Customer Reviews

Reflex (Berkley Fiction)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dick Francis novels generally follow a set formula: Seemingly random events ensnare a iconoclastic, intrepid protagonist into the vortex of a mysterious and dangerous situation that exposes the lad to various forms of mayhem and violence before he can get a handle on what's really going on and try to do something about it.

Although formulaic, Francis' work often comes across as fresh and innovative. This arises from his ability to develop strong, uniqe characters, his deft craftsmanship, a tremendous feel for suspense, and some sort of technical a subject background that provides a general focus for the whole story.

In this case, that background is photography.

Phillip Nore is a long time jockey who dabbles in amateur photography. When a well known but little liked professional racing photographer is killed in a car crash, Nore eventually, accidentally, comes into possession of the man's body of work and records. Suddenly Nore and those close to him a being subjected to break-in's in their home, apparently random attacks and so on. Nore comes to understand that the records and negatives he holds are the source of the trouble. He begins looking into the photographers past, and finds a nasty surprise indeed. The question is, can he get to the bottom of this mess before he gets killed?

This work is unusually strong for a Francis novel on several fronts. Phillip is a particularly strong character even for Francis-much more intellectual and introspective than is the norm. The technical aspects of photography needed to decipher the situation are expertly presented in an informative and non-intrusive way that takes nothing from the story-indeed, they add to it. And, the romantic aspect is unusually strong and well developed for a Francis novel as well.

On the whole, this is not only one of the best Francis novels I've read-it's pne of the best overall suspense novels as well.

Get yourself into the "picture': read this book!

This was the first Dick Francis book I read and it was fantastic. It was amazing how he tied so many, seemingly random, characters into the plot. Each time I guessed which character had done what infamous deed Francis turned the tables again. I finished the book on my second night of reading it at 4am becuase I simply could not put it down. The book was full of small, compelling puzzles and the interesting bits of information that solved them. After this book I began reading Francis's 'Come to Grief' and 'Nerve'.

With my first love of Sci Fi and Fantasy, little else ever seems to hit my reading list. But after being introduced to Francis a couple of years ago, I've made it a point to break things up with one of his books every once in a while.
The formula is predictable as follows: Single, solitary, but extremely honest 30-ish horse guy usually in a period of personal transition gets unwillingly drawn into a mystery far more sinister and dangerous than anticipated. Along the way he meets a girl who surprises him by becoming the woman of his dreams, gets beat up a couple of times, and threatens to give up, but eventually solves the mystery, brings the bad guys to justice (though not usually the police) and discovers that his life is far more worth living than he'd thought.
But unlike most authors, for Francis the forumla works in his favor because the predictability of the plot and the well established personality of his main character leaves him free to focus on the details, which are always vastly different from story to story. In this case, it's photography, which alone probably makes Reflex is one of my favorites thus far. I've never been into photography in the least, but Francis' vivid and detailed descriptions of different methods of developing and creating "hidden images" in a negative made me want to learn more. I also really enjoyed the character of Jeremy, who was much further developed than most of Francis' supporting cast.
As with all Francis' novels, this one is well worth the read.

Dick Francis has a formula that almost all of his books follow, but the details that Francis provides makes it work every time.

In this case, our hero is a jockey. Now, many people may be like me- they never got around to reading Dick Francis because they thought all the books are just about jockeys and horseracing. Well, as it turns out, most of the books written in the past 25 years DON'T have jockeys as their primary characters. So I wound up reading some of those, and then just had to read more Francis. And I came to this one, in which the hero IS a jockey - and I liked it anyway!

Our hero is a jockey and amateur photographer who has led a rather rootless life. Left by his mother with a series of friends all through his childhood, he has no close attachments, and in the course of the book must finally learn to acknowledge emotions and grow close to people. The middle-aged woman in this one is one of the women who took care of him when he was young; he spends part of the book trying to find places from his childhood. There's also the stock character of the cunning, wily, whim-of-iron old lady, who thinks the world is motivated solely by greed, and a few other stock types. There are also some unusual bits- although this book was written in the 80's, before the current trend toward acceptance of homosexuality, Francis has included in our hero's checkered childhood a loving gay couple who give him the most stable part of his upbringing. Our hero is himself quite straight, and falls in love with the middle-aged woman's daughter.

The details about photography are fascinating- maybe more than some people might want, and some of it so obscure you have to suspend disbelief a little to think that an amateur might figure out what was going on. But of course, that's part of our hero's hitherto unrevealed cleverness. Some of the photos have been part of what turns out to be one of the oddest blackmail schemes ever. We also get an unusual scheme for sulphide gas poisoning, one of the odder methods for potential murder... and some arson, assault, and other violence. It's not overdone, though.

If you're afraid of reading about jockeys and racing because you're not interested in those subjects, then this book will cure you of that fear.

In the series of dozens of Dick Francis books I've read I consider this as the best. Excellent mind for mystery together with photography and horseracing I found myself a new favorite author in D.F. over ten years ago... and have been hooked ever since

I read about 6 different books by him and this is obviously the best book out of them by a longshot. The plot is so detailed but yet so simple. I don't know what to read now it's so good. Maybe I'll read all over again just to refresh my memory.

I had seen Dick Francis novels laying around the house of a friend. For some reason I was repulsed and never bothered to pick up any of his books to find out if he was worth reading. Finally, I gave in, and so glad I did. What a fun read, and he doesn't waste words. Every page is interesting, and I felt he didn't have to resort to graphic sexual scenes, or for that matter, graphic violence. This book was just fun, fun, fun, Loved it.

This is my favorite Francis so far (of 4 books). It moves fast & is hard to put down. At one level the novels are formulaic, but at another level they are not. In this one, Francis explores the world of photography--as applied to horse racing of course. There are also some intriguing sub-plots that serve to make the book more enjoyable. As usual many of the characters have some glaring flaws--making them suspects. Francis supplies sufficient clues to give the reader a chance of solving the puzzle(s)--but only near the end--a la Agatha. His jockey, however, is difficult to believe regarding the beatings he takes & his reaction to them. I am a little put off by the continuing incidence of cheating in Francis' books--conspiracies of jockeys, trainers, & owners. Hopefully, this is less prevalent in real life. Nonetheless, this book is a very good read. I also took a quote for my collection: "A camera...It's your shield. Keeps you a step away from the world. Makes you an observer. Gives you an excuse not to feel."

If you're a fan of Dick Francis, you'll recognize the format and plot lines of this one. Never a disappointment from this man. If you like his "horsey" novels and like getting an insight into the racing world in England, this one will fill the bill. Some of his other novels are better, but this is a good "vacation" book.

Dick Francis is a brilliant mystery writter! If you have read any of his other works, need I say more!