Knock Down

by Dick Francis

Steeplechase jockeys, like all other professional sportsmen, have to find a second career for themselves as the years go by. Jonah Dereham, retiring from the saddle at thirty-two, chooses to become a bloodstock agent and spends his life travelling round racehorse sales, finding and bidding for the sort of horse each of his clients wants. Jonah wants only to mind his own business, but several disturbing incidents force him to realise that someone is out to ruin him, and to survive he has to find the answers. A couple of bully boys begin to put the boot in, and Jonah finds himself progressively forced to fight for the survival of his brother who hits the bottle; helped by a blonde in an orange MGB, he presses onward to a rough conclusion.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Detective, Suspense

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Dick Francis, CBE, FRSL (born Richard Stanley Francis) was a popular British horse racing crime writer and retired jockey.

Dick Francis worked on his books with his wife, Mary, before her death. Dick considered his wife to be his co-writer - as he is quoted in the book, "The Dick Francis Companion", released in 2003:
"Mary and I worked as a team. ... I have often said that I would have been happy to have both our names on the cover. Mary's family always called me Richard due to having another Dick in the family. I am Richard, Mary was Mary, and Dick Francis was the two of us together."

Praise for Dick Francis: 'As a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing' Daily Mirror '

Dick Francis's fiction has a secret ingredient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding it tight until the very end' Sunday Telegraph '

Dick Francis was one of the most successful post-war National Hunt jockeys. The winner of over 350 races, he was champion jockey in 1953/1954 and rode for HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, most famously on Devon Loch in the 1956 Grand National.

On his retirement from the saddle, he published his autobiography, The Sport of Queens, before going on to write forty-three bestselling novels, a volume of short stories (Field of 13), and the biography of Lester Piggott.

During his lifetime Dick Francis received many awards, amongst them the prestigious Crime Writers' Association's Cartier Diamond Dagger for his outstanding contribution to the genre, and three 'best novel' Edgar Allan Poe awards from The Mystery Writers of America. In 1996 he was named by them as Grand Master for a lifetime's achievement. In 1998 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2000. Dick Francis died in February 2010, at the age of eighty-nine, but he remains one of the greatest thriller writers of all time.

Series:
* Sid Halley Mystery
* Kit Fielding Mystery

Reviews

[James Thane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm generally a fan of the novels of Dick Francis, most of which are set in the world of British horse racing. This one, though, was something of a disappointment. It fits the mold of most Francis novels: the protagonist is in his mid-thirties--a man who has been damaged but who is tough, determined, smart, and who refuses to back down in the face of any threat. As usual, a young woman appears who will be attracted to the protagonist, but who will not be interested in marrying him. Bad things will happen and, as is almost always the case, there will be an amoral shadowy figure who will be behind the villainy and who will stop at nothing to protect his interests.

Our hero in this case is Jonah Dereham, an ex-jockey who has been injured one too many times and can no longer race. He is now a bloodstock agent and runs afoul of a scheme that some unscrupulous agents are using to inflate their fees. They want Jonah to fall in with them and when he refuses, they determine to teach him a lesson. It's always a very bad idea to threaten a Dick Francis protagonist in this fashion and, more likely than not, they will pay a price for doing so.

By comparison to most other Francis novels, though, this one felt flat to me, or maybe just a bit too predictable. I didn't find Dereham to be a particularly attractive protagonist and the scheme here was not as inventive as the ones you most often find in a Francis novel. And to cap it off, the villain was not nearly as scary or as vicious as the ones you usually encounter in these books. Perhaps my expectations for this book were simply too high, based on the other Francis novels that I've read, but to me, this one rates only 2.75 stars, rounded up.

[Algernon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dick Francis is "Old Reliable" for me: he always delivers the goods. I have never been bothered by the fact that his thrillers are all variations of one basic formula, because like a blue ribbon French chef he has refined his technique of combining the same ordinary "vegetables" and "meats" everybody is familiar with into a memorable haute cuisine experience. He is a natural born storyteller, and he makes this writing business seem effortless. An added bonus for me beside familiarity with plot and characters is the re-reading value of his books. After a couple of years, the stories mix together into an amorphous cloud, and I am able to revisit the same novel for the third and fourth time, and still enjoy it like the first time I discovered it.

In the particular case of Knockdown, the main character is, as usual, a professional jockey, forced to retreat from the racetrack by physical injury, re-qualified into a fringe profession where he proves himself an expert - a bloodstock agent, or horse trading intermediary. Again, as usual, he inadvertently steps on the toes of people trying to scam the system and is pushed into a life and death struggle with a mysterious evil eminence with a penchant for violence. On the road to the final confrontation, the hero picks up a love interest - one of the most successful romances I've read so far in Mr. Francis books.

So: vintage Francis, a must for the fans, and as good a point of entry for new readers as any other of his books.

edit : for spelling

[Charles van Buren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than average Dick Frances novel

The last two or three Dick Francis novels I've read reminded me how lucky I am to live in a place where a person can arm himself against threats. Jonah can't do that but, as usual in Dick Frances novels, by luck and determination, he prevails. Prevails at some considerable cost. A little better than average Dick Frances mystery and much better than the best from many published authors.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an uncommonly aggressive novel for Dick Francis. His books always have a mystery which his hero reluctantly discovers he must solve in order to come through the problems confronting him intact. But in Knock Down, Jonah Dereham fights back in an atypical way for Dick Francis. Jonah is a bloodstock agent who has the disadvantage of being honest. He refuses to engage in a scheme to force owners to give major kickbacks to the bloodstock agents and the ringleaders of the scheme decide to try and terrorize him into cooperating with their plans. Much to their shock, he pushes back and it makes for a very exciting novel. This is a different kind of conflict than Francis usually gives us and that difference really ups the level of excitement.

If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I love about Dick Francis novels:
- horse racing features in all of them in some way*.
- his heroes are all human, fallible, and flawed
- his characters are all vivid and rounded
- his plots are involving, complex, and interesting
- his writing is excellent, both in art and in craft
- almost without exception**, I collect and re-read his novels

* not that I know anything about horses or racing, but he does, and it's an interesting world

** not so fond of "Sleigh-Ride", but have read all the others (except the one published in 2006) and re-read most of them.

[Krista Breen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be my favourite Dick Francis book. I find Jonah particularly endearing. He's tough and funny and I admire how Mr. Francis can convey the fact that Jonah is in pain all the time through his dialogue. I wish he had given Jonah more books, but I guess one good one was enough!

[C.I. DeMann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dick Francis is like comfort food to me.

[April Hochstrasser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jonah buys horses for people. He is one of the only horse traders in England that does not take kickbacks, and for that he is bullied, threatened and tortured in most bizarre ways. In the end, good triumphs over evil but you can't see how it will with all that happens. Lots of rich characters, plot twists and information about the horse world that you never thought you wanted to know, but now that you do, find it interesting.

I like that Dick Francis' characters have integrity, and aren't afraid to show it.

[Christian West · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly good. This is my first Dick Francis book but I doubt it will be my last. Jonah, an ex-jockey turned bloodstock agent (aka horse buyer) gets caught up in the shady word of kickbacks when buying and selling horse to rich people.

Pacing of the book is good and alternates between exciting happenings, a bit of romance, and dealing with an alcoholic brother. I didn't think that the brother figure really worked well, but the rest was great.

Well within my horse book challenge as the entire thing was about horse sales.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid Dick Francis. I like how consistent they are.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another entry in my continuing "return to Dick Francis" retrospective! I have read KNOCKDOWN at least tree times; I know who the culprit is; I know how it turns out; I remember the backstory of an alcoholic brother and a surprise romance...but it still provides a better kick than 90% of the most recent dismal crop of "mystery-thrillers" now being offered up! Dick Francis was an extremely gifted storyteller and while his plots are ingenious, and his pacing unmatchable, he might appear to be a lightweight when it comes to substance. Therein lies his REAL secret: the reason these books are such repeat favorites is because each time you read one of them, whole new nuggets of wisdom are suddenly shining up at you, which you couldn't notice on your initial read as you were racing through, just trying to keep up with the story! There's plenty of thought-provoking depth and probing questions in these deceptively "easy" reads. If you don't believe me, pick one up, (KNOCKDOWN, will do fine,) reread it and see all the elements of thoughtfulness you may have missed the first time around!

[Robert J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another very good Dick Francis story

I’ve read dozens of books by Dick Francis. I have yet to read a mediocre one. This is one of his better ones. I especially enjoy the range of occupations his primary characters have. Everything from Glass Blowing artists to famous actors. In this story his hero is a race horse blood agent. A profession I know nothing about. Mr. Francis does his usual excellent job of delving into the job enough to bring home some of the trials and tribulations a person in the occupation encounters. Of course the hero prevails but not without great sacrifice. A book that I am happy I read and one I highly recommend.

[Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't in much of a mood to read Dick Francis but picked this one up as I'd left the book I was reading upstairs and wasn't in a mood to go fetch it. But as usual with Francis, a few pages in and I was hooked- almost reading on straight till I was done. Interesting mystery as usual with the exciting racing setting - this time in the rather crooked world of bloodstock agents. It also seemed a lot less violent than some of his - SPOILER though our hero does get pitchforked.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Dick Francis, you're almost guaranteed a good time and this book is no different. This one centers on the bloodstock aspect of horse racing which seems pretty shady if half the things in the book are true. One thing Dick Francis is always good at...writing bad guys who are complete bastards. You just want to kill his villains. :-)

[Laura Meinhardt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A re-read. As usual, lots of horses and lots of mystery, but Dick Francis manages to keep each of his books different enough so it doesn't feel like a formula.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

After all of the angst filled ridiculousness of today's books, it was a relief and real pleasure to read something by Dick Francis. The man was a master.

[Doug Sundseth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dick Francis novels all reflect his experience as a jockey, telling stories about the inside of the horse racing business in a way that only another insider can. Francis's horseracing world is often, and his protagonists are usually voices of honor in a wilderness of corruption. This book is typical in that regard.

The protagonist, Jonah Dereham, is a retired jockey, and like many retired jockeys, it was the rigors of the track that caused his retirement. He has become a bloodstock buyer, working on commission. He is honest and hardnosed enough not to yield to threats, which, since this is a suspense novel, are rather thick on the ground.

The protagonist and the supporting characters are drawn very believably, with quirks and flaws that give them life on the page. The villains have believable motives; they're not villains only because they are evil.

The plot moves quickly, and while I figured out the final villain before the end, I didn't think his identity obvious enough to be a problem for the story.

Francis's work seems to be criminally underrepresented in the conversations about suspense and crime writers. (Perhaps it's just that I move in the wrong circles.) This is a short book, and, like the other Francis books I've read, very much worth the time. Recommended.

[Bruce Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 really, but all Dick Francis books are well worth the time. Jonah Dereham is an honest bloodstock agent trying to make a living competing with a group of greedy agents. The driving force behind the greedy agents is a mystery until the very last chapter. Francis does a good job of disguising the head villain. A good read.

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't Francis's strongest. His main characters all have an unflappable James Bond quality, despite being normal folks for the most part, but in this instance he was so unflappable I never felt the thrill in the thriller.
I still enjoyed the horse racing setting as usual.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, quick read. I had to skip a couple pages with the dislocated shoulder because that was gross. The ending kind of bummed me out, but thought it was still good.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Former jockey turned bloodstock agent Jonah Dereham finds out being honest in business can be dangerous to your health. This book kept to the author's usual formula of horse racing, a solid hero, a bit of romance, some suspenseful action scenes, and was a quick, fun read.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you had a complicated relationship with a blood relative who has recently passed away, avoid this one for a while. Come back to it later if/when you're ready for the gut punch at the end. Triggering topics warning- it involves much discussion of alcoholism and has a dysfunctional family dynamic.

[Sandra S Kamann · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can’t beat a Dick Francis for great writing, wonderful characters, and a good story. Always excellent!

[Contrarius · Rating 4 out of 5]

IMHO this is not the best of the Francis books, but still interesting. It leans heavily on the "you messed with the wrong man" theme so favored by Francis, as well as the "lone honest man amongst thieves" trope. Knockdown skews strongly towards the mystery end of the mystery-thriller spectrum, since we aren't told the ID of the lead bad guy til the very end of the book, but it is not hard to figure out much earlier on. This is an interesting look at the business of racehorse buying and selling in Britain, which I don't think Francis covers elsewhere, but otherwise this one is pretty forgettable.

As always, Tony Britton does a fine job of narration in the audio version he recorded -- and he produces a believable American accent when it's called for. A word of warning: the version recorded by Tim Piggott-Smith is actually an abridged version of the book, although that important information does not seem to be well publicized.

[Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knock-Down is the first Dick Francis novel I have read. A good friend and English teacher recommended his novels and I now own twenty-one more of his mysteries. I'm looking forward to comparing the other novels to this one.

His writing writing style is descriptive and colorful. Here is an example.

"The stables were alight and gone. Bright orange from end to end. Flames shot up high from what had been the roof, roaring and crackling like thunder and lightning shaken together like some demoniacal cocktail." (p. 114)

I suspect that Morris is English because he uses a lot of British terminology in his writing that is easily decipherable from the context.

It appears that Morris is a prolific and talented writer.

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid production from Dick Francis, one of the great mystery writers of the 1970s and '80s.

There is a formula here, which some readers may not like, but it's a good formula. Jonah Dereham is a typical Francis hero: smart, quiet, placid on the outside by capable of deep feeling, and certain to be underestimated by his opponents. A retired jockey with a bad shoulder, Jonah has become a bloodstock agent, that is a broker for horses. His strict honesty puts him crosswise of some bad actors, and the consequences are dramatic.

Twisting off of the main storyline we have a romance with an air traffic controller who almost ran into one of Jonah's horses and the sad tale of Jonah's alcoholic brother, Crispin.

All in all, an absorbing and a satisfying read.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always call Dick Francis my guilty pleasure because I have a tendency to slight most mysteries as literature. I'm the staunchest defender of the merits of speculative fiction, but I sell the mystery genre up the creek.

Here's the thing: Dick Francis is a good writer. This is a slight book in size and scope, but the characters and their motivations are complex and the plot breezes along. As usual, he introduces the reader to a facet of the horse racing world without seeming exposition-heavy.

I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this one over any other - it probably wouldn't be the first one I would point a new reader toward - but it was a good evening's read.

[ksstannard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rereading an old friend

In the 70's I read my first Dick Frances mystery, did a book search and bought all other titles. Thereafter, my birthday gift to myself every year was the latest Dick Frances mystery. Felix has lived up to his father's talent so I continued to follow my tradition.
I left mysteries as my favorite read for a few years but downloaded Knockdown on a whim. I truly enjoyed returning to an old favorite and remembered why I'd loved them.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite Dick Francis books. His skill in humorous conversation and surprise plot redirections is so much fun. And the ability to describe people had me returning to take quotes. I totally misidentified the ‘baddie’ and was heartbroken by the ending. My learning this time was about the blood-stock industry and living with an alcoholic.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressive. This was my first Dick Francis novel. The writing style was fluent and fluid, making for a page-turner, although the eventual denouement didn't come as a total surprise, although the ending was a bit of a heartbreaker.