Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Can't Knock It., December 5, 2002
Anyone who loves horses and can read should take on at least one Dick Francis mystery novel. Francis is perhaps the world's most prolific (and best?) writer on fictional horse-related topics. Each of his mysteries revolves around some aspect of horses: breeding, racing, veterinary, trading, etc. He uses his fictional plots to impart his vast equine knowledge to readers in an enjoyable way. And Knockdown is as good an example as any. In Knockdown, street-wise Jonah Dereham is an independent and honorable bloodstock agent (British terminology for horse trader), a profession not known for ethical practices. Dereham learned his horse knowledge in his prior career as a jockey, and is now hired by rich American woman, Kerry Sanders to buy a horse at auction. In the parking lot after their successful bid, two thugs oddly demand that the horse now be sold to them at a higher price--and then enforce their demand by clubbing Jonah on the head, the first in a series of knockdowns to come. The mystery is on. What is so special about this horse? Why not buy the horse in the auction instead of extorting it from the new owners just minutes later? Who is this Kerry Sanders and who was the horse really for? Before he unravels the mess, Dereham suffers thru harassment, arson, threats to his alcoholic brother, Crispin, and more violent knockdowns. He meets the love interest, air traffic controller Sophie Randolph, when his mysteriously loose horse dashes across the highway, causing her to crash her car. Jonah tries to make things right for Sophie, but she ends up doing as much for him: once even setting his chronically dislocating shoulder after yet another encounter with the bad guys. Knockdown is rigid formula fiction that works. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Slow start, finishes with a flair, August 16, 2009
This book didn't instantly "grab" me like most of Dick Francis's writing does. Midway, the book picks up the pace; then, I didn't want to put it down. It was easy, fast-paced reading, and nice for summer relaxation. I had read Knockdown several years ago, so throughout the book I was thinking, "oh, yes, that was what I had forgotten." Good books are like good friends: I like to re-visit them; but maybe that was why I thought the start was slow. Anyone who enjoys horses and mysteries probably will like Francis's writing. I particularly appreciate his ability to succinctly, but casually paint word pictures of horses, people, and places. He gives scope to the imagination of the reader. I had to laugh when the hero of Knockdown recommended Halley as an investigator. Of course, Sid Halley is one of my favorite Francis characters. Knockdown was worth reading again.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
What price honesty?, February 16, 2010
Jonah Dereham is an ex-jockey with three fused vertebrae and a dislocating shoulder. Now making his living buying horses as a bloodstock agent, Jonah is too honest for his own good.
While all around him, other bloodstock agents are cheating buyers, sellers and breeders - Noah is foolishly happy with a simple commission, no hidden kickbacks. He's ruining it for everyone else. His associates threaten to crush him if he won't play the game.
For Jonah, buying horses turns out to be even more dangerous than riding them.
Although the plot feels a bit slight to me, Jonah is a thoroughly likeable hero. And Francis draws an interesting portrait of Jonah's loner of a girlfriend, an air-traffic controller who never loses control of her heart. Jonah's self-pitying alcoholic brother is also well done.
Dick Francis is always worth reading. I was in the middle of this book when I heard that he just died. The news made me sad. I think it's a mistake to see Dick Francis as a mere writer of horse mysteries. The horses are there, and he loves them, but Dick Francis is really writing about character, integrity, doing your best against impossible odds, seeing the good in others, taking risks, throwing yourself into life.
My tribute to Dick Francis will be to read every one of his books. Wish there were more.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
