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False Start
When Charlie Patterson and Nick Ryder begin training together they strike gold in their first season. The two lifelong friends have been sent a yearling by Kate Scanlan, the attractive boss of a local animal rescue centre. Willow Star, as the scrawny filly is named, is sold to Major Patterson, Charlie’s step-father, and the youngster quickly defies her looks by establishing herself as one of the fastest of her age. A stab at the following year’s classic races is about to begin when, without warning, Major Patterson informs Charlie and Nick that he is selling Willow Star to another yard.The ambitious trainers see their chance of hitting the big time disappear when their attempts to deter the sale fail. What ensues is a thrilling tale of mystery that finds Charlie cornered, facing the impossible dilemma of having to choose precisely where his loyalties lie – with his best friend or with his family – and needing to solve a murder to stay alive…
Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
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About the author
John Francome
38 books21 followersEx-National Hunt Champion Jockey John Francome is a broadcaster on racing for Channel 4. He lives in Berkshire.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fra...
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fra...
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 27, 2025
This is a lively tale of two good friends, jockeys in a racing yard who want to establish their own training yard. Both of them fancy an animal rescue centre worker, who brings them an injured young filly. However this is a time of recession and Lloyds have enticed outsiders to invest knowing, so the book claims, that investments are shortly going to collapse and the older investors would be saved by having taken out their money. Little money remains for buying racehorses and paying for their training. Debts, deaths and criminality ensue.
Francome, a former jockey, was perhaps writing for his own circle, so he omits explanations which would have helped the book make more sense to non-racing readers. For instance, jockeys are forbidden to bet on races. Just about everyone including jockeys are shown betting, the jockeys doing so surreptitiously. We're not told why, though it's obvious when you think about the issue.
Some matters which deserve further exploration are ignored in favour of throwing in more villains. For instance, the report of a murder early in the book has no conclusion. Why write it other than as a death from old age? Just to signal that the book is a crime story? We know it's a crime story, but this is a superfluous crime. The animal rescue worker abandons her charity in favour of the glamour of helping to run a racing yard, although she is no expert on racehorses, and animals are always abandoned in large numbers during a recession. Is she getting paid and does she have a job to put on her CV, or is she just the trainer's girlfriend? And no matter how many times the guys are mugged, abducted, beaten up and threatened by Middle Eastern men, they never report it to the police. Why not? Especially why not when the women in their lives are also at risk?
How does it compare with Dick Francis? Well, it's certainly an improvement on the first Francome book I read, in which he wrote stereotypes as he was finding his feet. Francis continually used first person narration, but Francome wisely doesn't, which allows him to give us various viewpoints including, nicely, that of the racehorse filly during a race. This can make the book feel livelier, but also less intense. I would read more Francome suspense stories.
This is an unbiased review.
Francome, a former jockey, was perhaps writing for his own circle, so he omits explanations which would have helped the book make more sense to non-racing readers. For instance, jockeys are forbidden to bet on races. Just about everyone including jockeys are shown betting, the jockeys doing so surreptitiously. We're not told why, though it's obvious when you think about the issue.
Some matters which deserve further exploration are ignored in favour of throwing in more villains. For instance, the report of a murder early in the book has no conclusion. Why write it other than as a death from old age? Just to signal that the book is a crime story? We know it's a crime story, but this is a superfluous crime. The animal rescue worker abandons her charity in favour of the glamour of helping to run a racing yard, although she is no expert on racehorses, and animals are always abandoned in large numbers during a recession. Is she getting paid and does she have a job to put on her CV, or is she just the trainer's girlfriend? And no matter how many times the guys are mugged, abducted, beaten up and threatened by Middle Eastern men, they never report it to the police. Why not? Especially why not when the women in their lives are also at risk?
How does it compare with Dick Francis? Well, it's certainly an improvement on the first Francome book I read, in which he wrote stereotypes as he was finding his feet. Francis continually used first person narration, but Francome wisely doesn't, which allows him to give us various viewpoints including, nicely, that of the racehorse filly during a race. This can make the book feel livelier, but also less intense. I would read more Francome suspense stories.
This is an unbiased review.
May 28, 2014
A bit of a disappointment compared to his other books but I did persist and finish it because i just love horse stories! Fairly predictable and far fetched but easy reading.
May 13, 2019
Interesting story, not flowing as hoped but it wasn't to bad. One or twists so enjoyable in the enf
August 14, 2020
I've read a lot of Dick Francis in the past because I like the back story of horse racing and this one is up there for me.
February 5, 2011
Another plot that stretches the suspension of disbelief a shade too much and characters that need some life breathed into them. The writing flows well enough for escapism but the reader cannot immerse themselves sufficiently enough to avoid the surface swells because it is overly shallow.
September 21, 2015
False Start lacks depth and credibility, but I like the whole horse racing theme. In the end it was basically a nice read, but not something that will stay with you for years to come.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews