Decider

Rating:
Summary: Fine book by Francis, his last one that was any good
Review: Architect Lee Morris has six sons, a disaffected wife, and an eight percent ownership in Stratton Park Racecourse. Seems his late mother was once married to the recently deceased Lord Stratton's handsome but violent second son, Keith, and when she divorced him after an episode of marital rape, the shares were given to her by Lord Stratton. With the old lord dead, the family is feuding over the racecourse, and Lee is asked to intervene. But the aging but still choleric Keith is not the only foe he will have to face . . .

An ambitious book. With eight Strattons, six Morris kids, and a host of other characters, Francis is generally successful in creating individual characters (though some of the younger Strattons tend to blend as hostile faces in your mind)

A few quibbles. To a certain extent, Francis stuck to his formula in this book. In almost all of Francis later books, Francis's hero (always a pleasant fellow in his thirties whom people just love to talk to) gets beat up about halfway through the book, and, in the climactic scene, would do credit to the hero of an action movie.

Quite good, but not as good as his early books.

Rating:
Summary: Fine book by Francis, his last one that was any good
Review: Architect Lee Morris has six sons, a disaffected wife, and an eight percent ownership in Stratton Park Racecourse. Seems his late mother was once married to the recently deceased Lord Stratton's handsome but violent second son, Keith, and when she divorced him after an episode of marital rape, the shares were given to her by Lord Stratton. With the old lord dead, the family is feuding over the racecourse, and Lee is asked to intervene. But the aging but still choleric Keith is not the only foe he will have to face . . .

An ambitious book. With eight Strattons, six Morris kids, and a host of other characters, Francis is generally successful in creating individual characters (though some of the younger Strattons tend to blend as hostile faces in your mind)

A few quibbles. To a certain extent, Francis stuck to his formula in this book. In almost all of Francis later books, Francis's hero (always a pleasant fellow in his thirties whom people just love to talk to) gets beat up about halfway through the book, and, in the climactic scene, would do credit to the hero of an action movie.

Quite good, but not as good as his early books.

Rating:
Summary: The hero is just a guy who has to overcome unexpected evil.
Review: As an avid reader of Dick Francis novels, I can easily say this is one of his best. If I could talk with the author, I would tell him how much I loved Lee Morris and his sons. I would ask if we could have them return in another novel. As fast as this action packed suspense story had me turning the pages, I felt bereft at the end because Lee and the boys were no longer in my life! Dick Francis uses steeplechase jockeys, horses and settings for his books which provide an interesting background for the story's premise. But his art is in placing his character into both danger and moral dilemma. It is also his style to provide the reader with a hero who could be anybody. A hero only because circumstances made him become one. Anyone loving suspense and the chase should read this. Dick Francis is terrific!

Rating:
Summary: This time the hero's an architect
Review: Dick Francis has a winning formula: he writes books about a young man of around 30, in a career most people might think is boring, but which turns out to be exciting. His hero is usually taken for granted and under-appreciated by his family, and under-employed, but in the course of the book proves he is far smarter, cleverer, and more observant than anyone supposed. Usually, there's a highly intelligent middle-aged career woman who recognizes his worth and helps him along. It's a formula, but the details that Francis provides makes it work every time.

In this book, our hero is an architect and builder. We find him almost finished with his latest restoration project - he and his family move into a place, restore it, sell it, and move on. This time, however, the family wants to stay put. Even though only in his 30's, our hero has six sons, and wonderful kids they are, too. Perhaps a little too good to be true, but hey, this *is* fiction.

Lee and his sons are travelling around in a large motor home, one converted from a more utilitarian large vehicle. We find that the motor home is made efficient by building it using yacht-building techniques, so that the most possible stuff can be put in the least space. Francis has used yacht-building in some of his other books (for example, Risk), and it was interesting to see the same thing here.

Apart from Lee's wife, who doesn't really appreciate him, we also have Lee's family on his mother's side, from which he has been estranged, and most of whom outright hate him. Of course, by the end of the book, he has won respect from a few of them. The matriarch of that clan is a cunning old lady, with a whim of iron; her assorted offspring and their offspring are a wide bunch of eccentrics, and the descriptions of them will remind one of why the British aristocracy has such a reputation for eccentricity.

The youngest son accompanying Lee is a smart kid, and listening to him point out common sense, or bits of chemical or physics trivia, to adults who know nothing but horses, is amusing. Maybe a little too good to be true, but Francis nonetheless makes him seem like a real little boy, so we can almost wish that real little boys were like this!

Rating:
Summary: Solid, with likeable hero but over-the-top villains
Review: Following closely to his usual formula (likeable, 30ish hero facing dangers undreamed of in his prior life but facing them with courage and humor), Francis has crafted another extremely readable suspense novel. This time, his hero is an architect who specializes in restored crumbling buildings, who also happens to have 6 sons who tag along with him through many of his adventures.

When our hero is forced to become involved in the affairs of a racecourse that he owns 8% of, and thus is ensnared in the VERY unpleasant lives of the Stratton family, who own most of the rest of the course, he finds himself in repeated mortal danger.

The book is a bit more "cinematic" than most, with big explosions and some fires, rather than Francis' usual knock on the back of the head into unconsciousness. The book has further charm because this hero is the parent of young children, something Francis has seldom offered us before, and never in such generous quantities. As always, his character is well-versed in his chosen profession, showing that Francis has done his homework well.

The plot is a humdinger, but I find that the Stratton family is SO full of truly VILE people that they become too 1 dimensional, like villains in an old-fashioned melodrama. Their actions are often so violent and hate-riddled that they are a bit difficult to believe.

But that being said, this is another fine, quick, enjoyable read in the amazingly large and outstanding body of work produced by Dick Francis. I recommend it to fans and newbies alike!

Rating:
Summary: Francis outdoes himself with this one
Review: For my money, this is one of Francis' best ever. A study of character and relationships that beautifully combines Francis' trademark action with movingly realistic glimpses into the human spirit.

Enjoy a few hours: read it.

Rating:
Summary: Likeable hero, but...
Review: I really enjoy Dick Francis' novels, but this one left me with some concerns. There are, first of all, some really nice things here--the hero is pleasant and smart,as are all of Frnacis' engaging male characters, and the hero's house and children are great. It is an interesting twist to have children as fairly major characters.

However, I was concerned with a couple things here. First of all, the villains here are so nasty and one-dimensionable that they end up being cartoonish, and I think that detracts from the strength of the rest of the plt, which is pretty good. Also, I am concerned with the hero's wife, who apparently is rather consistently unhappy and does not appreciate him as a husband and father, both of which he seems to be pretty admirable at. She is a frustrating character. I also found it rather frustrating and somewhat demeaning that Francis felt the need to come up with another romantic interest here, when I think his main character has quite enough issues to resolve already with wife and family. The romantic interest here, in apperance a younger version of the wife, is superfluous.

Please don't get me all wrong here--I genuinely love Dick Francis, and this read well and is fun, but I expect and usually get more from him!

Rating:
Summary: Likeable hero, but...
Review: I really enjoy Dick Francis' novels, but this one left me with some concerns. There are, first of all, some really nice things here--the hero is pleasant and smart,as are all of Frnacis' engaging male characters, and the hero's house and children are great. It is an interesting twist to have children as fairly major characters.

However, I was concerned with a couple things here. First of all, the villains here are so nasty and one-dimensionable that they end up being cartoonish, and I think that detracts from the strength of the rest of the plt, which is pretty good. Also, I am concerned with the hero's wife, who apparently is rather consistently unhappy and does not appreciate him as a husband and father, both of which he seems to be pretty admirable at. She is a frustrating character. I also found it rather frustrating and somewhat demeaning that Francis felt the need to come up with another romantic interest here, when I think his main character has quite enough issues to resolve already with wife and family. The romantic interest here, in apperance a younger version of the wife, is superfluous.

Please don't get me all wrong here--I genuinely love Dick Francis, and this read well and is fun, but I expect and usually get more from him!

Rating:
Summary: A terrific "listen" by Simon Prebble
Review: This is Dick Francis at his very best. You have excitement, but in addition you have funny and appealing characters. This is the first book that the character development is complete. I laughed out loud frequently during this book.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best by dick Francis
Review: This story goes from interesting to enthralling in the first few chapters, and does not let up from then on. This is one of my favorites by Dick Francis, and the audio by Simon Prebble makes the people come to life. You feel that you know Lee Morris and his five sons personally. When they are upset, you are upset. You also feel that Mr. Prebble likes the people in this story.

As usual, the hero suffers, but wins in the end with courage and goodness. Simon Prebble gives each character life and maintains the individual throughout.

I'd hate to say which of Mr. Francis' books is my #1 favorite - I like them all, and I only want the audio by Simon Prebble.