Customer Reviews

Silks

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was very excited when I found that this book was coming out. Since Dick Francis seemed to have stopped writing for a time, before the release of his last book written with his son, Dead Heat, I made sure that this was not a reprint.

I also made sure that I had plenty of free time, because once I pick up one of his books, I can't put it down! This one did not disappoint me.

As with his other books, the setting takes place in London and little towns nearby that feature racetracks. This story centers around the English legal system, which is fascinating to me. It has the usual main character who is a nice bloke (Geoffrey Mason) but has had some bad things happen to him. He also finds a new love interest, and fights the good fight against the evil bad guy, and good wins out in the end.

When I read this book, I felt like I was there, in the little town that was described, and that I could feel the feelings that the characters were feeling.

Even though this book stuck to Dick Francis' typical plot, it felt fresh and entertaining to me. I was actually smiling at the end, and it takes a good book to do that for me.

If you are a Dick Francis fan, I would definitely purchase this book. And, I am very happy to report that Mr. Francis' son, Felix, seems to be fully capable of having the reigns turned over to him when it becomes necessary.

_Silks_ is a mid-range Dick Francis novel. It delivers the usual pleasures of Dick Francis novels: a racing background, a sympathetic protagonist, a scary villain, a little romance, and an interesting backdrop. As a long-time Francis fan, I was glad to get it and enjoyed reading it. Much as I'd like to, however, I can't give it more than three stars. It has an excellent start, and a good finish, but it lags in the middle.

It doesn't take long for Geoffrey Mason, our hero, to get into frighteningly credible hot water. That's good--but then he takes an awfully long time to do anything effective about it. The middle part of the book fails to build on itself. In a thriller/mystery tale like this one, the protagonist should always be getting more information, getting closer to the bad guys, using what he's learned to push one step further. The antagonist, meanwhile, should always be expanding the scope of his nefarious doings, upping the threat level, reacting to the hero.

Neither of those things happens very much in _Silks_. Mason goes down a lot of blind alleys, and fails to uncover many new facts during his rather desultory investigations. Ultimately, he gets the information he needs via a phone call from a third party. The villain, in turn, simply repeats his original threats over and over. (Part of the trouble is that the villain, when uncovered, turns out to be a somewhat peripheral character.)

Finally, because there's no chain of revelations, Francis & Francis have to rely on a gimmick to inject surprise. In a typical mystery, we readers know what the investigator has *seen*, but not what he *thinks*. Here, Mason explains everything to the other characters in the book--but not to us. Censoring the information given to the reader is one of the weakest of authorial tricks, and in this case it happens several times.

The best part of _Silks_ is Julian Trent, the brutal thug whose trial sparks the whole chain of events. Intimidation in the justice system is a very real problem, and it's all too easy to imagine ourselves in Geoffrey Mason's situation. _Silks_ is very effective in showing how fragile that system really is.

It also delivers a good courtroom drama sequence. This has been done so often that it's something of a cliche. The Francises make this old standard deliver by actually giving an insight into a trial lawyer's mind; we get some understanding of Mason's tactics, his strategies, his worries, his analysis. The effect is to make the legal proceedings less of a circus and more of a high-stakes chess game. (It's also an amusing contrast for anyone who's a fan of Rumpole of the Bailey!)

If you're a long-time Francis fan, you'll probably enjoy _Silks_. Spending time in Francis territory is rather like visiting an old and familiar place: even if things aren't quite the way you remember, it's a pleasure to be among friends. If you're relatively new to Francis, however, you might want to start with one of his top-notch classics--_Risk_ is a personal favorite--where the pacing isn't quite so lax.

In this book Dick Francis returns to his roots and to a type of hero who was featured in many of his early mysteries: the amateur jockey. Geoffrey Mason is a barrister who someday hopes to attain the silken robes of a Queen's Counsel. In the meantime, he represents thugs like Julian Trent and rides in races a few times a year on his own horse. Things take a dismaying turn when Trent gets out on appeal because someone tampered with a jury.

The racing scenes have all the pulse pounding appeal of vintage Francis. The intricacies of British law are clearly portrayed. Even the graphic violence is not new to Dick Francis mysteries. Actually there is less violence then some classic Francis mysteries such as BONE CRACK, but in this book they seem more shocking, partly because his hero seems "softer" than some of the tough guys of yore. As in the previous book co-authored by Dick Frances and his son Felix DEAD HEAT, the hero is not a jock who takes his licks and keeps on kicking. Geoffrey Mason is easily moved to tears since the death of his wife and at first, he seems intimidated by the violence that is meant to move him along a certain course. He grows as a character throughout the novel until he becomes capable of taking the climatic action in the final pages. Riveting! Remarkable! Perhaps not recommended for the cozy, tea-drinking set...

If you're not a fan of Dick Francis, then you really want to start with Straight (Dick Francis Library) or Reflex (Berkley Fiction), two of his very best. If you are a fan, this will will be another pleasant day out at the track, good weather, fine horses, and you'll win a few modest wagers on the Tote, but there won't be any stunning upsets.

This time, our protagonist (in Francis' trademark first person POV) is a barrister, a lawyer who argues cases in the British courts. We get interesting insights into his profession, and a very believable young thug as the First Villain of the piece.

The story proper starts with a murder (very traditional) and quickly spawns a complex web of witnesses, entangled lives and a great honkin' Clue. It is here that the story is weakest, as it bogs down a bit in the middle- there needed to be a bit more going on. We take a lengthy excursion into the character's personal life while not making progress on the mystery and waiting for something to happen in the rest of the plot.

However, after some slowness in the middle, it launches into a bang-up courtroom finish, with revelations and confrontations galore. This is considerably more polished and better paced than the first Francis and Francis outing, and if it's not first-rank, it's certainly enjoyable and recognizably part of Francis' greater body of work.

Julian Trent blames his former London barrister Geoffrey Mason for his initial assault conviction that was overturned on appeal. Mason thought his client got off soft on an overwhelming lost case. However, Trent believes his lawyer did not provide a proper defense and begins sending intimidating messages to Mason.

Although he has doubts bigger than Big Ben, Mason agrees to defend jockey Steve Mitchell against a murder charge. Evidence is strong that a crime of passion occurred as witnesses saw Mason's client and another jockey Scot Barlow arguing over the latter's late sister who was the former's girlfriend Millie when he was married with kids. Barlow blamed Mitchell for his sister's suicide while Mitchell blamed Barlow for informing his wife of the affair as his spouse divorced him, remarried an Aussie, and moved with their kids to Australia. Not long after that Barlow was found murdered with the means being a pitchfork. However, to his shock, unknown adversaries order Mason to lose the case or else they imply his septuagenarian father would be battered like his computer just was.

SILKS is a terrific legal thriller starring a barrister with a difficult case exponentially compounded by threats to lose and by Mason's problems to focus as he also believes Trent is involved. The story line is a fast ride around the track although racing is more background than usual in a Dick Francis thriller. Although the courtroom revelation seems out of Perry Mason rather than Geoffrey Mason, fans enjoy the latest collaboration from the father and son Francis horse racing mystery team (see DEAD HEAT).

Harriet Klausner

I picked this book up because I have been a huge fan of Dick Francis for years. The only thing that kept me thru the end of the book was this fandom. It is evident that at this point in time this book is written by Felix Francis, and Dick contributes in name only (he is too frail these days to be available for book signings). In the past I could read Francis books in 2 days, but this took me 6 weeks. The story moves extremely slowly and the intricacies of the legal system that have been described here only bog the story down. Most Francis books involve characters in more obscure novel professions (trainers, artists, photographers, etc.) that contain some details but not too much. The story itself is hard to believe, especially when there are hundreds of good legal thrillers out there. Francis books always created strong characters that you felt hooked in to, but the main character in this story is dull. My strong allegiance to Francis kept me with this book, but I won't repeat that mistake if another new one comes along. I highly recommend you try one of his earlier books, those are worthy of 5 star votes.

Since Felix Francis has opted to extend the family franchise of racing mysteries, he has clearly done an excellent job of analyzing his father's work. He has then developed a formula to assure that all the elements are in the book, and then does the boring part: he writes it.

This book lacks the fun, the originality, the plot twists, that made Dick Francis a fascinating writer. True, to an American audience the "Silks" conflation is another piece of interesting anglophilia, but this story has been written before: entertainingly by Francis I, less so by Francis II. I suspect that I will not buy the third father and son collaboration.

This is the most recent Dick Francis book, another product of him working with his son Felix.

The traditional racing scene with a legal twist. The main star, Geoffrey Mason, is an amateur racer with his own jumper, and a barrister based in London.
As with many of Dick Francis earlier books, he has done an amazing amount of research into the world of barristers, and has produced a detailed and fascinating book.
Although I did not enjoy the previous book written by the Francis father-son duo as much as the other Francis books (likely a husband-wife duo), this book is much more similar in style and detailed content to the older Francis books. Therefore I strongly recommend Francis fans to read this one. It is also a delight for those with any interest in law or in racing.

My first Dick Francis was a book entitled WHIP HAND and since then (30 years back) I read everything he issues. When he announced a few years ago he would never write another book I was somewhat disappointed. I was one who had become accustomed to seeing a new Dick Francis in bookstores each fall.

Well, good news, Francis and son have crafted a few good books lately and the Dick Francis writing saga continues, and continues to mostly high praise. With the many reviewers here willing to provide you with the plot you need none of that from me. My shelf of Dick Francis books is sagging badly, however, I will always have room for one more.

If you haven't checked out the DVDs available of his work you might want to do so. His THE RACING GAME, complete series on 2 discs, and DICK FRANCIS MYSTERIES can still be obtained. Each in their way is a boon for any Dick Francis fan. THE RACING GAME is comprised of 6 stories: Odds Against, Trackdown, Gambling Lady, Horses for Courses, Horsenap, and Needle. The DICK FRANCIS MYSTERIES contain Twice Shy, Blood Sport, and In The Frame, all three full length feature films with Ian McShane and Patrick MacNee.

Best in reading and viewing.

Semper Fi.

This is my first book read via Kindle, and because each "page" contains less information than a visible two page spread of a book, I think it made me more aware of constant page turning with little yield of much in the way of new story elements. That said, all the usual ingredients of a Frances story are here, but this time delivered at a painfully slow pace. Only my loyalty to the author motivated me to turn the pages, rather than excitement to find out what was happening, because not much was(happening).

I didn't find the main character- an amateur steeple rider- as usual- and full time barrister, and not exceptionally gifted in either pursuit, very interesting. Having read most of France's stories, I now find myself knowing much more about horse racing , than I want to know. As a subtle way of educating readers to that particular sport, the material is interesting, but in this case slows the story telling to a crawl.

All the usual ingredients of a Frances story are here, but nothing new. No signs of a growing strength in story telling, or plot development, just business as usual but at a slower pace. Like watching an old fashioned photo slowly emerge from the developer, in a world of instant digital imagery. That's not necessarily bad, but for me in this instance, the process took longer than I could sustain interest in the finished product.