Snag Nerve By Dick Francis Distributed As Interactive EBook

really something to be said for good old storytelling, I love this guy's characters, They're not quirky or tortured or mediocre in greater measure than anyone else, and yet they're really compelling, Although his books are peppered with sentences like "I shivered from something other than the cold," I'm simply not bothered by it, because his characters are so great and the plot is so fun.
Maybe my having started reading him before I had any training in writing allows me to get along so nicely anyhow I'm extremely pleased to have holed up with this book for two days, neither wanting to stop nor feeling compelled to force myself to stop.
The last time I read a book in two days was probably the last time I read Dick Francis, It takes a special kind of passion, a special kind of nerve to do this, Rob Finn's got it. "Give me a horse and a race to ride it in, and I don't care if I wear silks oror pajamas, I don't care if there's anyone watching or not, I don't care if I don't earn much money, or if I break my bones, or if I have to starve to keep my weight down.
All I care about is racingracingand winning, if I can, "Only two years into a career as a steeplechase jockey, Rob has a reputation for being able to handle tough horses the ones with the bad tempers, the ones who can barely make it round the course without taking a tumble.
"I reckoned if I could gain enough experience on bad horses when nothing much was expected of me, it would stand me in good stead if I ever found myself of better ones.
"Rob gets his first big break when he's asked to ride a young hurdler for James Axminster, a top ranked trainer and quintessential professional.
The horse, like so many of Rob's mounts, had a vile reputation, "But for some reason the wayward animal and I got on very well, " Then Axminster's top jockey takes a bad fall and Rob is drafted to ride the stable's most promising chaser, Template, "He was smooth and steely, and his rocketing spring over the first fence had me gasping, "But all is not well in the racing world, Bad luck, accidents, and even tragedy seems to be dogging one jockey after another, Is it coincidence Rob thinks so until it happens to him, suddenly, time after time, his rides turn bad, Favorites suddenly sluggish finishing dead last, And the rumors start. Rob Finn has lost his nerve, Wonderful pacing, a tight plot, crisp dialog, humor, lots of horsey atmosphere, and a marvelous cast of characters, Dick Francis is a consistent winner, Content warning PG for violence, A big thank you to openlibrary, org for making this available as an eBook, Sadly due to the nature of copyright law, this and many of Mr, Francis" earlier books are unavailable for the Kindle at this time, Once again Dick Francis brings to vivid life the risky business of an amateur steeplechase jockey, The incidents involving the Tank Carrier and the Jaguar blocking the lane reminds me of the comment made in Goldfinger The first time is happenstance.
The second is coincidence and the third is enemy action, This was Mr. Francis" second thriller and his third published book, His first book being his autobiography as the Queen Mother's jockey, His first thriller and second book was Dead Cert, Four and a half for a galloping good read, What I like about Francis" earlier books is that than just "detective" yarns, they are stories, Each character is three dimensional, a person with likes and dislikes, with a past and thoughts and ideas, The attention to detail is enormous, unlike some "golden age" mysteries with plotholes you could drive a horse trailer through, It's interesting that so many of Francis" bad guys are unbalanced, as

if the tendency to do evil implied a form of madness an idea the main character considers throughout the book.
I also like the fact that the mysteries aren't just about physical killing there are many ways to kill a person while still leaving them breathing, as well as the possiblity of driving a person to lose their job, marriage, or life without getting one's own hands dirty or even being seen as involved.
The reason I didn't give this a flatis that I felt the author enjoyed the violent scene a bit too much, The fact that these books are still popularyears on is a tribute to the writer's craft, I know that there has been a hot debate of recent years re:who actually wrote the books, Francis or his wife, but whoever did, the majority of them make riveting reading.
This is the second Dick Francis book that Ive read and I really enjoy them, They arent overly complicated mysteries but they are fast paced and something is always happening, Not to mention his books all have something to do with the horse world, mainly the steeplechase world. With this being Franciss second book I am trying to read them in publication order I can definitely tell his writing has improved but his style remains in tact.
Like his first book, his main characters seems to be a little on the gritty side, boarding on full on questionable, but yet the reader continues to form an attachment to them.
His characters are always fully developed and they realize their limitations and their strengths which I like, I also like a story where the good guys win and the bad guys get their comeuppances, there is a clear resolution and the story doesnt feel unfinished.
I also like that Francis always tries to please female readers with a hint of a romance for the main character, I dont know that its entirely necessary to the plot but it is fun to have a little love interest to break up the horse world and mystery parts as well as show a different side of the main character to the reader.
The dialogue and plot are tight which keeps the plot on track and moving along quickly, Everything has a purpose and advances the mystery, What I think I enjoyed a lot about this book was that it wasnt a murder mystery but yet it unfolded like it was a murder mystery if that makes sense.
I also really enjoy Franciss descriptions of the horse racing world, Not just the race courses and the sport itself but the horses themselves, He does an excellent job at making the reader truly feel the power of the horse and the thrill of racing, As a fellow horse person myself, I find it hard to describe what it is about horses that are so thrilling to non horse peoplehow does one describe the power and elation at clearing a fence on a horse with a mind of its own Its extremely difficult for non horse people to understand and even harder to explain.
. but Francis is able to articulate that feeling for non horse people so well, his readers can scarcely deny his knowledge and descriptions of the race world and the love that comes with being around horses.
See my full review here Rob Finn was a bit of a misfit: a struggling young jockey in a family of accomplished musicians, a man in love with a beautiful woman who wouldn't have him he suddenly looked like a rider who had lost his nerve.
Could it be, though, that the horses were unusually sluggish, and that there was something sinister attempting to sabotage him"The best thriller writer going.
"ATLANTIC MONTHLY If there is one trait above all else that a jockey needs in steeplechase racing, its nerve, Junior jockey Rob Finn has plenty of it, The rest of his family have made it big in the world of classical music, but Rob never fit into that world, instead being drawn to the active and risky world of horse racing.
But just when he had caught his big break and was finally getting rides, wins, and the recognition that goes with it, everything comes tumbling down.
After a nasty fall during a race, a string of last place finishes just about does him in, Theyre saying hes lost his nerve, But to Finns mind, there is something far devious at play and he is determined to discover its source and get his revenge, This is the second published work of fictionby the esteemed Dick Francis, The author was, himself, a champion steeplechase jockey so the horse racing scenes, the preparation activities for each race, and the overall racing business environment always ring true and full of authenticity.
I think what I like best about Dick Francis novels is the way they are structured not just as detective or mystery plots, but as genuine stories.
This novel, like most of his fictional work, is narrated by the main character which always brings an added feeling of “connection” with him.
While I would not have made the same choices as Finn does, he does make rational choices true to his character, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel all the way through, Its been a long time since Ive read a Dick Francis novel, but this one has jump started my desire to add him into my regular rotation.
Looking forward to a long list of must reads to come, Grabbing old favorites off the shelf again Dick Francis was a British steeplechase jockey who took to writing thrillers and had a nice little second career writing international best sellers from the sixties up through the nineties.
Most of his books involve horse racing, and they're dependably entertaining, with plucky underdog heroes, convincingly bad villains, and just enough succinctly depicted violence to make us wince and root for the bad guy's comeuppance.
In this one, a struggling jockey watches his fellow riders fall prey one by one to mysterious mishaps he susses out the malevolent string puller behind them and, having survived his own encounter with the scoundrel, devises a wickedly appropriate extra judicial punishment.
It's not the best thing Francis wrote there aren't a whole lot of surprises and there is a slightly weird subplot involving the protagonist's unrequited love for a comely first cousin, but it has all the Francis virtures: clear and competent narrative, sharply drawn characters, and all that good horse stuff if you like that.
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