Wild Horses

by Dick Francis

Valentine, a dying old man, makes his last confession to a friend, Thomas Lyon, mistaking him for a priest. Wild horses wouldn't drag from a priest the secrets of the confessional, but then film director Thomas is no priest. Should he tell what he knows from the confession?

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

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 21, 1994

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 4 out of 5]

This is among the better of the later Dick Francis novels. The protagonist is a young film director, Thomas Lyon, who finally has the chance to make a major motion picture. It's is big chance, and if he screws it up, he most likely won't get another. Lyon is clearly talented enough to make a very good movie, but there are all sorts of obstacles in his way, including people who desperately do not want this movie to be made and who will stop at nothing to see that it isn't.

The movie is being filmed on location in Newmarket, a major horse racing center, and is loosely based on a scandal and an unsolved mystery that occurred in the local racing world twenty-six years earlier. A beautiful young woman was found hanged, and it was never determined whether she was murdered or committed suicide.

Newmarket is also home to Valentine Clark, a former blacksmith-turned-newspaperman who had once shod the horses trained by Lyon's grandfather. Lyon has known Clark since he was a small boy. Clark is now dying and is largely incoherent, but mistaking Thomas for a priest, he makes a confusing deathbed confession.

Lyon has no idea what the confession means and, of course, is preoccupied with trying to make his movie on time and under budget. But then Clark dies and this sets off a chain of events that will seriously impact Thomas Lyon and the film he is attempting to make.

Lyon is an appealing protagonist and I found the details of the film making business to be interesting. The plot is entertaining and credible, although it lacks the malevolent villain that is so key to many of Francis's novels. All in all, a good, quick read.

[N · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh, boy. This book. Where to start?

Wild Horses is the first recognisably modern Dick Francis that I've read (the characters have mobile phones! and reference Prozac!), which honestly caused a bit of cognitive dissonance for me. I can deal with Francis's stoical male protagonists and flimsy love interests when it's the 70s, but it all gets a bit uncomfortable when it's supposed to be 1994 and the 30-year-old protag (a Gen X'er!) acts like your killjoy grandpa.

(Tangent: whyyyyyyyyyyyyy is there always such self-hating homoeroticism in Dick Francis's books? Why is there always a dashing gentleman who the hero is blatantly infatuated with -- in this case, movie star Nash -- who is unconvincingly tossed aside in the final chapter so that the protag can end up with an underwritten wisp of girl? I mean, am I reading this wrong????)

Nonetheless, I quite liked the premise of Wild Horses: it's a story within a story, with KilljoyGrandpa as a hotshot movie director making a film about an unsolved true crime case from 30 years ago. He begins trying to solve the case -- and gets too close to the truth!!!!! Obviously, this is right up my alley. (The only thing that would have made it more relevant to my interests was if someone was making a podcast about the true crime case.)

Of course, the usual Dick Francis suspension of disbelief insanities are in place: we're expected to believe that, in the 90s, horse racing is such a cultural phenom that everyone (EVERYONE) gets their news from some shitty horse racing newspaper. And that a movie studio would name its major new release, Unstable Times. (Because... stables??? Yeah!) Plus, this (pretty terrible-sounding) movie about horse racing attracts A-list talent and wins multiple Oscars. Riiiiiiiight. Seems legit.

My favourite insane subplot is that KilljoyGrandpa wants to include in the movie a shot of some WILD HORSES cantering down the beach. So he gets a guy to kidnap (horsenap?) some WILD HORSES from Norway, pop 'em in a shipping container, and then let 'em loose on some godforsaken shore in East Anglia. What the actual fuck.

There's too much movie-making jargon weighing down the novel and the melodramatic conclusion to the mystery doesn't gel well with its old-school feel. But, goddammit, I'm sort of sorry to see this one go. It's so batshit, you've gotta love it.

ETA: Almost forgot to share the only line in the whole novel that I highlighted on my Kindle. This is KilljoyGrandpa describing the lead actress in his movie, who I guess he hates for ~reasons: "Silva wore no lipstick and a feminist expression." INSCRIBE THIS ON MY GRAVE, PLEASE.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have been a five but the Weinstein producer dragged it down as well as Thomas weird obsession with Lucy. However, great story and the details of directing movies and knives was fascinating. From the start with the vague deathbed confession linked to the film about a story of how a trainers wife was murdered or committed suicide was riveting.

The usual calm under pressure hero with the unlikeable suspects all made for a great read. Albeit the sexual politics of the liaison between one of the female stars and producer was a little to Harvey Weinstein for my liking.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

1 Jan 1998
15 Sep 2016

Yet another female victim dead for the thinnest of reasons ever, that is to say, a starting point for the plot. And the victim is a young woman who owns her sexuality. And the hero once again falls for an inappropriately young woman in a creepy way. And another woman is mocked for her feminism. I love it despite all those issues. It does evoke movie-making fairly well, as well as the remarkable changes of the twentieth century. Maybe it's just nostalgia, but there are certain visuals that stay with me over the years. And the love of riding.

Personal copy

[Elizabeth (Alaska) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some basics: Thomas Lyon has returned to England from Hollywood to make a film based on Howard Tyler's novel; Howard Tyler wrote his novel based on a 26-year old event in which a woman was found hanged; in the supposed real event, the woman's husband was suspected, but it was found he was in a different town when the crime occurred and there was no other person of suspicion. So. A story within a story within a story. Sure enough, my over-simplification of the plot makes it sound more complex than it was.

The opening to the novel has Thomas Lyon sitting with an elderly man who is dying of cancer. Valentine was a blacksmith who catered to those who raised horses, mostly those who raced. Valentine, with very few days left to live, mistakes Thomas for a priest and makes his confession. It takes many pages - more than half the novel - before we see how that confession ties into the movie and novel business.

Yes, despite the title, there are usually horses having to do with racing in any Dick Francis novel. I found this quote interesting, though it has pretty much nothing to do with the story. Learning something new happens in fiction as well as non-fiction.

Horses wore thin aluminum shoes for racing, much lighter and thinner than the steel shoes they needed in the stable and out at exercise. Farriers would routinely change shoes before and after a race.

I have said many times in my reviews that I am not a movie fan. That remains true. Even if this novel were made into a movie, I wouldn't go to see it. In this novel, we see how movies change from the novels on which they are based. I will freely admit that I'm absolutely certain the movie in this novel would have been vastly superior to the book on which it is based. Dick Francis gave us visuals and the ending is exquisite. The novel builds to that ending and I knew before I got there I would give this novel 5-stars, something that is rare from me for the mystery genre.

[Becca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have devoured many a Dick Francis novel in my life, but I was very surprised and turned off by the twisted nature in the solving of the mystery. I've loved almost all of the Francis novels I've read, and liked the rest. However, this one left a bad taste in my mouth. It was a bit too deviant for me. I also felt that all the connections were a bit too convenient. Everyone of importance is magically connected, and it felt a bit contrived. Up until the last bit, I enjoyed it enough, but wouldn't recommend it. If you're thinking of trying or a Dick Francis novel, start with "Bolt"!

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another easy-to-read Dick Francis mystery, but a long way short of his best work. I wasn't overly convinced by the movie-making setting that provided the background to the novel. In my opinion, it padded the storyline needlessly. The big red editors pen could easily have gone through much of it, including in particular, the dream sequences and the purchase of viking horses offshore - both of which added nothing of note to the actual plot. 3 stars *** (just).

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so sure I had read a book of his before but must have mixed it up with something else. I listened this as an audiobook and this was very entertaining and easy to listen to and get engaged to. Interesting plot and I'm interested to try something else by Dick Francis but I'm wondering if I had actually tried one before but DNF it. But who knows

[Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore]

Another exciting and fast paced racing-related mystery from Francis. Wild Horses takes us to the world of film-making where our ‘hero’ Thomas Lyon is directing a film based on a book based on a 26-year-old unsolved murder in the racing world. Thomas is having problems with the writer who feels his story has been changed too much and soon also finds the film and himself getting threats. On the other side, a friend of his family Valentine (who Thomas has lately been reading to) dies leaving Thomas his books and papers and his sister, Dorothea is brutally attacked, leaving Thomas to also figure out what it is that Valentine knew or had in his possession that could be a threat to others. As is usual with Francis, I thought he did a good job of re-creating the world of film-making, though neither Thomas nor the film’s hero are what we’d typically associate with Hollywood. Also, as one expects of Francis’ heroes, Thomas is bright and catches on to things much faster than the ordinary individual, but also ends up getting beaten up for it. The writing was enjoyable and had me wanting to read on to find out how things turn out and whodunit, especially as there wasn’t any particularly ominous individual (as in some of Francis’ other books) lurking around on the scene. I was surprised by the denouement, yes, but still it seemed just well, ok. But the book as a whole was enjoyable and entertaining, and very readable though not may be among my favourites of his.

[Jason Reeser · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with all Dick Francis thrillers, this book did not disappoint. So many authors over-use violence, making it commonplace. Francis has always been able to bring a few violent acts down to a point that is personel, and scary. The reader is never numb to the pain and terror of even small injuries. I suppose Francis had enough run-ins with injuries as a jockey to give him this edge. But the next important step that Francis takes is to develope villians that are personal in nature as well. These aren't James Bond villians who want to take over the world and are willing to kill thousands at a single swipe. No, his villians have small, personal, violent urges that are directed at one or two people. I am reminded of that discomforting feeling I get in the grocery line when I inadvertantly run afoul of a stranger who suddenly looms beside me with a presence that cannot be ignored. A "what have I gotten myself into?" sort of situation--is this guy going to follow me into the parking lot and come after me? Seriously? What is wrong with this guy?
Wild Horses has these two elements in fine racing form. The slow, methodical descent into mystery and danger drew me in, with ever increasing speed. Somewhere around page 250, I stopped taking breaks from reading and galloped down the home stretch, as if the last lap were run down a steep hill.
As a bonus, this book dealt with movie making, and I love anything that details this process. This was great fun.

[Jerry B · Rating 5 out of 5]

We're avid Dick Francis fans and thought we had read his entire booklist, but somehow missed this novel when it was new in 1994. What a delight awaited! It’s what we’d call one of his “research” books – while there is a minor backdrop of horse racing, it’s really about the making of a major motion picture about the (unsolved) mystery of a woman’s death some 25 years ago in a small English town setting. While the most desired familiar aspects of Francis’ work were surely on display, from the leading man who is nothing but admirable in every way, to mild sexual tension from the women that he meets – to us the real prize, in addition to the clever plot and irresistible whodunit, was that the story told from the eyes of the film’s director gave us an incredible insight into movie making. Indeed the roles of the director were explained in a way we hadn’t encountered before, as well as the importance of physical scene selection, lighting, the acting abilities of the players, and the ability of the director to coordinate diverse activities into a whole way greater than the sum of its parts.

The plot is equally compelling, beginning with the death of a sick man befriended by our director who on his deathbed makes a mysterious confession. That provides clues about the very mystery being addressed in the movie, and we wonder all book long whether that actual whodunit might be solved, on top of the villainy that emerges as various real life players in the old story get increasingly agitated over the pursuit of their tale. A series of knifings along the way add to the suspense, and kept us on edge till the end.

All-in-all, we’d rank “Wild Horses” among the author’s very best, high praise considering we’re talking a booklist some fifty titles long! Obviously, very highly recommended!!

[Itaborosa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have enjoyed all of Dick Francis books, but this one was my least favorite. The movie making explanations became tedious and, after a good beginning, the plot went steadily downhill. The main character’s strange infatuation with a sixteen year old was sort of creepy and the answer to the mysterious death that inspired the movie was equally creepy.

[Kwoomac · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m sure it’s just me but I really don’t enjoy fatherly Dick Francis writing about sexy times.

[Jo Ring · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dick Francis books always good but I don't think this is one of his best.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5. Dick getting all edgy and modern. Let down a bit by slightly intrusive heavy loading of film making information, but readable enough

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one seems like a favorite of Francis fans but sadly is not my favorite. Thomas Lyon is directing a film about an old, cold case of the wife of a horse trainer who was found hanged to death in a barn stall. The police could never determine if it was murder or suicide but the horse racing set believed that her trainer husband was responsible so owners stopped sending him their horses and he left the industry. While Lyon is in town, he is spending time with his grandfather's old friend, a dying man who used to make horseshoes and write a racing column. On his deathbed, he confesses that he killed the Cornish boy and gave the knife away. Lyon thinks that it is just gibberish but when someone is trying to stop the movie from being made by slashing a knife at his lead star he begins to think that there may be some truth to it. Since he inherited the old man's books and papers, he starts to go through them and finds old pictures and news articles that point him in the right direction. The old man's nephew was around the track often and he and a group of friends called "the gang" were close with the horse trainer and his young wife. When the trainer was away, they decided to all try to have sex with his wife on the same night since she had been having casual sex with all of them for a while. One boy got carried away and accidently strangled her so they staged it to look like a suicide. The deathbed confession of the old columnist was that he killed the boy responsible for the woman's death because he had a secret, unrequited crush on her. The remaining boys in "the gang" are trying to stop the film from being made in order to protect their secret. Not that I am a prude but I am unaccustomed to a Francis book with this level of lewdness and crassness and I felt that it bordered on victim-shaming. Although I did enjoy the description of the film making business, I recommend his earlier works.

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not even Tony Britton's reading could save this one.
I forgot why I stopped buying Francis novels back in the late 90s. It was because kinky sex of one kind or another was becoming far too prominent in plotlines.
I am fascinated by the process of film making and acting, so why did I find this book so dull? Because Francis got so many things so wrong, I guess.
--His Americans all talk like Brits.
--His Big Name Actor is famous for making shoot-em-up Westerns, and yet the man is in his forties. In 1994. Big name Westerns pretty much went out in the 1960s, nearly half a century before.
--The business with the "wild horses" of the title. How can wild horses be trained? Isn't that an oxymoron?
--The nonsense about when a woman loses her virginity she develops pouches under her eyes. "My mother told me" does not excuse that particular gratuitous piece of idiocy.
--The snideness about his Asian bodyguard, which is entirely unnecessary to any aspect of the book.
And to top it all off, almost none of the action would have taken place if Our Hero weren't completely self-absorbed. He only gets involved in the mystery because he wants a way to finish his film; he doesn't even think about consequences to himself or anyone else, as he merrily unleashes mayhem by digging up a cold case.

Verdict: 1.5 stars. It's not Tony Britton's fault, I could feel he wasn't enjoying the project. And for a consummate reader like him, that says something.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

A mediocre book that also leaves a gross taste in the modern reader's mouth. A shame, because I typically like Francis.

If you're wondering what kind of industry culture enabled Weinstein for so many years, look no further - this book (unintentionally and uncritically) captures it quite well.

The main character, a movie director, whines incessantly about the movie's female star being 'feminist'. He does metaphorical backflips to suck up to his film's male star, but is sorely tried by the effort required of him to merely remember not to sound like a condescending pervert when talking to his female counterpart. He complains about this imposition more than he does about getting stabbed in the chest.

The producer, the person who cast that same female lead, is quite obviously using his position to get her to sleep with him. Our hero's reaction is one of envious admiration. Also, several references are made to the 'casting couch' throughout the book. Just... ugh.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a bit forced. I remember when I read it the first time, I was swept away and horrified that such a thing could ever happen. But then again, I was very young when I first read this book. This time round (many, many, many years later), I paid more attention to the actual movement of the plot and what the plot actually was and found it to be rather lacking. The way Lyon's extracts information is rather manipulative but also very realistic and tbh, works like a charm (and I could see ppl falling for that line in real life exactly as they do in the book sadly). So maybe for me, the book was just disappointing bc it didn't live up to my memory. Maybe it just wasn't as fast paced as many other Francis novels. Maybe the flaw wasn't in the plot but rather the pace, or rather my memory. In any case, I don't think this is a Francis I'll reread.

[Kate Millin · Rating 5 out of 5]

As usual with a Dick Francis I found it very difficult to out this book down, and I don't remember reading it before. The main character ( and narrator) Thomas Lyon is a caring and yet forceful character as he is e director of a film about a death that happened over 20 years ago. He is also helping to support his old friend Valentine at the end of his life and finds out more than he bargained for. The action, while quite scary is not as violent as it has been in some of his previous books. Ton as has to be quite clever at reading people to be a successful director as well as to solve the mystery.

Reading again in October 2014.

[April Hochstrasser · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you ever thought it was easy to make a movie, this book tells the inside scoop about all the little details that go on. Why all the credits at the ends of movies? This book is full of information about all those titles. A movie maker is telling the 26 year-old story of a suspected suicide. However, he uncovers some information that make it questionable whether this was a suicide or murder. Then the people involved so many years ago start a series of events designed to stop the movie so that the real truth won't come out. Very entertaining.

[Arthur O'dell · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite Dick Francis novels. I’ve just re-read this for the fourth or fifth time. The main character is a film director, and I love the framing plot of making a movie. Of course, the movie is inspired by true events from twenty-six years ago, and some people are willing to murder to prevent the movie from being made. . . and the true events revolve around an unsolved mystery.

Francis’ novels always seem to have great characters, excellent plot, and effective prose. Some are better than others, but I don’t think there’s a bad one in the bunch.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still my favorite author of all time. Even after all these years (25 +) Dick Francis can still make me feel like I'm part of the story. The plot & characters pull you in and that's where you stay until the ride is over (when you have read the last word.) I always want to immediately read the sequel. Alas, there are few books written by Dick Francis that have sequels. This particular book grabbed me & until I finished. The mystery solved. But what I wouldn't give to see the movie on the big screen! But only if is filmed EXACTLY how it was written in the book! LOL.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I read a Dick Francis book, but I'm glad I picked up this one. It's not a horse book, exactly, in that the hero isn't a jockey but a film director making a Hollywood film about a racing-connected unsolved death 26 years ago. The insights into the film-making world are worth the price of the book alone, but the hook is the interpersonal here, the relationships between director and writer, director and producer, director and star, plus the non-film relationships that connect us to the long-buried mystery.

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite of Francis, books: yet the story and like able protagonist drew me in. :)

[Nenad · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5/5

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the descriptions of movie making and horse racing. Both are more work than I would ever have expected.

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

So this isn't my usual genre, as you can probably tell from my other posts, but a free book is a free book!

I found this book on a street corner, read the blurb and went "sure, what the heck!" And went on my merry way. I've been meaning to get into the mystery genre and who doesn't love a mysterious old man's past coming back to haunt his young friend.
Apparently the book didn't get the memo.

We are introduced to our main character Thomas. A film director returning to his home town to make a movie about a mysterious hanging of a woman 25 years prior. In a visit to a dying old friend said friend on his death bed confesses to a murder. But not the woman's.
Good, right?
Well... no. Most of the books run time is taken up by Thomas actually making said movie. We go through the day to day of the menial tasks watching Thomas and crew make the movie. From set dressing, to acting, to funding. As cool as I'm sure someone into filming would be, as someone who isn't here for that I found myself bored to tears.

The rest of the book is spent as a much more enjoyable small town romp. Thomas visiting and looking after the old relative of the aforementioned dying man. Their relationship and talks are sweet, though often used to make unnecessary drama.

The final "reveal" comes out of left field with little to no build up other than someone trying to randomly stab Thomas and crew a few times.
All round a book I shall return to the road side where it belongs.

[Catie · Rating 1 out of 5]

(TW: incest, rape)

I greatly disliked this book. Not only was the ending disgusting and dark, the characters were so confusing and difficult to keep straight. Actors with first and last names playing characters in movies with first and last names based on real people with first and last names. Several different families being involved and me confusing their adult children. Literally 2 similar men getting the names Roddy and Ridley. 🙄

I don’t think he could write female characters well. He shoehorns his dislike for feminism in the book by having a “feminist” character constantly annoy the men she works with by being overly sensitive to remarks about her appearance, purportedly calling it sexual harassment. Every other female character is either sex appeal for the male main character, a dim old lady, or a snooty unattractive woman who never got a man.

I do not remember Dick Francis books being like this. Perhaps I just got his worst one.

[Jeff Senior · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since the author is an ex-champion jockey, all of the books have a horse racing theme. This one, however, is less directly so.
The main character was an amateur jockey for a while but is now a film director in charge of his first major film financed by Hollywood moguls. The film, inevitably has a horse racing background and is loosely based on a book that dealt with the unexplained death of a trainer's wife many years previously.
Unfortunately, the film threatens to unearth secrets that some people would prefer to remain buried. This results in threats, deaths and a lot of twists that are combined with the intricacies of making the film and the director's relationships with the various people involved.
All Dick Francis books have a likeable main character that readers want to succeed and this is no exception. They also move along at pace and, although the hero's uncovering of the complex plot from years ago may seem a little surprising, this doesn't detract from the enjoyment of this book. Altogether, a great read.