Rating: 
Summary: Another professional, another good one
Review: Although Dick Francis always manages to get horse racing into nearly every mystery he writes, he also brings the reader a lot of information on other professions, into which he puts his protagonists. In this case, Thomsas Lyon is a movie director, young, ambitious, very good at what he does. In his current film "Unstable Times," he may also be arousing old passions over a nearly forgotten mystery. Thomas first realizes there may be repercussions when an old trainer, and his friend, dies of cancer, leaving him all of his collection of books. Shortly afterward, the man's sister is attacked and nearly killed by a man wielding a wicked knife.Although the movie script, and the book it is taken from, uses none of the original names, the story is clearly one of a young woman found hanging in a horse stall nearly thirty years earlier. The book's author is constantly appalled at the liberties Lyon takes with his work and causes no end of complications. Her husband, accused of her murder, was never convicted. He and many others involved at the time threaten, cajole, beg, and whine, trying to keep the movie from being finished. Clearly, someone fears that the truth may come out. In the end, Lyon does solve the decades old mystery, but not without taking a few licks himself. The movie is finished and we are told quite successfully, as it wins several Academy Awards. On the journey, Lyon has proven himself a good director, has made friends of many of the participants, and is himself quite satisfied with the result.
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Summary: Where are the wild horses?
Review: As far as I could tell, The first half the book was fantastic. The ending was a tremendous disappointment. I would start with any other Francis novel.
Rating:
Summary: One of Francis' best.
Review: Dick Francis, Wild Horses (Jove, 1994) Wild Horses is Dick Francis on top of his game. It stands as one of the highlights of the long and somewhat distinguished career of one of Britain's best-known mystery novelists. The tale is that of Thomas Lyon, ex-jumps jockey and presently filmmaker. He's been signed on to make a movie based on a novel based on a twenty-six- year-old police case regarding the alleged suicide of a trainer's wife. In the small British racing world, Lyon and the trainer are connected through various channels, and Lyon, along with the film's reluctant producer O'Hara, idly speculate that maybe, in the making of the film, they might actually solve the case. As all this is going on, an old friend of Lyon's dies, leaving Lyon all of his racing-related books and ephemera. A number of others want to get their hands on this material, and will stop at nothing to do so, including viciously beating the man's elderly sister. Lyon realizes that everything's tied in a lot closer than it seems, and the chase is on. Wild Horses has a readability factor that some of Francis' less consistent books lack. He puts everything in front of the reader in a non-nonsense fashion, adding enough deception to keep the reader wondering what's a clue and what's a falsity, throws in suspects by the score, and lets Lyon go on about making his movie. (Perhaps the fact that the sleuth not only has another job, but actually pays attention to it as the mystery is going on, is one of the book's strongest points; too often it seems amateur detectives suddenly find themselves with more than enough hours in the day when things get underway.) Them's good reads, folks! A must for any fan of Francis (or any other writer of racing mysteries), and a good intro to him for other mystery readers who haven't yet discovered his work. ****
Rating:
Summary: One of Francis' best.
Review: Dick Francis, Wild Horses (Jove, 1994) Wild Horses is Dick Francis on top of his game. It stands as one of the highlights of the long and somewhat distinguished career of one of Britain's best-known mystery novelists. The tale is that of Thomas Lyon, ex-jumps jockey and presently filmmaker. He's been signed on to make a movie based on a novel based on a twenty-six- year-old police case regarding the alleged suicide of a trainer's wife. In the small British racing world, Lyon and the trainer are connected through various channels, and Lyon, along with the film's reluctant producer O'Hara, idly speculate that maybe, in the making of the film, they might actually solve the case. As all this is going on, an old friend of Lyon's dies, leaving Lyon all of his racing-related books and ephemera. A number of others want to get their hands on this material, and will stop at nothing to do so, including viciously beating the man's elderly sister. Lyon realizes that everything's tied in a lot closer than it seems, and the chase is on. Wild Horses has a readability factor that some of Francis' less consistent books lack. He puts everything in front of the reader in a non-nonsense fashion, adding enough deception to keep the reader wondering what's a clue and what's a falsity, throws in suspects by the score, and lets Lyon go on about making his movie. (Perhaps the fact that the sleuth not only has another job, but actually pays attention to it as the mystery is going on, is one of the book's strongest points; too often it seems amateur detectives suddenly find themselves with more than enough hours in the day when things get underway.) Them's good reads, folks! A must for any fan of Francis (or any other writer of racing mysteries), and a good intro to him for other mystery readers who haven't yet discovered his work. ****
Rating:
Summary: The ending destroyed the quality of the book
Review: Francis creates charming characters in delightful settings and weaves a pretty good mystery. However, his conclusion is unnecessary filth which is in such sharp contrast with the rest of his writing it makes the reader feel set up and destroys the quality of the book entirely. I wish I hadn't wasted my time reading it.
Rating: 
Summary: Dick Francis Remains Excellent 30 Years On
Review: Great nostalgia for me here as I recall hearing Dick Francis novels serialized on BBC Radio 4 back in the 1970s. Evidently he remains master of his unique genre of mysteries set to a horse-racing background. And what a career--this is his 33rd novel!
"Wild Horses" satisfyingly has no loose ends. The pacing is excellent. At no point was I bored. The characters of Thomas Lyon, the director; O'Hara, the producer; Nash, the star, and Valentine, Lyon's old friend are all nicely developed (one gets a good feel for Valentine even though he dies early in the book as we continue to see him through Lyon's memory). The movie-making is well done. The one race scene is great.
Thoroughly entertaining. Good, clean fun.
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Summary: Second time Through
Review: I just finished my second time through this book and am making my thespian daughter read it. The characters and insight into directing are excellent. The mystery and action are outstanding. You really can't go wrong with Dick Francis!
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Summary: great service
Review: I received the audio book in approx 3 days and in excellent shape
Rating:
Summary: A novel for the armchair detective
Review: If you were an ordinary person faced with something intriguing, you don't immediately run out and suddenly become a detective. You try to discover what you can on your own, without much fanfare and without calling attention to yourself. MOst of all, your life remains almost normal. If you're lucky, you solve the mystery. Once you do, you keep quiet about it because the solution probably won't benefit anyone but you. So it is with this book. Thomas Lyon is just an ordinary guy trying to find out the answer to a puzzling revelation. He goes on being a movie director while doing his investigation on the side, inviting a little unwarranted attention from various killers as a result. When he does find the solution, he doesn't tell the police or anybody else, letting them make their own conclusions. After all, the answer would never benefit anyone except his own self-satisfaction.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Experiment
Review: Overall this is a very good mystery, but as I am someone who has been spoiled with high expectations for Dick's work, I don't think this one ranks as among his best. I think one of the problems with "Wild Horses" was the slow start. I found the book plodded along for about the first half. I gather this was a result of the very backdrop of this mystery - the underlying setting is boring, tedious movie making. While this seems glamorous and interesting on the surface, it isn't really. Some of the tedium of this industry (setting up shots, filming different angles, rehearsing, taking several shots, waiting around, etc.) seems to seep through to the pace of the story itself, especially in the first half which goes into a lot about the nuts and bolts of directing a movie. In fact, the better parts of the book involve aspects other than movie making. The book starts to pick up and by the last third, it turns into another "can't put it down" read.
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