Bolt

Kit Fielding #2

by Dick Francis

Kit Fielding will do whatever it takes to stop the killing of racehorses. Not an easy task considering that the woman he adores is leaving him, an international arms dealer is threatening him, and Kit's nemesis has plans to knock him off the track—and plant him under it.

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

372 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1986

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]

Jockey Kit Fielding returns for a second appearance in this novel from Dick Francis, and he faces all sorts of problems. He's engaged to the love of his life, Danielle, but he fears that she is slipping away from him and that she may be losing enthusiasm for the prospect of life as a jockey's wife. The fact that she's gone of to Italy in the company of a sophisticated prince to look at Italian Renaissance paintings, isn't helping Kit's mood much.

But, while he worries about his future with Danielle, Kit is suddenly faced with more pressing problems. He rides several horses owned by Danielle's aunt, Princess Casilia. The princess, in turn, is married to Roland de Brescou, a member of the French aristocracy, who is a partner in a French construction company. De Brescou is an elderly man with a debilitating illness and he rarely leaves his room in the couple's London mansion.

Sadly, de Brescou's original partner has died, and the partner's shares in the company have been inherited by a particularly nasty character named Henri Nanterre. Nanterre wants the company to go into business of manufacturing guns for the world arms trade, but de Brescou steadfastly refuses, thinking that such a move would be immoral.

Nanterre can take no action without de Brescou's signature on the contract and he is determined to get it at any cost. He threatens everyone in the family, Kit included, with great bodily harm, or worse. He also threatens to kill the horses belonging to the Princess. In short, this is not a very genteel kind of a guy.

It will be up to Kit to try to foil Nanterre's scheme and to protect de Brescou's family and himself in the process. He will also have to foil the prince who may have designs on Danielle, and so he's in for a few hectic days.

This is a fairly good book, typical of most Dick Francis novels. Kit Fielding is a worthy protagonist, and the plot moves quickly along. If I have any complaint, it lies in the fact that, for all of the dire threats leveled by Henri Nanterre, and in spite of the truly despicable things that he actually does, there didn't seem to be as much tension in this book as there usually is in a novel by Dick Francis. This may result from that fact that, unlike in most of Francis's novels, here we know who the bad guy is from the start, and that drains some of the usual mystery and suspense from the book. A solid 3.5 stars, but not quite as good as the best books in the series.

[Cherisa B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doing what needs to be done and getting others to help clear-eyed and straight. I just love how Francis writes his protagonists. Kit Fielding is one of my favs.

[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.

[W]

Champion horses are being shot and Kit Fielding has more on his plate,having to contend with a black market arms dealer as well as an enemy of his family.The book gallops along nicely to the finish line at a brisk enough pace.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthy follow up to Break In. It's great to spend another book with the ever-capable Kit. It was also neat to spend more time with the princess, meet her husband, and get to know them better. It's a bit disappointing to me that Kit's sister Holly and her husband, who featured so heavily in Break In, never appear.

The book synopsis here on Goodreads is laughably inaccurate. Someone is shooting horses and there is an arms dealer but beyond that the synopsis is pretty bogus. Having successfully defended his brother-in-law against a pair of news barons, Kit is asked to do the same for the princess's frail husband against a very hostile business takeover. Meanwhile he must deal with the possibility of losing his fiancée Danielle to a debonair prince, and protect himself from Maynard's hostility. Maynard, now a Steward, has all sorts of power over Kit, still a jockey, and after events in Break In is now actively trying to ruin him.

Kit is under a lot more strain in this book, having to deal with events that hit home with him more personally than his sister's troubles did. He's a bit less of a badass here, which may be why I prefer Break In over Bolt, but his struggles are powerfully written.

There's a very memorable scene involving a character hanging precariously from a roof and Kit's race to rescue them. There's also Kit's hugely entertaining battle with the bull-headed and excessively entitled Aunt Beatrice, liberally aided and abetted by the princess. The ending is more than a little horrifying and has always stayed with me. Again, powerfully written.

Predictably the arms dealer is described as having "olive skin and a heavy dark mustache". He gives an alias of Mohammed and Kit guesses that he's "Arab, in some way...Definitely Mediterranean, not Italian, perhaps French." The stereotype doesn't extend beyond that that I can tell, but it's still present.

It's slightly distressing to me that the threats to Danielle have nothing to do with her high-powered job, which she obviously loves, and everything to do with her body - physical harm, the loss of her beauty (via acid in her face). However, it makes sense in context. The villain has a large physical presence and thinks in terms of physical threats to everyone, not just Danielle. However, there's a telling exchange between Kit and Danielle - she doesn't want to report the vandalism of her car (and her near assault) to the police because "They think any young woman driving alone in the middle of the night is asking for trouble."

Profession in Focus: None, beyond the horseracing

Protagonist as a Memorable Character: High. Kit Fielding is one of only two protagonists Francis has used more than once. He first appeared in Break In.

Relation to Horses: High. Kit is a steeplechase jockey and the princess owns a large stable of racehorses. Kit has ridden her horses for years.

Love Interest: Yes, though this isn't Francis's usual tale of finding love.

Abrupt Ending: Yes. Most Francis novels end abruptly once the killer has been discovered and/or incapacitated instead of taking time to ease the reader down gradually.

[Lata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have I ever told how much I love Dick Francis and his Heroes? May be over a 100 times? Or more?
Review to Come once I stop gushing over Dick Francis's books.
OR read the 4 and 5 * reviews, while I go on gushing 😊

[E.P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Bolt" is a bit darker than its predecessor "Break In," dealing as it does with arms trading and the murder of horses. While "Break In," for all its villainy, was at its core a fairly lighthearted thing, "Bolt" takes the same characters and puts them in danger of losing their actual lives, not just their honor. "Break In" introduced us to the extremely personable Christmas (Kit) Fielding, his sister Holly, and the charming de Brescous, including most especially the lovely Danielle, with whom Kit falls deeply in love, and mixes them up with some people intent on ruining their reputations; "Bolt" brings in actual sordid evil deeds and villains who are willing to kill to get their way.

One of the particularly charming things about both the Kit Fielding books is the way they harken back to old-fashioned, romantic notions of honor, feuds, and aristocracy. They're set in what is recognizably the mid-1980s, when they were written, but everyone lives a kind of old-fashioned lifestyle, either training horses or being aristocrats, and lives according to old-fashioned principles. While one can criticize the aristocracy for many things, the *idea* of dealing with honor is certainly attractive, and Francis uses that in a way that works while still seeming natural.

The vivid sensory details that Francis uses so well are also deployed in full force here, with everything from the wallpaper of the Princess's house to the cream that Kit's rival for Danielle's affections eats for breakfast described in life-like detail. As a side note, Francis novels always make me extremely hungry, especially for toast; the fact that his jockey characters are always watching their weight makes the descriptions of food especially enticing.

"Bolt" has not just the earthy sensual details one would expect from a Francis novel, though, but is one of the first ones in which he began developing the particular lyricism that would be notable in several of the novels from the late 80s and early 90s, peaking and ending with "To the Hilt" and "Wild Horses," in which his characters achieved heightened spiritual states through contact with nature. The ending of "Bolt" is bittersweet, ambiguous, and beautiful, the clean natural world of horses finally winning out over the dirty, sordid world of petty human greed and ambition. A must-read for Francis fans, and for anyone who loves horses or wonders why people do.

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

In his sequel to Break In, Francis shows his old racing colors to advantage. Champion jockey Kit Fielding whom I've come to hugely admire. He's awesome--again proves his mettle when Henri Nanterre, the ruthless business partner of his fiancee's uncle, tries to convert their road construction company into an armaments enterprise. Nanterre threatens the life of Princess Casilia, his partner's wife, who also owns many of Kit's mounts. Nanterre is foiled, but then some of the princess's horses are found dead, killed, ironically, by captive-bullet bolt guns designed for ""humane'' deaths. This makes my blood boil when they damage and kill the horses.

Next come several near-lethal attacks against humans, including Kit's Danielle, and our Kit must devise a plan to thwart Nanterre for good. Soon Danielle has second thoughts about sharing the dangers of a steeplechaser's life. Maynard Allardeck, racing steward and hereditary enemy of the Fielding family, reappears and makes Kit's life even more difficult. The characterization isn't especially profound, but the plot races along wonderfully well, right up to a jolting twist at the end.
Really good book. Highly recommend.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just re-read this one. Dick Francis is a wonder...fantastic mystery! Read Break-In first.

[Debbie]

what can i say? books and horses

[Simon Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whilst all the hallmarks of a Francis hero are present here; upright, generous, modest this story does at least stray from the more formulaic of some of his novels.

There is peril for the Kit Fielding but there is also peril for many of the people surrounding him too which makes a bit of a change. There are two intertwined stories here and to get full enjoyment of the subplot you will really need to have read the first Kit Fielding novel: Break In.

An above average Francis with a leading man, like Sid Halley, who really should have been developed into a character who starred in more novels.

[Paul Groffie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not read a Dick Francis book that I didn’t like. The story was compelling and the ending a Francis classic!

[Kara Jorges · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dick Francis returns us to the world of jockey Kit Fielding, who we met in an earlier novel. Kit is engaged to the beautiful Danielle, but their relationship seems to be on the rocks. Lately, Danielle seems rather distant to Kit, and he worries he may be losing her to another man. The story begins at the races, where Kit is riding for Princess Casilia deBrescou, a fine woman who owns several racehorses she enjoys watching at various racetracks. Kit and the princess are fairly close, and after the races he finds her speaking with a very rude man. At her request, Kit comes home with her, to the palatial London house where she lives with her businessman husband Roland and Kit’s fiancée Danielle. Another cousin, Prince Litsi, an apparent rival for Danielle’s affections, and Beatrice Bunt, Roland’s unpleasant sister, are also in residence. Kit talks with the princess and her husband and finds that the rude man is Roland deBrescou’s business partner from France, Henri Nanterre, who wants Roland to sign papers agreeing to use a plastic they had developed in the making of firearms. Roland is highly opposed to the idea and refuses, and that’s when the trouble starts.

In the middle of the night, someone goes to the stable where the princess’ horses are kept and shoots two of them with a bolt, a humane killer used by veterinarians. One of the horses was a particularly fine prospect for the Grand National. Additionally, a man follows Danielle on her way out of work one night, and she flees to call Kit for help. Henri Nanterre is behind the attacks, and even Roland’s sister Beatrice is a spy. Beatrice wants the money Nanterre promised her, if she could get Roland to sign the papers enabling his company to make guns. Nanterre calls the deBrescou house often, making dire threats. Roland is near to signing off on the guns, but Kit persuades him not to. Instead, Kit hires a guard and a dog to patrol the stable where the princess’ horses are kept, and also hires a bodyguard for Roland for the times when he and Litsi aren’t at home. Nanterre plans an attack on Litsi that almost kills him, and then Kit and Litsi decide to make plans of their own to trap Nanterre.

Nanterre falls into their trap, and they effectively save the future of the deBrescou family. It seems like life is about to go back to normal, but Francis throws in one more twist at the finish, neatly tying up the last loose end.
Like all Dick Francis books, Bolt was delightfully English, peopled with likeable characters. While there wasn’t a great mystery for us to solve, he leaves us waiting breathlessly for something to happen at every turn. We know who the villain is from the very beginning in this book, and it’s the reaction of our hero that keeps us turning pages. The delicate social balance between the characters is intriguing, as well. There just aren’t any bad Dick Francis books.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audible version: It was fun to spend another few hours with Kit Fielding and his horses, though I did like the first book in the pair better. This one has Kit figuring out how to save the princess and her husband from a scheming business partner. He's still the same well-mannered, clever dude he was in the first book, but this one stretches a bit too far in how it has too many people relying on Kit too heavily when there were plenty of smarter, less intrusive solutions for the incredibly wealthy princess. Still, it was an enjoyable listen and I'm looking forward to more from Dick Francis.

[Theo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dick Francis only ever returned to two main characters: Sid Halley and Kit Fielding. I'm not entirely sure why but possibly because Halley, as a detective, was a good option for the treatment. Fielding is not and he didn't even have a gap between the returns so maybe it was just that he had two different plots in mind for the character and decided to do them both.

This second Kit Fielding book doesn't really hit the highs of the previous one, despite being more of a classic Francis thriller. There are three big reasons, the first being that it leans heavily on the old cliche of "they got together perfectly in love at the end of the last one so in order to have a love story running through this they have to be having a rocky time of it". Of course we know in these books the love story will work out in the end so it almost feels a slog here that we have to endure this wheel-spinning side plot.

Big reason two is probably of little consequence to some, but there's an Asian shopkeeper depiction at one point which is racist. It has no real weight to the plot, leaving you with the impression Francis just wanted to get something off his chest about Asians and/or Asian shopkeepers. Every aspect of it is unkind and left me quite uncomfortable reading it. Probably only takes a couple of pages but non-white characters are rare enough in Francis's books so it's jarring when one of the few instances is so negative.

The third issue is simply that our villainous characters are far too much. Allerdeck is back but the age old feud and the work that went into Break-In make him seem entirely correct. Whereas here we have Nanterre who is like a strange cross between T-1000 and Goldfinger, as well as Aunt Beatrice who is a caricature too far.

It's a shame because there is a good plot here and it's very much in classic thriller territory. If it had been dialled down a little then or if there had been some slightly more intense motivations I'd have been giving back a star. As it is, this one is certainly a fine readable tale but it's a shame the second character Francis brings back isn't in another Whip Hand.

[Connie N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

#2 in the Kit Fielding mystery series

I am a total Francis fan! His heroes are what makes his stories so good. They are always intelligent and talented, with a strong core. When they become involved in some sort of mystery, they deal with it in an unobtrusive and effective way, showing themselves to be resourceful and thoughtful. In this case, we've already met Kit, a prominent jockey, and have seen him become involved with and engaged to Danielle. Although now things are a little rocky in their relationship as she realizes the day-to-day dangers of his profession. I loved the Princess, owner of several horses that Kit rides, and a knowledgeable and compassionate lady. When she is threatened, she asks Kit to help. He does and, ironically, also enlists the help of her nephew, Prince Litsi, who is looking like he's making a play for Danielle too. All the characters are warm and approachable, and the mystery is interesting without being too complicated. The story moved very quickly, and I couldn't stop turning the pages to see what would happen. As always, an excellent read.

[Chhavi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly remembered nothing of the plot, not the Danielle angle, not the visiting prince, not the pink-haired Beatrice nor the bully menace; I'd even forgotten the four gruesome, heart-wrenching deaths! But, through it all, I kept thinking I knew who used the bolt -- and in that, I was right.
Crackling good story!

[Saksham Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book! It is a mystery novel in which the protagonist is trying hard to catch the murderers of horses, while he faces other personal hurdles in his life. This is a good story describing his journey to solve criminal cases while managing other issues like his fear of losing his fiance's love because of his risky job as a jockey.

[Mikki Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

love and hate and greed in equal measure

[Lin L Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much, much better than I remember it being

This book is so well done that you root all the way through for the protagonist. Francis was always extremely good at creating likeable characters. When Kit Fielding has solved the immediate problem, late in the book, he realizes that another has presented itself. He rushes to the rescue, but is not in time. How this second mystery is solved is truly reflective of Francis's magic, because the ending is both resonant and truly touching.
This is the second of two books starring Kit Fielding, but you do not need to have read the first one, "Break In," to enjoy this. Fielding is one of two heroes that Francis reused, the other being his iconic Sid Halley.

I admit to being more than a little pro-Dick Francis. I began reading his books when I was a teenager, and I am now about ready for the gerontologist. His career was long and illustrious for a reason. He and his wife together were a stunning pair of writers.

You can never go wrong with Dick Francis. But if you want the real gold, do make sure that his name is the only one listed as author. His son writes "Dick Francis' [title] by Felix Francis" books. They are adequate, but he does not have the gift of creating likable characters that his father did.

Dick Francis wrote around 30 novels, so if you've just discovered him, congratulations - you have a lot of good reading ahead of you!

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kit Fielding #2 - Kit's patron, Princess Casilia is upset - her husband's (Roland Brescou) business partner (Henri Nanterre) is threatening to expand his business to plastic guns, and insists that M. Brescou sign the papers or else. Kit tells them to hold their ground, but now the princess's best horses are being killed with a humane "bolt". Danielle, the princess' niece and Kit's finance, is chased after work one evening through some dark London streets after two of her car tires are flattened, and another of the princess's relatives (Prince Litsi) falls from a high viewing platform under construction at a race track, and would have been killed if not for Kit's quick actions to the crowd to drop their coats below him. Kit has to come up with a plan to outwit Henri Nanterre but learns too late that there is another person that wants him dead.

This book was not as exciting as some others, lots of talking, thinking and planning - only average.

[Scoats · Rating 5 out of 5]

I understand why Dick Francis thought every book would be his last. Making something this flawless must have been really draining. Great plot, great placing, great characters, great twists, and above all amazing smooth, tight prose that appears to be effortless. The sort of effortlessness that totally belies the amount of effort that most likely went in.

Once again set in the racing world. Kit Fleming, who appears in another Francis book I read eons ago, is back. The horse racing world wouldn't ordinarily interest me, but Dick Francis was just that good.

Dick Francis books are readily found at yard sales, thrift stores, and flea markets. They are well worth a buck, if they even cost you that much. They are worth much more, but who can argue with just a lousy buck?

[Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is something comfortable about old and familiar series. Yet, the strange thing is, I never read any of Dick Francis's books growing up, even if we had a name in common. I thought in this particular book his antagonist was weak, not very well developed, nor highly believable. And yet, the story flowed, tension was developed the ending left you satisfied and you cared about the other characters.

There is something comfortable about Dick Francis's writing. I can't put my finger on it, but I enjoy it and I look forward to reading more.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kit Fielding fights to save his employer, the Princess, from destruction of her (husband's) honor. I love Dick Francis, and I do love Kit Fielding, but this was kind of meh. The villain's motivations were pretty weak, the plot dragged for quite a while, and non-love-triangle got super annoying. The end picked up a bit, and the ending was unexpected and satisfying.

[Richard Howes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome. Almost everything Dick Francis wrote is great. To me, he is the best and got me reading again after not having time for the last twenty years. He also inspired my first novel, "The Killer's Co-op". I have a whole shelf of DF novels and I look forward to putting a shelf full of my own right next to his.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is confusing if you haven't read the preceding book Break In (which I hadn't.) The horses are killed rather hideously, which was chilling to read and became gratuitously violent by the book's end. However, the horses would probably have hideous deaths anyway during the races. Kit Fielding is not as likeable as other Francis protagonists. Skip this.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just reread this book, and I loved it as much if not more than the first time I read it. It was nice to be able to read both of the Kit Fielding stories back to back. I highly recommend this author. Dick Francis is the best!

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

And also just reread this book for about the millionth time. Less fun of a read than Break In because worse things happen and Kit isn't in as great a place…but just as compelling and awesome. Where's my Kit Fielding? I've been waiting for him for FOREVER.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of his better ones. Very predictable story about a relative of his fiancé's attempt to force her uncle to sign a business document (he co-owns the business) so the uncle may start making guns out of plastic.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Racist, sexist and formulaic, Dick Francis novels are still often fun. This one, less so than some others.