Silks

Great Read

I loved this book. My hubby got it for me for V-day. It's not what I usually read and it took about 3 chapters for me to get into it, then I couldn't put it down.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Another Winner

It is heartening to see that the Dick Francis legacy of fine mystery writing can continue even once he is gone. The collaboration with Felix Francis is seamless, and it feels like having a conversation with an old friend.

No one does better horse racing related mysterys than Francis, and he does not disappoint with this one.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book was really something else

I liked this book, however, it was a little hard to get into at first. Then something happened and I couldn't put it down. The central theme of horse betting is really foreign to me and I think that is what upset me at first. By the time I had read a third of it I was hooked. I found it very interesting and it kept my attention. I like how the Francis's write and they cover so many different takes of the horse business. I can't wait for the next one.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

a terrific legal thriller

Julian Trent blames his former London barrister Geoffrey Mason for his initial assault conviction that was overturned on appeal. Mason thought his client got off soft on an overwhelming lost case. However, Trent believes his lawyer did not provide a proper defense and begins sending intimidating messages to Mason. P Although he has doubts bigger than Big Ben, Mason agrees to defend jockey Steve Mitchell against a murder charge. Evidence is strong that a crime of passion occurred as witnesses saw Mason¿s client and another jockey Scot Barlow arguing over the latter¿s late sister who was the former¿s girlfriend Millie when he was married with kids. Barlow blamed Mitchell for his sister¿s suicide while Mitchell blamed Barlow for informing his wife of the affair as his spouse divorced him, remarried an Aussie, and moved with their kids to Australia. Not long after that Barlow was found murdered with the means being a pitchfork. However, to his shock, unknown adversaries order Mason to lose the case or else they imply his septuagenarian father would be battered like his computer just was. P SILKS is a terrific legal thriller starring a barrister with a difficult case exponentially compounded by threats to lose and by Mason¿s problems to focus as he also believes Trent is involved. The story line is a fast ride around the track although racing is more background than usual in a Dick Francis thriller. Although the courtroom revelation seems out of Perry Mason rather than Geoffrey Mason, fans enjoy the latest collaboration from the father and son Francis horse racing mystery team (see DEAD HEAT). P Harriet Klausner

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not the Dick Francis from previous books

I love Dick Francis so it was with regret that I gave this review, but this book does not stand up to the standards I had come to expect from Francis.

Sid Halley and Rumpole all in one.

New character Geoffrey Mason is a Jockey for the love of it and a Barrister to support the love. When the two worlds collide the only ones having fun are the readers. I hope we see more of Geoffrey and his world.

Not the same Dick Francis without his wife

I couldn't get enough of Dick Francis's books. Since his wife died, they haven't been the same. The one he wrote by himself was good, but I really think his wife must have contributed a lot to his former success. I'm sure he loves his son, but he isn't the editor, or co-writer that Dick's wife must have been. (Sorry Dick.)

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Recycled motive in a great story

In his recent books, Mr. Francis has returned to stories centered around what he knows best, steeplechase racing. Formerly a professional steeplechase jockey and then a racing journalist, Mr. Francis understands steeplechase racing and the people involved in it whether they be jockeys, trainers, breeders, bloodstock agents, or gamblers. That gives his characters even more depth and understanding of the business than in stories where central character's profession is some other business such as restaurants, glass blowing, wine/spirits, etc. Horse racing limits the set of underlying motives. True, all mysteries are based on a small set of general motives such as greed, hatred, love, etc but I mean the specific type of crime that sets the story in motion. Long time readers of Mr. Francis' wonderful mysteries will recognize that he re-used the villain's "original sin" from a previous story. For me, that particular aspect of the book was a bit anticlimactic.

The rest of the story was fantastic! The hero of the piece is an English barrister (trial lawyer) and successful amateur steeplechase rider. He is known to his fellow jockeys as "Perry" because his surname is Mason, a nod to the lawyer hero of the old Erle Stanley Gardiner mysteries. "Perry" defends a professional jockey against a charge of murdering another professional jockey with whom there was a longstanding enmity. The jockey is being framed and "Perry" is under dire threats from the real "bad guy" to lose the case. He uncovers the truth and saves his client and himself in true Perry Mason fashion. A fine "whodunit" even though the "why they did it" is familiar.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Thank goodness he's back!

Was delighted with the collaboration between Mr. Francis and his son. Such enjoyable reading. Hope they keep them coming!

A great tradition of popular fiction carries on.

About 10 years ago, I said to my sister, "The one great sadness of my life is that I can't read all the Dick Francis books for the first time, again." Well, now I have my cake: Francis' son (the physics professor) who helped Dick write some of his later books, has taken over the franchise and is doing it well. Felix is not quite the writer his father is (yet) but he's on his way. He understands how these books are written and constructs "Silks" accoriding to formula. It has the requisite grabber first paragraph. (I suspect Felis wrote "The students went quiet as I pulled out the gun... One of the very best Dick Francis first lines) The character is dragged down and made to suffer, but not as horribly as Dick would have done. There are horses and jockies and broken bones, and enough spurious accusations to choke a pony.
Anyone who love Dick Francis as I do will be gratified that Felix is at work for the nonce. Anyone who doesn't know the Francis oevre can start here, then go back to the beginning and read all through Dick Halley and "Proof" and "Reflex" and all of those. I promise escape.

Thank goodness Dick Francis is still at it.

I was afraid that there would be no more Dick Francis books, but now that he's writing with his son, I hope there will be many more to come.

OK Dick Francis

Apparently the father has taught the son-It's typical Dick Francis-tension, concussions and all the rest. It's not literature but it's fun. The only thing that I didn't care for was that it missed the typical Dick Francis plot line of teaching me something-example being his book "Proof" that told me about the whiskey/wine trade between France and the UK. Hey-it's only $7.

fast paced as always

went along fine until I recognized the plot, possibly from a short story he wrote in the past. filled out and modernized. But a great read.

Dick and Felix Francis are a great team

A really good read. The Francis team works very well and it brings to mind the early Dick Francis books with tight plotting and interest to the last page. I hope the main charactors carry on in future books

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