Slay-Ride

Dick Francis always teaches the reader something, and in this book we learn that there aren't many homebred jump jockeys in Norway. The population is small, with not enough racing going on. So English jockeys are often invited to ride in races. In Slay Ride, one of these jockeys, Bob Sherman, is accused of stealing the day's take at the Øvrevoll racetrack. He's disappearing with sixteen thousand kroner. Feeling somewhat embarrassed by the incident, the British Jockey Club sends its investigator, David Cleveland, to look into the matter. David is the usual appealing Dick Francis hero, but with charms all his own. At thirty-three, he barely looks twenty-five, so he gets no respect (at first) from the bigwigs. In fact, he's a skilled fact finder. He's trained himself to watch the movements of people's eyes, and even to sense slight disturbances in the atmosphere caused by fear or aggressive in others. His carefully cultivated jungle instincts are destined to come in handy. David's inquiry into a fairly minor theft uncovers a much bigger game. So big that he has to deal with several attempts on his life. The cast includes some wacky characters. Like David's chauffeur, a left-wing Norwegian who drives like a maniac, his Great Dane calmly ensconced in the back seat. And then there's the paranoid Norwegian security guy who's always looking over his shoulder for attackers. And David's weird neighbor in London who can't bear noise. Women enter the picture, too, giving our hero a chance to have healthy male thoughts, politely controlled. I knocked this book down in a day, unable to stop reading. I'd certainly recommend it, along with everything else by Dick Francis!

Dick Francis always teaches the reader something, and in Slay Ride we learn that there aren't many homebred jump jockeys in Norway. The population is small, with not enough racing going on. So English jockeys are often invited to ride in races. One of these jockeys, Bob Sherman, is accused of stealing the day's take at the Øvrevoll racetrack. He's disappearing with sixteen thousand kroner. Feeling somewhat embarrassed by the incident, the British Jockey Club sends its investigator, David Cleveland, to Norway to look into the matter. David is the usual appealing Dick Francis hero, but with charms all his own. At thirty-three, he barely looks twenty-five, so he gets no respect (at first) from the bigwigs. In fact, he's a skilled fact finder. He's trained himself to watch the movements of people's eyes, and even to sense slight disturbances in the atmosphere caused by fear or aggression in others. His carefully cultivated jungle instincts are destined to come in handy. David's inquiry into a fairly minor theft uncovers a much bigger game. So big that he has to deal with several attempts on his life. The cast includes some wacky characters. Like David's chauffeur, a left-wing Norwegian who drives like a maniac, his Great Dane calmly ensconced in the back seat. And then there's the paranoid Norwegian security guy who's always looking over his shoulder for attackers. And David's weird neighbor in London who can't bear noise. Women enter the picture, too, giving our hero a chance to have healthy male thoughts, politely controlled. I knocked this book down in a day, unable to stop reading. I'd certainly recommend it, along with everything else by Dick Francis!

When you read a Dick Francis novel you know that you are not only getting a great read but you are also getting a book written by a writer who knows his subject. Dick Francis was one of the world's greatest jockeys. Talk about horses and racing - he knew his subject. He was also Queen Elizabeth's and her mother's rider for many years. A great athlete!

I listened to this book on tape, and initially I had to accustom myself to the Norwegian setting and accents. Once I had myself acclimated, I enjoyed it a great deal, although I will say that I "figured it out" faster than I do some mysteries. What I liked, I think, was the slightly unique setting and the things about Northern European horse racing that I had not know before. I also thought the chracters were interesting and had some depth that is sometimes missing in Francis' books. There are some characters in this one that I have wondered about as you would with real people--what made them turn out this way? and what is going to happen to them afterwords?

This is a typical Dick Francis book - thrilling, suspensful, intriguing and irresistable!