Bolt

In Bolt, Dick Francis continues the misadventures of Kit Fielding, jockey and all-round good guy. Francis' heroes are nearly always good and honest and brave, but never boring. They're the sort of men women would love to love and men should want to be like.This time, however, Kit seems on the verge of losing, Danielle, his fiance and the love of his life. As he wrestles with these feelings, he is struck with the murder of the Princess' horses, first one, then two, then one more. Henri Nonterre is out to make the Princess and her husband turn to gun manufacturing, but Kit will do anything in his power to keep that from happening, as long as the family chooses to resist.Meantime, Kit's old enemy, Maynard Allerdeck, looms in the background with renewed malice. What can possibly have increased his hatred for this particular Fielding? Fully occupied in helping the Princess and her family (which includes Danielle)avoid Nonterre's machinations, Kit merely tries to avoid any adverse contact with Maynard. But that may not be possible.In typically honest, straight forward fashion, Kit strives to protect his employers and friends, and the horses he loves so much. In the meantime, he waits for Danielle to make up her mind about whether she wants to spend the rest of her life with him. A first rate story and most pleasant narrator.

With its companion volume, Break In, Bolt is one of Dick Francis' best! Kit Fielding, a hero with depth, who has recently become engaged to Danielle, is struggling to understand why her feelings for him seem to have cooled. At the same time, the Princess' horses are being killed, apparently by a bombastic and violent Frenchman who wants to take control of a business still half-owned by the Princess' husband. How Kit thwarts the evidoer, as well as the apricot-haired and very funny Beatrice, while re-winning his love and riding his races, is an involving and well-plotted story. I love Dick Francis' work anyway, but this book starts with a bang and doesn't slow down, unlike some others which are a bit slow to get going. Definitely read Bolt, but read Break In first. Wonderful!

I really did enjoy it - and I own all of Francis's books. They're like old friends to me - I visit all of them about every 5th year. The only disappointment I've ever had with Dick Francis is Shattered - his last novel. It seemed hurried and the characters not as well developed in comparison to his others.

This was a really good book! It has it all- horses, romance, action, murder, mystery, and a suprising twist at the end that you would never expect!!!!!!

This book was so good I can't even think of words to describe it. The characters were so well developed and the plot was full of intrigue and surprise! It is one of the best! Once you start reading this book, you won't be able to put it down. Some books have a couple spots in them where nothing happens and it is so boring you just want to stop reading it, but this book just has one big thing after another! I would suggest reading this book to anyone who hasn't read it yet! It is so good!