Longshot

Rating:
Summary: Branaugh Brings Book To Life
Review: Another great book by Dick Francis. I have never read a bad book of his. This book keeps you wondering who did it. The main suspect changes often. I really enjoyed this book and you should enjoy it to.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: Another great book by Dick Francis. I have never read a bad book of his. This book keeps you wondering who did it. The main suspect changes often. I really enjoyed this book and you should enjoy it to.

Rating:
Summary: Branaugh Brings Book To Life
Review: I enjoyed this book enormously when I first read it and bought the audio version just for fun. Kenneth Branaugh really made this book a treat to listen to - fantastic voices and range without over doing it. Dick Francis fans - anyone really - will be thoroughly entertained with Longshot.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant as usual
Review: I loved this book. In my opinion, this book and Forfeit are the two best books Francis has written, though all are excellent. I love the way the lead characters are slightly flawed but you love them anyway. John Kendall the main character in this book is so likeable you actually feel his pain. When he is seriously injured in a bizarre manner towards the climax of the book, the way Francis describes it is so chilling and accurate you almost pass out yourself. I hope Mr. Francis brings John Kendall back again in another novel as he has done with such success with a couple of other lead characters. This book is thoroughly recommended with relish.

Rating:
Summary: Solid, intelligent thriller
Review: Longshot features travel writer turned novelist John Kendall who, to make ends meet, accepts a commission to produce the biography of a race horse trainer. Kendall soon discovers, however, that a recent murder at the trainer's home is far from resolved, and unwittingly becomes ensnared in a web of deceit and danger. Kendall is forced to draw on survival skills honed in exotic locations in order to navigate these home-grown perils.

The book's strength, like most Dick Francis mysteries, lies in solid pacing and engaging characters. Francis juggles well a fairly large cast, all with realistic motivations and personal quirks; the only person who does not ring true, perhaps, is the police inspector who obligingly spills facts to Kendall as needed. Kendall himself is another well-crafted Francis everyman, at loose ends emotionally and personally while he tries to pursue a new professional calling. He stands out from other Francis heroes with his specialized knowledge of living off the land, rather hazardous traps, and survival against the elements. And who as a child didn't dream once or twice of surviving in the wild in such a manner? Francis offers, once again, a chance to experience someone else's livelihood and to puzzle together a mystery along the way.

Rating:
Summary: Longshot made me want to read more books by Dick Francis
Review: Longshot was the first book I had ever read by Dick Francis. I liked the character of John Kendall and how he had to use his knowledge of survival to outwit the killer. I would like to see the character, John Kendall, in another Dick Francis novel.

Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: This is the first Dick Francis novel I've read. I originally purchased this novel because of my love of horses, and how he incorporates them into his writing. However, when reading, I realized that Mr. Francis' books stand on their own. This story was incredibly exhilerating, and well written. I had a hard time putting it down once I got into it. All the characters are interesting, and developed very well. I'm looking forward to reading another one of Mr. Francis' novels in the near future. I highly recommend this book.