Crisis

by Felix Francis

New York Times --bestselling author Felix Francis returns with his newest edge-of-your-seat horseracing thriller in the Dick Francis tradition.

Harrison Foster, a crisis manager for a London firm, is summoned to Newmarket after a fire in the Chadwick Stables kills six very valuable horses, including the short-priced favorite for the Derby. There is far more to the "simple" fire than initially meets the eye...for a start, human remains are found among the equestrian ones in the burnt-out shell. All the stable staff are accounted for, so who is the mystery victim?

Harry knows very little about horses, indeed he positively dislikes them, but he is thrust unwillingly into the world of thoroughbred racing, where the standard of care of the equine stars is far higher than that of the humans who attend to them.

The Chadwick family is a dysfunctional racing dynasty. Resentment between the generations is rife and sibling rivalry bubbles away like volcanic magma beneath a thin crust of respectability.

Harry represents the Middle Eastern owner of the Derby favourite and, as he delves deeper into the unanswered questions surrounding the horse's demise, he ignites a fuse that blows the volcano sky-high. Can Harry solve the riddle before he is bumped off by the fallout?

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Audiobook, Murder Mystery, Suspense

384 pages, Hardcover

First published September 20, 2018

About the author

For over forty years, the London University grad helped father Dick Francis (31 Oct 1920 – 14 Feb 2010), ex-jockey known for horse-racing mysteries. In 2007, after 17 years teaching physics, he took on the job full-time. Experience also as international marksman aided research for Shattered, Under Orders, and Twice Shy. Co-author of NY Times bestsellers Dead Heat, Silks, Even Money and Crossfire.
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Reviews

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having co-authored many books with his father Dick, Felix continued to write thrillers after his father's death in 2010, and this is his eighth solo novel. I was a tiny bit apprehensive about starting this as I wondered whether there would be too many references that would go over my head about horse racing, but the information that was referenced was interesting and relevant to the story and, importantly, required no prior knowledge of the scene. Based at Newmarket, it follows Harrison "Harry" Foster, our protagonist and lawyer turned crisis manager, as he gets to grips with a suspicious fire at a training yard which ends up killing many of the horses. Unfortunately, like me, Harry knows virtually nothing about the racing scene, but in order to solve the case, he is going to have to learn pretty damn quickly! It was an original touch to have both the reader and the protagonist learn horse racing tidbits alongside each other and I always felt all aspects were explained sufficiently.

This is a confident, expertly plotted novel and Francis's writing is so masterful and alluring that you are pretty rapidly immersed in the story. The format is refreshing in that it makes use of a linear timeline and is told in first person narrative from Harry's perspective. What I absolutely loved about Crisis is that the perpetrator is well hidden and not easily guessable, something that I very rarely find these days - many thrillers are so very predictable, but not this one. The plot is well thought out and put together and holds your interest from start to finish. Even as a seasoned thriller reader I found myself being surprised time and time again by what was happening, that is the mark of a great novel in my opinion. As if all that wasn't enough the explosive conclusion leaves you shocked but ultimately satisfied.

Many thanks to Simon & Schuster for an ARC.

[Monnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

After 56 years of marriage, my husband and I are still getting along just fine, even though we don't always agree. But we're both long-time fans of Felix Francis (and his prolific author-father, Dick, before him). And after reading this one, we are in total accord: This is perhaps the best of the son's lot so far.

The star of the show is Harrison "Harry" Foster, an attorney who focuses on crisis management at a prominent London firm. Despite his total lack of interest in and knowledge of horse racing, his boss taps him to head to Newmarket, where a fire at Chadwick Stables has resulted in the devastating loss of several horses, including one owned by Foster's firm's client that's considered a shoe-in to win the upcoming Derby. When Harry arrives, he's greeted by a totally dysfunctional family, plenty of mud, and the unexpected discovery of human remains amid the ashes.

Who the victim turns out to be turns the Chadwick family upside down - from Patriarch Oliver (who's mostly handed the thoroughbred stables over to son Ryan), to other son Declan, who has set off on his own horse-racing venture. Throw in another son, an estranged daughter and all of their significant others and it's a volatile mix that turns more deadly every day. Clearly, though, there's a major family secret that started the infighting - and as the fire investigation heats up, it threatens to bring everyone to his or her knees - including Harry.

Will he live to see his interest in new love - the sister of the woman who runs day-to-day operations at Chadwick Stables - come to fruition? Of course, my lips are sealed. All I'll say is it's a race to an exciting finish. Well done!

[Carolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Never as good as Dick Francis and not as good as his own last one. Felix cannot write love relationships--terrible. Should give it up. The horse plot was good; the murder and solution was interesting, but he did the rookie thing of hiding stuff from the reader so we could not figure it out. Tsk tsk. Would give it 2.5 if that were an option, but since it's not, this didn't warrant the round up.

[Anne - Books of My Heart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
 

Read It, Rate It and Record   
A short review to update challenges
 

I loved the Dick Francis books so much. I have continued on with the Felix Francis books and it's partially a feeling of nostalgia. They are not as down-to-earth or horse racing related as the elder Francis.  These have a bit more upper class view and style. For example, Harry is a lawyer, not a jockey, trainer or groom.

There is also a background romance which is a bit too insta-love.  It does serve well in providing Harry emotional support and local knowledge though.  I like a bit of romance but I wouldn't classify this as romance, at all.

The mystery itself was engaging. The characters were pretty well defined. Some characters were more appealing than others, of course.  Things moved pretty quickly.  Harry is well versed in "keep asking questions and stirring the pot until they come after you" form of detective work. I enjoyed his information gathering and deductions.

 

I couldn’t remember when I’d last been in bed before eleven o’clock, let alone ten. I would clearly be totally hopeless as a groom. Not only would I be frightened of the horses, I wouldn’t get up in time to ride them out.

[Chris Conley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Felix Francis has taken his father’s work and continues to grow in depth and talent. His stories of the world of English racing and that horse world seems to have an endless store of interesting stories.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book seems to serve multiple purposes, giving us a youngish London male with a lot to learn in the world of romance and career. We follow the path he has chosen to pursue - finding a more fulfilling life than the one he started out in as a simple lawyer drawing up wills, codicils, divorce papers. He sees an advert for a job that he decides on a whim to investigate. It leads him into a new job in the world of crisis management.
The assignment that takes up the majority of this book is to serve a wealthy client who has invested in the finest race horses, but learns that his most prized thoroughbred has died in a stable fire near Newmarket. Our young man knows nothing about racing, but he is the one chosen to represent the client's interests and discover the cause of the fire and who might be responsible for this loss.
The aforementioned multiple purposes: tutorial on racing in the UK; investigation of murder and family secrets; boy meets girl and finds happiness.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

as usual, the plotline holds water and my interest, but the writing is painfully pedestrian and the romance excruciatingly substandard. at least dick francis knew himself well enough to keep romance to a minimum in his marvelous books (i've read every one) as i expect he knew writing about romantic or sexual situations wasn't something he could do well. his son should try the same....

[Elaine Tomasso · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to thank Netgalley and Simon & Schuster UK Fiction for an advance copy of Crisis, a stand alone novel set in Newmarket, featuring lawyer turned crisis manager, Harrison "Harry" Foster.

When a fire at the Chadwick training yard kills Derby favourite, Prince of Troy, and several other horses its owner, Sheikh Karim, asks Simpson White Consultancy and specifically Harry to protect his interests in the matter and find out who killed his horses. In Newmarket, knowing nothing about horses or racing, Harry's task gets more difficult when human remains are found in the fire debris and the Chadwicks prove less than open.

I thoroughly enjoyed Crisis which is an exciting thriller with plenty of twists and turns. There are no surprises in the format with a straightforward first person narrative from Harry and a linear timeline which make for easy, clear reading, some danger for the protagonist which ramps up the tension and keeps the reader turning the pages, a little romance to expand the characterisation and an explosive ending to give the reader a sense of satisfaction. It's a winning formula that had me engrossed from start to finish. Is it plausible? Probably not, but realism doesn't play much of a part in a good thriller which this is. I found myself constantly wondering what was coming next and was constantly surprised by what did. It is a very assured and well put together novel.

I don't know much about horse racing (but more than Harry) and I found the snippets of information about it that appear on a regular basis fascinating as they are interesting but not overwhelming.

As with all thrillers characterisation is not the strongest suit so Harry is interchangeable with many Francis protagonists. He is smart, quick thinking and well able to take care of himself as well as honourable and incorruptible. His love at first sight affair is not the most probable for a clear thinking man but he's apparently a risk taker so I assume this is the proof.

Crisis is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

[Shelba · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF… it’s been over two weeks and I haven’t even made it through the first chapter. How terribly dry the writing is, I know I’d likely never finish this.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this novel. Harrison Foster is a crisis investigator for a London firm. The agents travel anywhere in the world to mitigate problems. In this case, a fire at a race horse barn in Newmarket causes Harrison to be sent north to represent Sheikh Karim, the owner of two dead horses, one which was favoured to win the Derby. Harrison has no knowledge of racing or of horses. He meets Oliver Chadwick and his three sons, all involved in training and riding race horses. When the firemen get the blaze extinguished, they discover a human body in the ashes.

I enjoyed this quick read. Harrison was an interesting character, resourceful and tenacious in learning the secrets of the Chadwick family.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was less intense than works by Dick Francis....ok Felix doesn’t want to be compared to his dad, he should be judged on his own merit. The book was a primer on horses and horse racing as much as a mystery. As much as I liked Harry and Kate I think Felix should stick with horse mysteries and forget writing romance. Guess I wasn’t prepared for that aspect of the book and really didn’t think it added anything. And the essence of the plot was unappealing to me.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Martin Jarvis is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel.

[Carol Jones-Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Crisis, Felix Francis returns to form. Unlike Pulse, which was essentially about mental illness, and Triple Crown, which was set in America, and seriously misrepresented security arrangements at major American tracks, we are back in the center of the world of British horse racing. The descriptions of Newmarket training establishments, race tracks, sales rings and so on, couldn't be better. The plot is intricate, but plausible, and the local police are portrayed in a realistic way. I also enjoyed the romantic sub-plot which meshed nicely with the mystery. Altogether a good effort.
It's very interesting to read Felix Francis's book "Crisis" as Harry and his business cards say I was one Harrison Foster, Legal Consultant, but he was known universally as Harry and his specialty was crisis management.

A superbly written and thoroughly enjoyable thriller in the absolute best of the Francis tradition. The author weaves a tantalizing tale of family dynamics and drama around the horseracing world in his own unique, word smithy way. The protagonist is profoundly likeable and the plot engaging, as he goes about his business in an unlikely career, logically and painstakingly solving a complex puzzle filled with strange events, alarming moments, and strong personalities.

Interestingly, as the tale turns inevitably darker and more troubling, the mood is offset by several laugh-out-loud and lighter moments. The characters are well drawn, each fascinating in his or her own way, the bits of historical trivia interesting, and I confess a little romance on the side does not go amiss to keep things interesting and upbeat. In fact (and perhaps strangely), as dark as the book was, it let it be enjoyed by his boxmates and himself. This was his first trip to a race course'
my most anticipated read of the year each autumn lives up to all expectations. Well done, indeed. Can't wait to read it again. The book CRISIS is the thirteenth Francis novel written by Felix
or Dick Francis, Felix's father had written thirty nine books prior to his death. I find that I like Dick's books a little better then Felix's, but he seems to be getting better in his writing.

PS: I can't help but wonder what Dick Francis would think of a book where the hero doesn't care much for horses (to say the least). I like to think he'd be greatly amused as today's crisis involved a murder--not that anyone knew it at the time.

A colorless lead and a tacked-on romantic subplot mar Francis’s unmemorable eighth novel set in the English horse racing world chronicled by his father (after 2017’s Pulse). Small-town lawyer Harry Foster gets a new lease on life when he lands a position with Simpson White Consultancy, a crisis management firm. Despite Foster’s complete ignorance about horses, he’s dispatched to Newmarket to represent the interests of Sheikh Ahmed Karim, a charismatic Arab king who has “made lasting peace” in the Middle East. The sheikh’s prize horse, Prince of Troy, who was expected to easily win the Derby, died in a fire that also killed six other colts. Foster is charged with ascertaining whether the blaze was accidental or arson, a task that becomes trickier when the body of an unidentified woman, who was dead before the fire started, is found in the stables where the animals were housed. The lawyer’s efforts aren’t appreciated by either the police or members of the dysfunctional Chadwick family, who were responsible for training and caring for Prince of Troy (the prize winning horse). The clichéd denouement lacks the younger Francis’s usual inventiveness. Fans will hope for a return to form next time.

They continue to look for who killed their wife and mother.

I know I'm not the only Dick and Felix Francis Fan in this massive group of people in Goodreads. This book has both Felix and Dick's names on the cover. Found that interesting. Maybe they wrote it
together. Anyway I enjoyed it very much and recommend.
Finally, a Felix Francis book that is every bit as good as dads. What an excellent story. Great Characters. Love, hate, murder, greed, shame, envy, secrets and romance...all of the qualities of a great mystery. Good Job Felix. As you said in this book..a great father is a hard act to follow. Dad would be proud. An avid Fracis fan. I've read almost every one. Most of them more than once.

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

What if Dick Francis never wrote novels and what you started with was a Felix Francis novel. When do we stop comparing the son to the father. Their styles are completely different. Dick Francis wrote in your face, mano a mano novels where the hero set out to defeat a evil plot in the horse racing world, typically taking the evildoers to the cleaners himself, but not before he faced extreme pressure to give up. As I have said before, a Felix Francis books lacks the early Dick Francis's pacing, wording and ties to horse racing, but he does know how to paint the numbers. He has overcome the stylistic differences between his writing in some instances. I felt, however, that this was not one of them.

"Crisis", Felix Francis latest murder mystery set tangentially in the English horse racing world, has a good little murder mystery at its heart and a decent hero sort, who shows some spine and lust. But this is just a good book, nothing spectacular and maybe that is what we should continue to look forward to.

There is a lot of good horse racing information. From a brief walk through of an auctioneer area, to morning gallops of the trainers and information about signing horses up for runs. But the information is dropped in as if we are observing from afar or reading something written just to be inserted therein. It lacks punch and vitality.

Harrison Foster, the nattily dressed hero is a "crisis manager", who is investigating the death of seven horses trained by Ryan Chadwick at a training yard that used to be owned by his father Oliver Chadwick. Tony Chadwick is a jockey who rides for the family. The horses are owned by Foster's client Sheikh Karim. He soon learns that human remains were found at the scene of the fire, and picks up another client, Declan Chadwick, Ryan's brother who is suspected of killing the victim, who turns out to be a relative of the Chadwick men.

While the early going of the book establishes Foster's bona fides and that he knows nothing about the horse racing world, it takes a little time to do so, but reads okay.

But Francis's book bogs down in the middle because he telegraphs "Why" the victim of the crime was suffering psychotic episodes way too early and the "Who" is limited to just a small coterie of of the Chadwick men Also, the novel feels a little too soap opera like. Feuding brothers, dominating father, cowed mothers, women in their cups way too early in the morning, the tropes are standard mystery fare.

Its been said many times that Dick Francis mostly failed to have female love interests in his novels. But Felix Francis has never been shy to include some love interest, so this book also has Foster finding true love.

Foster will be stuck in a barn with a violent horse, and has all the spine of previous Francis heroes and will have to use some wit to figure out the killer but it takes a long time coming.

Not my favorite read.

But if you never read a Dick Francis novel, maybe you will be satisfied with this work.

But for the rest of us, its a good mystery, but not a "Dick Francis Novel"

[Jennifer Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

We got about an hour in to listening to this one before turning it off. All that listening and nothing registered. I think it was the narrator though and would get the actual book if I tried this author again.

[Ken Mattes · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy Dick Francis novels and his style of writing. You will enjoy his son, Felix Francis books too.

[Eleanor Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superbly written and thoroughly enjoyable thriller in the absolute best of the Francis tradition. The author weaves a tantalizing tale of family dynamics and drama around the horseracing world in his own unique, wordsmithy way. The protagonist is profoundly likeable and the plot engaging, as he goes about his business in an unlikely career, logically and painstakingly solving a complex puzzle filled with strange events, alarming moments, and strong personalities.

Interestingly, as the tale turns inevitably darker and more troubling, the mood is offset by several laugh-out-loud and lighter moments. The characters are well drawn, each fascinating in his or her own way, the bits of historical trivia interesting, and I confess a little romance on the side does not go amiss to keep things interesting and upbeat. In fact (and perhaps strangely), as dark as the book was, it left this reader quite upbeat.

My most anticipated read of the year each autumn lives up to all expectations. Compelling, enjoyable storytelling. Well done, indeed.

PS: I can't help but wonder what Dick Francis would think of a book where the hero doesn't care much for horses (to say the least). I like to think he'd be greatly amused.

[H.L. Carpenter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insta-love and a flat hero took a few stars off the rating; the approach of using a non-horse-loving hero added one back and no doubt proved useful for teaching readers a lot about English horse racing without having to resort to an info dump; overuse of the word "hence" to the point of annoyance took that star back. A reviewer on Amazon promised to personally pay Felix Francis a dollar if he never used the word "hence" again--soooooo agree! Hence, three stars. :)

[John Reis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally, my frustration with Felix has long been that he is wordy, unnecessarily.

Harry Foster is a crisis manager who has been hired by a Saudi Prince to look after horses he has purchased. Harry is single and does not like his parents much. I’m getting sick and tired of these scenarios. He does not bring it up again, so why bother writing about it.

Halfway through, I think this is Felix‘s best solo work. He has finally gotten his father‘s knack for mayhem, torture, suspense and a smattering of cheerful people.

Harry is sent to the Chadwick family stables the day after a fire breaks out and kill seven horses. Oliver Chadwick has recently given the reins of the stables to his son Ryan. His son Tony is a jockey, and his son Declan runs a stable nearby. Later Harry learns there’s a body in the stables as well. He learns the body is that of a troubled sister, Zoe.

Harry begins to investigate Zoe‘s life, in the hope that that will lead him to the cause for the fire that killed the horses, which is his job. He meets a young woman named Kate and immediately falls in love with her. His life is put in danger when he is trapped in a stable with a extremely agitated horse. He survives and continues his investigation ultimately learning the deep dark ancient Chadwick family secret.

In the end, he asks Kate to marry him.

Halfway through this book I was thinking he finally hit his stride, but I’m not happy with the deep dark family secret and its aftermath. I liked this one better than “Triple Crown”, but less than “Crisis.”

[Ellen Klock · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the advantages of having children is to have a blood relation to carry on the family business. It definitely worked for Dick Francis whose mystery novels surrounding the horse racing community have been ably carried on by his son Felix. It didn’t work out so well for the loathsome family featured in the newest Francis novel, Crisis.

Seems that the children of renowned trainer Oliver Chadwick are a constant disappointment to their father. The eldest, Ryan, is making a muck out of the Chadwick Stables, youngest son Tony, as a jockey, can’t seem to ride a winning horse, and middle son Declan has started his own stable and is actually stealing horses from his brother’s top customer. Estranged daughter Zoe, the baby of the family, is not even worth mentioning.

Their life is further exasperated by a tragic fire which has killed seven horses, including Prince of Troy, the anticipated Derby Winner. Everyone is in a dither, from the staff, to the firemen, to the police, to the early bettors, to the stable managers, not to mention the owners of the deceased animals. Sheikh Ahmed Karim has called upon the talents of Lawyer Harrison (Harry) Foster, employee of Simpson White Consultancy, whose job it is to smooth over various crisis and keep them from morphing into an even big disaster. Harry needs to quickly get to the bottom of this mess and find out who is responsible for Prince of Troy’s death. His focus is on The Sheikh’s reputation, not those of the dysfunctional Chadwick family who definitely have something to hide.

With a bit of suspense, a bit of romance, and a whole lot of horse racing, we are back in the saddle as another horse mystery is solved. Using a protagonist who is woefully ignorant about anything to do with horses, Francis is able to gracefully explain the ins and outs of the racing community without being preachy. A quick read touching all the right bases, this one was a Christmas present for my mom (I just read it before it was wrapped) - Four Stars.

[Tien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harrison Foster is a lawyer, a crisis manager, with a mind that never stops spinning was sent to Newmarket after a stable fire killed 7 horses with 2 being owned by a client of the firm he was working for. While it appears to be a straight forward job, it soon became immediately apparent that there was a lot more to the stable fire than an accident. Especially when a body of an unknown person was found there. There begins Harry's plunge into the world of horse racing and a particularly dysfunctional tight-lipped family on which this mystery centred.

Harry sounds like a run-off-the-mill sort of guy who, in his late 30s and single, does not appear to have much interest in his life but his work. He loves his job but his current assignment is taking a lot more out of him than the usual. His brain won't let up though and he's keen for justice to be brought for the dead body. Crisis was an easy listening audiobook for me, even if I'm not that interested in horses or know anything about racing/betting, but the mystery itself wasn't a biggie to me. I did like the ending though -turned out to be a rather sweet romance, after all.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harry is an attorney working as a crisis manager when his firm is hired to investigate the death of the racehorse, Prince of Troy, by the horse’s owner. The horse along with others , died in a fire at his trainers stables and, shortly after Harry’s arrival, human remains are also found. As Harry investigates the circumstances at the Chadwick Family Stables he realizes that there is a secret being kept that may hold the key to why Prince of Troy died. As we observe Harry unravel the motivations and passions at play within the Caldwell family, we also observe him falling in love. This makes for an exciting mystery with an opportunity to learn something about horse racing and a nice love story as a bonus.

[Gerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fast paced thriller from Francis. Good story telling, well written, well defined characters, especially the very likeable Harry Foster, the lawyer cum crisis manager brought in to investigate a devastating fire at Ryan Chadwick's racing stables that kills seven horses, including the Derby favourite.

Ryan is one of a family of Chadwicks involved in racing including father Oliver, brother and fellow trainer Declan and younger half brother, jockey Tony.

It soon becomes clear that the fire is anything but an accident and as the story unfolds, so too do dark family secrets surface.

Not quite as good as Guilty, Not Guily that I read last week but a great read nonetheless.

[Jerry B · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s silly to keep comparing Felix to his famous dad Dick Francis, as all their collective tales feature clean-cut, intelligent leading men; puzzling mysteries, usually with a race-track setting or theme; and entertaining stories with typically few explicit scenes of violence or obscenities.

“Crisis” is an excellent epitome of the collection, with star Harry Foster, a smart agent for a crisis management consulting firm, sent to oversee details of a wealthy client’s thoroughbred horse death due to a stable fire. When a human body is discovered in same, Harry sticks around to unravel what really happened and, almost more importantly, why. The motives involve a complicated set of family inter-relationships that perhaps run a little darker than usual. Felix tries to break up the story with a fledgling romance between Harry and a young woman he meets during the case – maybe not the most believable angle of the tale.

With well-drawn characters, a plot with complicated circumstances, a mystery well-solved, and a little love story to boot – who can complain?!

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Felix continues rolling out the hits in my opinion and would make his father pride. And I won't lie: I've liked his books more than Dick's books (in the minority, I know, or at least those admitting to it). I've read each one and this is the longest it took me to get to the latest book. This might be my favorite lead character yet. Francis does a good job of showing why someone who's not an investigator is suddenly thrust into that role. This one does not really have the danger or thrills of past books, and that's fine with me. In fact, the one instance where there is a bit of danger, it feels rather forced and unnecessary.

In "Crisis", the Chadwick family surely has some family secrets, and it's up to Harrison Foster to figure out what exactly they aren't telling him so that he can solve a murder that somehow ties to the stable fire he was sent to "crisis manage" for a client. He spends a week with the family and slowly it all unfolds. You'll relish each new clue given as our hero gets closer to the truth of why the fire was started.

"Crisis" has great characters, and to be honest, I won't be a bit surprised if we see Harry Foster again in the future. My only problem with a lot of these books is the setting is pretty similar and involve horses (of course!), so I have a hard time remembering a lot of these stories a year later. But our main character knows nothing about horses or horse racing, which is kind of refreshing. Of course, that just gives an excuse for an author to teach us more about the subject, which given his parentage, is something he obviously knows a lot about.

[More Books Than Time · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best one I read by Felix. Some of his earlier novels were dark, with hero morally ambiguous but this one had a strong virtuous hero and some reprehensible villains. More like Dick Francis wrote.

[Myrna Gottlieb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crisis is a slightly below average entry in the series of British horseracing mysteries begun in 1962 by the former jockey Dick Francis. I read and reread all the early books and loved most of them. (as did my husband). Dick Francis passed away about 10 years ago; and his son Felix Francis has taken over the franchise and is writing a book every year.

The main problem I had with Crisis is the characters, all of whom are unlikeable. The villains are evil (the family secret that drives the story is beyond evil); and the main character, Harrison Foster, the guy I should be rooting for, came up short. I was not engaged by him, his life story, his problems. And his perfect true love, the lady he met and successfully courted during the course of the tale-I wasn't rooting for her either. Love at first sight for both of them. No nuances, no complications - they both wanted to jump into bed and spend the rest of their lives together, which led up to the expected happy ending. Lazy writing, imho. Harry Foster, the hero of this book, is no Sid Halley. If he appears in a future book, I'll pass on that one.

Also it was not until the last 100 pages that the book became a page turner for me. So why am I rating it three stars? There is so much interesting information about horses and horse racing in Britain. The human heart is approximately the size of a fist; the heart of a race horse is more like the size of a basketball. And the great Secretariat's heart was twice that size- pumping red blood with every breath while the horse was running. There is information about betting with the bookmakers-customers can go from shop to shop looking for the best odds; customers can bet way in advance of a race, taking a chance the horse will not be scratched. (a bonanza for bookmakers- no refunds) . And there are all different kinds and combinations of bets to be made, There is also fascinating material about the sales and auctions for purchasing race horses, where big money changes hands just on spec. And horses are still sold using the old-fashioned currency guineas, not pounds or euros.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harry is a lawyer working for a company who deals with crisis management. His latest assignment is in Newmarket where a trainer has lost 7 racehorses in a fire.

He meets the Chadwick family who are on edge with each other and there is obviously secrets they are not revealing.

This was my first Francis book and it won't be my last. It was fast paced, easy to read and interesting. I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more by him.

[Kath · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was my ex-husband that got me reading Dick Francis and I have to say that this is probably one of the few positive things that came out of the marriage! I then went on to binge all that I had missed and gobbled up every new one that was released. And then we moved on to collaborations with Felix and now, finally, Felix's solo books. And I have to say that the transition has almost been seamless quality and substance wise.
In this book we follow Harrison 'Harry' Foster, a crisis manager working for a London firm, as he is summoned to Newmarket to oversee things after a fire at a stables. Prince of Troy, one of the horses killed was owned by his client Sheikh Karim, and also the favourite for the upcoming Derby. He's somewhat thrown in at the deep end as he is not at all familiar with the horse racing scene, so he is on a steep learning curve right from the off. A situation that is not eased by the discovery of human remains in the burnt out stable. But it's his job and he has to get to grips with things quickly but, as he soon discovers, there is so much more to what happened than he could ever imagine.
This was a cracking read from start to finish. For those who are not familiar with the racing scene, please do not shy away from this book just cos it is centred around it, bottom line is that it is in reality, a crime book that just happens to be set in a stables with all that goes on therein being intrinsically woven into the mystery. Anything that is important is explained sufficiently for the reader to understand, especially so here where the main character also knows little of the world in which he is submersed so you kinda learn the salient points together!
As Harry starts to peel back the layers of the events leading up to that fateful night we start to get the picture of a rather dysfunctional family. The Chadwicks are racing royalty with each member playing their part in the scene. The Patriarch is slowing down and passing on his wisdom and assets to his three sons. One of whom has taken over the family stable, another has started a rival stable after a bit of a rift, with the third being still active as a jockey. It soon becomes evident that the rift that has blown them apart has repercussions right through all the family members, especially the estranged sister. But I say too much...
This book has all the elements of a great mystery read. A green protagonist who learns on the job, getting into a bit of trouble along the way, a cast of many deliciously dysfunctional characters, a few twists and turns along the way and a final knock out blow that is sublime in its execution. Oh and there's a smidge of romance thrown in for good measure.
It helped immensely that I really took to Harry right from the start, always nice when that happens. I loved the way he floundered his way through things but also how once he started to gain an understanding of what he was doing, things really did get going as he tapped his every resource to glean further information necessary to fill in all the gaps. His journey and struggles through the majority of the book helped me with the, shall we just call it, schmaltzy ending which I'm not the biggest fan of but was exactly what I was expecting from the author.
Pacing was good, there was also a good balance between the racing scene and the mystery so that those of us without too much interest in horses were well entertained throughout.
The plot was also very well executed. There were enough hints along the way to make it all flow nicely when revealed, subtly delivered at times but evident with hindsight. There were quite a few lightbulb moments as I was reading, some of which burned brighter than others, many of which fizzled out quite quickly. Yes I saw some thing happening just before they were revealed but the full story was never wholly visible to me until the whole truth came out in the book.
All in all, another winner to add to the Francis stable. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick and enjoyable read. The plot was interesting and I liked the crisis manager premise even if it did feel a bit far fetched. There were things that bothered me, but they didn't keep me from liking the story overall. The romance could have been nice if it had developed just a bit more slowly at the start she talked obsessively about him all night based on what seemed like a few minutes of conversation where they learned nothing about each other?, but it was a little too insta-love. I liked the idea of the main character not knowing about horses, but sometimes it felt overdone with him being laughed at for questions that didn't seem incredibly obvious (unless the general horse racing knowledge in England is much greater than it is in the U.S.) and at other times he seemed to effortlessly describe details he would be unlikely to understand (although I'm glad he did because the book could have gotten very tedious otherwise). Also, there were times it felt like transitions could have been smoother, at least towards the beginning there were some info dumps and a lecture about how bad fire is that felt a bit awkward.