feeling ambivalent about those he wasn't sure of, and I think it added that extra zing of emotion to the big reveal at the finish. I highly recommend Dick Francis if you're looking for something a little different from today's usual mystery/suspense story.
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