Shattered

by Dick Francis

>Cheltenham Races, New Year's Eve. Gerard Logan witnesses the death of his close friend, jockey Martin Stukely, after a fall from his horse. In the aftermath, Gerard is left to pick up the pieces - including a mysterious unmarked videotape that Martin secretly left him.

But before Gerard gets to watch it, the videotape is stolen.

And soon further crimes against Gerard and those close to him start to occur. What was on the missing videotape? And why are the attacks continuing?

In order to stay alive, Gerard needs to keep one step ahead of his enemies and uncover the truth - before his livelihood and everything he loves is shattered for good.

Packed with intrigue and hair-raising suspense, Shattered is one of the many blockbuster thrillers from legendary crime writer Dick Francis. Other novels include the huge bestsellers Dead Heat, Under Orders and Silks. The Dick Francis legacy continues through his son Felix Francis: Refusal is his latest novel, following Bloodline and Gamble.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, British Literature

316 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 11, 2000

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]

Shattered is another of those Dick Francis novels which takes place mostly outside the world of British horseracing, which is where most of his novels were set. There are a handful of racing scenes here, but the protagonist, Gerard Logan, is a glass-blower who makes delicate glass sculptures in his shop near the Cheltenham race course.

As the book opens, Logan has gone to the races in the company of one of his best friends, a jockey named Martin Stukely. But Stukely dies tragically that afternoon when his horse fails to properly negotiate a jump and crushes him to death.

Logan, naturally, is heartsick and collects his friend's personal effects to that he can deliver them to Stukley's widow. As he does, Stukely's elderly valet gives him a package, explaining that someone had given it to Stukely, who in turn was to give it to Logan for safekeeping. The valet doesn't know who delivered the package to Stukely, only that the jockey had joked that the contents were "worth a million."

The package turns out to be a videotape, but before Logan can examine it, someone steals it and Logan is badly beaten up. Meanwhile, some very rough customers learn that Logan has been given the videotape. They don't know what is on the tape either, only that it's supposed to be very valuable and that Logan is supposed to have it or know where it is. They refuse to believe that it has been stolen from him, which will place Logan in grave danger throughout the book.

Logan will thus spend most of the book attempting to discover what might have been recorded on the tape and who might have taken it. Along the way, he will be assaulted several times. He will also spend a great deal of time discussing the intricacies of glass-blowing.

I've noted before that I think that Francis's most successful novels were the ones set firmly in the world of horse racing and that when he wandered away into other fields, the books often lacked the tension and suspense of the majority of his books, basically because he felt compelled to display all of the research he had done for the novel. Such is the case here and so, in my opinion at least, this book is okay, but it's not as good as many of his others.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining novel. I learnt more about glass blowing and what happens to molten glass if it is not cooled down properly! Martin Stukley a jockey dies in a fall from a horse on New Years Eve race day. His good friend Gerald is embroiled in a mysterious videotape from Martin. Enter Rosie and her gang of thugs who want the videotape. But what is on it? Cure for cancer, how to make a million dollar glass necklace or something else. Someone wants it. Gerald is beaten up, robbed and meets the love of his life a policewoman.

I enjoyed the farfetched story where Gerald gets beaten up and even though he has a policewoman girlfriend does not report his beatings and nor does she. This beggars belief but suspending that giant flaw in the plot it is still an entertaining story. The battle scene in his glass blowing studio is a gruesome affair when Rosie goes off the rails.

[Maria V. Snyder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading Dick Francis when I was 14 years old and looking for a mystery in the library. The cover of the first one I read looked intriguing, the title, Nerve seemed interesting, and the synopsis about a jockey who has lost his nerve made me add it to my pile of books. After that I was hooked, reading his novels until I caught up on his entire back-list and then had to wait a year for the new one. I traveled to see him and his lovely wife every year to get books signed and, as he aged, I started stockpiling his books. I didn't want to read them until I had a few saved up. I had three left when he passed away :( (not including the ones co-written with his son, Felix - I tried to read that one...).

Last week I decide to treat myself to one of the three I've saved. Well, I'm older and have written a few cough...fourteen....cough novels and teach writing at an MFA program cough...Seton Hill University...cough. The story and characters were great it's just the magic...well, it's gone for me. And I don't know if it's because his later books were written without his lovely wife helping (although the research about glassblowing was spot on) or because he was in his 80s or if it's because I'm older and more experienced. I recently listened to Odds Against and loved it so I guess I need to re-read one of this older titles and see - although I'm kinda reluctant to mess with my memories.

This has turned into a rather long-winded review! As for the story - it's a bit dated mystery with a number of parties searching for a VHS tape - there needs to be more emotions and the ending was rushed. I guessed a number of things, but it's hard to surprise me. It's a quick read and overall enjoyable.

[Daniel Bratell · Rating 3 out of 5]

About Dick Francis you can either say "the books are all the same" or "you get exactly what you expect". There will be a fairly young main character that excel at his occupation. The occupation will always be different and never directly involved in horse racing, but some way still involved in the racing world. The main character will be single but meet a lovely girl somewhere along the trip. The main character will suffer bodily harm. The books are always told from a first person perspective. There will always be detailed technical explanations about the main characters occupation, showing that Dick Francis has done thorough research. It's probably possible to add more similarities with some effort.

So I know all this, and still I keep reading his books? Well, they are quite short, quite well written and in general enjoyable. Never a Nobel Prize winner, but he deserves his three stars for this book as well.

[Henry Gasko · Rating 1 out of 5]

A real disappointment. This author has been highly recommended by a number of friends and I was very much looking forward to my first Dick Francis novel. The author has apparently won a number of Edgar and other awards and has published over 40 books so he must be doing something right.

Well, if he is it certainly was not evident in this book. As others have said, it concerns a missing videotape, and that should give you an idea of how dated this book is. It is set in January 2000, and was written in 2005 when the author was already 85. And perhaps that explains why there is so little sparkle or even logic.

The novel seems to have a lot of trouble deciding exactly what it is. It does not work as a mystery for the reader to solve: major characters pop up halfway through the book and even later, with no foreshadowing or hint that this is the direction the novel will take.

And it certainly does not work as a thriller. There are so many plot holes and inconsistencies that at times I wondered if it was a satire. The plot begins with a glass blower leaving his shop just before midnight on Dec 31 1999 to join in the celebrations on the street. That’s fine, except that he leaves his shop unlocked, with a bag of money sitting on the counter when he could have put in his safe, and with a man he dislikes intensely left standing there inside the shop.

There is also the obligatory sexy unattached police woman who ends up in the main character’s bed after only three nights. And even though he is beaten badly TWICE, and even though he can identify the culprits, the police in general and his lover in particular seem to take no interest at all in investigating the attacks. He is left to rely on a series of informal bodyguards who show up at opportune times, again without any foreshadowing of their existence.

There is also the question of the attacks themselves. Even though this is in the middle of the English countryside, the attackers use BASEBALL bats. Amazing. I can only assume that some editor said, “The Americans will laugh their heads off if we say they used CRICKET bats (as they almost certainly would) and our American sales are a lot more important than the British sales, so we’ll have to risk the Brits laughing their heads and not offend the Americans.”

And there is also the small matter of how the thugs manage to use said baseball bats to shatter his watch while it is on his wrist without causing any damage whatsoever to his wrist. A short time later, the police woman shows up – even though she is a detective, she has been on patrol by herself in a small country town well into the night. And our glass blower is so taken by her beauty and her mere presence that he creates an elaborate three piece glass sculpture to capture her essence. This is well after midnight, and immediately after he has been badly beaten. And what of her police training – does she call an ambulance, or at least question him about the attack? No, she sits and enjoys the adulation while he immortalizes her in glass.

I could go on but you get the idea: the book is very poorly constructed. The only reason I finished it is because the author has such a strong reputation for carefully plotted mysteries that I was constantly expecting him to bring the novel together, to pull it out of the glass blower’s fire that is constantly being referred to – the author has obviously done a lot of research, and he makes sure that the reader knows it. But no such luck. Another one of those books that the author’s fans excuse as being "not his best" and only for “completists”. In other words a complete waste of time.

P.S. I heard a rumor later that his wife did most of the actual writing of his novels, while he supplied the "color" based on his career as a jockey. And sadly his wife died a few years before this story was written and that may well explain the deep disconnect between this and "his" much better earlier work.

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. The last Dick Francis novel (before his son turned the Francis name into a brand) and his career ended not with a bang but with a whimper.
If you want a good racing mystery, go waaaay back to the early books. If you've never read a Francis novel, DO NOT START HERE. Granted he wrote some enervating tosh before this one that is much worse, but this is just dull, dull, dull.

Francis retired from racing in 1956 and by the turn of the millenium it really shows. Racing gets only a passing mention, because after all he's totally out of the loop on modern racing etc. so it's a very weak hook to hang all the glassblowing research on. The story begins on NYE of 1999, and I nearly gave up after pages and pages of mentioning "the new millenium" every few sentences. I got the feeling the publishers wanted a "millenium Francis" to go out on. VHS tapes would still be produced until 2008, but less and less--and I couldn't help wondering at a research lab that had no backup copies of all of this oh so important information. At that level computers etc would certainly be around.

The villain is of course unhinged, apparently into S&M, but fortunately we are spared the details. Even the hero and his hookup only mention "bed" but no sex scenes. Surrounded by would be protectors, the hero is of course left on his own for the crucial confrontation.
I listened to this on audiobook by a less than riveting reader, which only added to the yawnfest of the book. He's not as bad as David Case, but then no one could be.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been a Francis fan for many years now, having read most of his books. While this one is not his best, it it still a far better effort than we see from other authors.
This book contains the familiar comforts we have come to expect from Francis-- a likeable accidental hero, a loathsome villan or two, a nice girl and the chance to learn something. Reading one of Francis' novels is like sitting down with an old, familiar friend. We know what to expect, and I think this lack of surprise is why so many reviewers have panned this book. It is exactly the reason I bought it. I knew what I would be in for and I didn't have to wonder if I had just wasted $20 and killed a few trees for nothing.

I have heard rumors that this may be Francis' last book. While I understand his desire to retire, I will miss the yearly visit with my old friend. But then, I have 40 other chances to become reacquainted with him.

Dick Francis at his worst is still better than other authors at their best!

[Ray LaManna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was Dick Francis' last novel...and if you want to know about glassblowing and something about horse racing, this is the book for you. A little bit difficult to follow, but generally a good read.

[Bettie · Rating 2 out of 5]

OPERATION TBR BUSTER

Dedication: To Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother in celebration of her 100th birthday. With endless gratitude, love and every good wish, from Dick Francis.

Opening: Four of us drove together to Cheltenham races on the day when Martin Stukely died there from a fall in a steeplechase.

Oh dear but this was a lackluster storyline: same old same old and probably written on a laptop in the back of a car at the same speed that the chauffeur was driving. The one saving grace is the research he had done on glassblowing, which I found interesting, and I hadn't visited glassblowing since Daphne du Maurier's familial semi-bio called Glassblowers.

So yeah, this very nearly was a 1* and that would have been a shame after all Francis has given us. Not recommended unless you are a completist.

4* - Dead Cert (1962)
3* - Nerve (1964)
TR - Odds Against (1965)
3* - For Kicks (1965)
4* - Blood Sport (1967)
3* - Enquiry (1969)
4* - Bonecrack (1971)
3* - Whip Hand (1974)
3* - Proof (1984)
4* - Bolt (1986)
3* - Straight (1989)
4* - Decider (1993)
3* - Field of Thirteen (1998)
2* - Shattered (2000)

[Victoria Mixon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I managed to get myself stuck in a hotel room without my three bags of vintage mysteries that I'm working my way through, so I went in the hotel lounge and picked up the only mystery on the shelf.

Bummer about that. This is yet another of the "New York Times Best Sellers" that's cheap crapola cranked out to a formula so the author can live "in the Caribbean."

You know what you're telling us by calling crap like this "best sellers," New York Times? That you wouldn't know a good book if it poked you with a glassblower's punty.

[Nathaniel]

What I liked: The writing style, the glass blowing, the characters.

[Nancy Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a compelling story but I learned a lot about glass blowing.

[Harry · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is there to say about Dick Francis? As I think about all of his books (yes, this review covers all of his books, and yes I've read them all) I think about a moral ethical hero, steeped in intelligence and goodness embroiled in evil machinations within British horse racing society - either directly or indirectly. The heroes aren't always horse jockies, they can be film producers, or involve heroes engaged in peripheral professions that somehow always touch the horse racing world.

But more than that, Francis's heroes are rational human beings. The choices made are rational choices directed by a firm objective philosophy that belies all of Francis's novels. The dialogue is clear and touched with humor no matter the intensity of evil that the hero faces. The hero's thoughts reveal a vulnerability that is touching, while his actions are always based on doing the right thing to achieve justice.

Causing the reader to deeply care about the characters in a novel is a difficult thing to do. No such worries in a Francis novel. The point of view is first person, you are the main character as you read the story (usually the character of Mr. Douglas). The hero is personable, like able, non-violent but delivering swift justice with his mind rather than through physical means. This is not to say that violence is a stranger to our hero. Some of it staggering and often delivered by what we would think of normal persons living in British society.

You will come to love the world of Steeple Chase racing, you will grow a fondness for horses, stables, trainers and the people who live in that world. You will read the books, devouring one after the other and trust me Dick Francis has a lot of novels (over 40 by my last count).

There are several series woven into the fabric of Francis's work: notably the Sid Halley and Kit Fielding series.

Assessment: Dick Francis is one of my favorite writers. I read his books with a fierce hunger that remains insatiable and I mourn his death.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is definitely a slow burn, and I don't know if it's just been a while, or the story dragged far more than his other stuff, but I remember enjoying his mysteries more.

Many aspects of the book felt like they were trying too hard to be witty and were verbose at the very least. At one point the narrator tells us that he's figured out something, but doesn't reveal what that something is for at least several pages, which feels less like a reveal and more like we're being purposefully kept in the dark in order for the "aha" to happen. Unfortunately, after the events we witness on the page, the reveal is...lackluster.

The information about glassblowing was interesting, and relevant to the story in many ways, but also bogged down the pace for me, but that could also be due to Francis' tendency to go on, at length, about things and to use twelve words when four would do.

I found the end to be mildly unsatisfying, not because the mystery wasn't solved, but rather...everything felt forced. The drama of the final scene seemed over the top, and as everything was revealed in a "This Is What Happened" way, I almost wished I'd skipped to the end. I didn't mind the summary so much as I felt cheated the chance to have figured things out along with the narrator--which either means I wasn't paying attention as the story unfolded or it just wasn't compelling enough to hold my attention OR the author phoned it in with this story.

I don't regret reading this story--I certainly learned a lot about glassblowing--but it's going to be hard for me to pick up the next Francis story for me.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a re-read. I've only read it once before, and it stuck in my head because the protagonist, glass-blower Gerard Logan, lives in the village of Broadway, in the Cotswolds in England, and I have been there, often. I can visualize the very shop that I think Mr. Francis imagined as Gerard's glass studio and shop, the hotel across the street, and the main road generally.

I always learn something from a Dick Francis novel: about people, about writing, and about whatever occupation or hobby features in the story. I couldn't remember the specifics of the 'mystery' in this book, but I remembered all the stuff about glassblowing. I love Dick Francis's novels. I know I've said this before many times, but it's no less true for that.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/15/2021

Far from Francis's best work. The missing videotape MacGuffin is so silly, especially the ridiculous solution, that the whole plot becomes almost pointless. The villains are cartoonishly evil, with no attempt to make them seem real. One of the subsidiary villains has exactly the same function and motive as a character in the last book by Francis that I read, Dead Heat. A death in the final section of the book seems to be a (failed) device to make part of the book emotionally moving.

The material about glass-blowing is fascinating, however, and this makes up a large part of the book. So, not a disaster, but certainly a disappointment.

[May Grider · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can find information about the circumstances under which this book was written by using your favorite browser to search on “Felix Francis” and “discovernewmarket.co.uk”, to read the article, “Felix Francis: Continuing the Family Business”, posted to that URL on 13/01/2022. Very enlightening!
I read the two most recently published Felix Francis novels, liked them, and was searching around to learn if he has anything new coming out in 2023, when I found this article.
I agree with other reviewers here on GR that Shattered is probably for completists, not a starting point for reading Dick Francis *or* Felix Francis.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

As much as I love Dick Francis, I *hate* American publishers who Americanize vocabulary, changing things like "sideburns" to "whiskers" and "traffic warden" to "parking warden". It's a book by an English author, set in England. Don't jolt me out of the story by introducing words Brits never use ("singlet"?); it ruins a perfectly good story.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this was good, I think it was the beginning of a slide down in quality on Francis' books. Keep in mind, I've loved his books for 30 years, so this is hard to say. They're still good yarns, though, with characters you can like, but I found this less enthralling than usual.

[Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The upside of this book for me was all the information in the book about being a glass blower. The main character is an artisan glassblower, and learning about his company of three employees was fascinating. Sadly, the book left me mostly unimpressed. I never thought I’d write that about a Dick Francis book, but I have.

Gerard Logan is at the racetrack the day his friend dies. It’s a gruesome death memorably described. (The horse falls on the jockey during the race and crushes him to death.)

Gerard’s friend had a videotape he wanted Gerard Logan to see, and he passed the tape on to a racing official in case the two didn’t connect after the race. His decision was prescient. The official passed on the tape, but Logan was too busy to watch it. He had no idea what was on it. There were others who knew about the tape’s existence, and they wanted to take it form Gerard Logan. They managed to do that, and the book focuses on his quest to both regain possession of the tape if possible and understand why it has such value.

It's mercifully short—around seven hours—and the budding romance between Gerard Logan and policewoman Catherine Dodd is worth reading about. But it lacked the usual Dick Francis sizzle. It still gets three stars, but his books generally rate higher than that with me.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

always love a dick francis book

[Glynda Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Dick Francis books! They are always fun and exciting, and this one is no exception. This revolves around a friend of a jockey who dies. After his death, his friend discovers that he had a secret. This is an easy read with likable characters and I highly recommend it.

[Patricia Darling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book by Dick Francis, characters and storyline good.

[Emmanuel Eckert · Rating 2 out of 5]

rotz, abgebrochen kurz vor ende

[Connie Donnelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gerald Logan is a glass blower whose friend is a jockey. On the day his friend is killed in a race he is given a dvd for safe keeping. Gerald has no idea what is on the tape, but someone will do anything to get the tape. This is Dick Francis at his best.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a jockey friend is killed during a race, Gerard Logan,glass blower, receives a video tape from his dead friend’s valet. This starts a chain of events that sees him the target of criminal types bent on getting hold of the video.

I thought it was a fairly fast paced read. It did lose me in a few places though.

[Russ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read it because 1) I was looking for a book touching on business espionage, and 2) I've been meaning to read a Francis novel. There is an industrial espionage component. A jockey gives a video to a glassblower right before his death on New Year's Eve, 1999. The video is stolen from the glassblower that night.

Eventually we learn the video has the only copy of a potential cure/treatment for cancer. On a VHS tape. Yeah, because that makes sense. Separately, there is some discussion about secret glassblowing methods, which might have been a more logical candidate for recording on a tape. Or that the stolen tape might shed further light on the jockey's death, but no, that is never revisited. The combination of horses, glassblowing, Y2K, and cancer research came across as random.

The plot is Gerard's search for the tape and the thief's identity. Meanwhile he begins a love affair with a female police detective. You'd think that she would help him with his investigation. Not so. For some reason, Gerard gets help from a bunch of random guys, including an ex-con in the neighborhood who has three Dobermans. This is because some masked thugs beat up Gerard so he needs protection. Which again, why wouldn't his cop girlfriend be the one to protect him?

Which brings me to a related point. The interactions among the characters in this novel are bizarre. There's a long hunt by Gerard for somebody named Daniel Force. Once he's found, we are told again and again that Force is charming and that everybody likes him even when they know he does shady things. But his behaviors and dialog do not make him appear charming in the slightest. The real mystery is why anybody would like Force.

We're also told repeatedly that the jockey's mother-in-law, Marigold, is a charming, delightful woman. But every statement she makes throughout the novel is pouty, self-indulgent, or idiotic. I cannot see why anybody would be charmed by her.

More broadly, there are the good guys, (Gerard and team), and the bad guys (Force, a sadist named Rose, et al). For some reason in the beginning and middle of the book, interactions between the good guys and bad guys are fairly convivial or muted. Gerard asks lame questions like, "Did you do it?" He gets lame answers like, "Maybe, but I won't tell you any details." Rebuttal: "Well then, guess I'll take a train back to my glassblowing shop." To me this was very passive by typical mystery/thriller cat-and-mouse standards.

The climax was sort of compelling but by that point I'd already given up on enjoying this awkward mashup.

[Anne Patkau · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Shattered" by Dick Francis is the fate of glass horse award exploding at climax of plot, told first-person, by glass-blower Gerard Logan. He loans his videotaped instructions for a priceless antique necklace copy to pal jockey Martin Stukely, who falls fatally, before dressing-room valet Eddie returns tape. Usual plot: thugs beat hero for mystery. Two sets of villains merge, keep beating, stealing tapes, confuses into three tapes and plot threads that go nowhere. I remembered clues and felt uninvolved.

Author's obsession with cancer evident. White-bearded disbarred Dr Adam Force (orange socks p138 also in "Field of Thirteen" 1 Raid at Kingdom Hill ) videotaped stolen unique cancer-cure research results, filched tape and Logan store holiday cash take, holds deadly insulin needle ready to kill. Instead of reporting to handy new cop girlfriend leather-clad motorcyclist Catherine, useless love interest, Logan baits trap, repeatedly putting his face in front of fists, slowed by dithering motionless assistant Pamela Jane. Minor roles, details, are vivid, fun, but pointless side plays: cute helpful Daniel Stukely 11 bribed with gold coins, his mom - gabby marriage-minded Bon-Bon, her mom - caftan floating rich Marigold, her bald tough chauffeur 24/7 bodyguard Worthington, and Catherine's Alice in Wonderland home decor. I'd like to see (some of) this cast in stronger plot(s), Francis' power of description (humor here small, in some characters) keeps me reading his work.

(Spoiler:
Force has tape his girlfriend Rose kills and hot glass tortures for, so why does she persist? Relationships, Eddie Rose's father, teen Victor caught in the middle Rose's nephew, complicate annoyingly, as well as minor characters, serve no purpose in resolution here, remind me of other books preparing for sequels. I guessed/ remembered which assistant of three is sneaker-clad traitor behind black stocking mask, guilty trainer Priam diverts raincoat, pointless good Pernickety Paul cop death, not much suspense.)

[Becca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am an avid Dick Francis reader, and in giving this particular book two stars, I am doing so relative to what I would normally expect from a Francis novel.

I really enjoyed learning more about glassblowing and thought the main character was quite likeable. I also thought the villain quite intriguing and scary. However, the mystery didn't really suck me in, and there were several aspects I found irritating. For example, Garard finds himself in a relationship with the policewoman initially sent to investigate the theft. She sees the aftermath of him getting beaten to a pulp multiple times, but supports him in carrying on the investigation sans police. And though Francis often (possibly even always) has his protagonists solve the mystery with little or no help from the police, it is usually more believable than in this story.

One last criticism-the writing style in this particular book seemed off to me for Dick Francis. And this is coming after reading four of his other books in a row. There were times I wasn't sure what he was trying to say and had to reread sections in order to understand, but often was still confused. Very unlike Francis, and I can't help but wonder if he wasn't really into the story, either, but had to continue on in order to meet a deadline.

With that said, it was still enjoyable enough to read, and I would have given it a three-star rating had it not been a Francis novel that came with some degree of expectation.

[Usfromdk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yet another not-particularly great Francis novel. 'Good enough', but I think I'll take the advice I was given when I was first recommended Francis; I'll read the books he wrote on his own, but leave out the ones he wrote with his son. The last few books haven't been all that great, so Under Orders, which I'm currently reading, will be my last Francis novel.

Reading the book felt a bit like reading one of the last of Agatha Christie's novels; you can tell who the bad guy (the fourth attacker, in this case - the other three are known early on) is 150 pages in advance, meaning there's no big plot twist at the end. Also, I usually disregard medical inaccuracies in novels written by mystery writers but I can't stop myself from noting that although a big injection of insulin might be a useful way to murder someone in some specific contexts, it definitely would be a stupid thing to do to try to employ it the way it was employed in the book. I am almost certain it would not have worked the way the author assumed it would have.