From Publishers Weekly
MWA Grand Master Francis's first collaboration with his son Felix, a former physics teacher who researched many of his father's previous bestsellers, introduces an engaging hero, though longtime fans may find certain plot elements, like an unlikely love interest and sinister figures somehow connected with shady racetrack doings, less than fresh. The reputation of Max Moreton, a young wunderkind chef with a restaurant in Newmarket, England, suffers after guests at an affair he caters fall ill with food poisoning. This calamity nearly jeopardizes another job—feeding several dozen attendees at a major horse race. While that meal goes off without a hitch, a terrorist's bomb decimates the crowd at the track. Despite the official theory that an unpopular Middle Eastern ruler at the event was responsible, the chef wonders whether the bombing is related to the earlier food poisoning and turns amateur sleuth. Crisp writing and well-paced action help offset the routine plotting.
(Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From AudioFile
Surprisingly, for a Dick Francis novel, horses feature here only peripherally. Max Moreton is a superstar chef whose life gets complicated when more than 200 people get sick after eating a dinner he catered at a racetrack. The next day, while hes serving lunch at another race, the glass-fronted box of the grandstand explodes. Max turns sleuth to save his reputation and his restaurant. Martin Jarvis perfectly depicts Max--young, determined, and newly in love. Jarviss flexibility is remarkable. He creates different voices and accents for supporting characters ranging from Maxs girlfriend, Caroline, to an elderly neighbor, a Wisconsin concierge, and a Russian importer. A.B. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine--
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