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Summary: Dick Francis and son address The Law
Comment: I've read every novel Dick Francis has written and I look forward to each new one that comes out.
Silks is good, vintage Dick Francis -- a mystery with a sympathetic hero, a despicable villain (or two), a couple of violent murders and violent confrontations, twists and surprises, clues and withheld information, a building tension and a satisfactory conclusion. It goes beyond the typical Francis mystery in its further exploration and development of the hero-heroine relationship and gives us an ending that goes farther, as well ..., perhaps Felix's contributions?
But, above all, this story is a courtroom procedural, a step-by-step explanation of the processes of a criminal case under British Law, spread across the months that such a case takes, from act to arrest and arraignment to trial and verdict, and a bit beyond. The tension is between the Law as a social system of nonviolent dispute resolution and the violent outlaw.
It's a good Dick Francis read and it's a thoughtful education into the workings of the legal system, as well.
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Summary: True to Formula Francis is Great Fun
Comment: Wow! Dick Francis has done again in Silks. For years Francis turned out books that were great fun, thrilling mysteries set in the racing world. After his wife died, Francis announced no more books would he write, that her companionship and help had been too instrumental to his work. Thankfully after a few years Francis realized that his books are the greatest tribute he could make to her; with his son Felix Francis, he co-wrote Dead Heat. Truly, that book was not so good. So it was with much trepidation that I read the latest mystery co-written by father and son, and I am very happy to say that it is right up there with some of Francis' best novels.
To Francis fans, Silks continues with the well-used formula we have come to love: corruption in the racing world, either in business or in personal life, and the man who just cannot let it go; the man is a self-deprecating but thoroughly heroic hero; the female love interest is wholesome but plucky, good looking but modest, sometimes frightened but always loyal; the plot twists and turns on questions of identity and responsibility; anonymous threats propel action; just when you thought you could take a breath and relax, there is a final encounter between good and evil; and all in all the story is well-told with a satisfying ending and all nastiness taken care of. This book adds in a resolute action by the hero that is spine chilling and cracking, and quite gratifying as well.
Other Dick Francis favorites of mine: Longshot, Banker, Hot Money, Bolt, Proof, Twice Shy, Reflex, and Whip Hand. I did not like the short stories in Field of Thirteen.
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Summary: "SILKS" review
Comment: We hope "THE FRANCIS TEAM" will give us many more excellsnt mysteries. Great reaad.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best from Francis in a long time
Comment: First sentence: "Guilty."
Barrister and amateur jockey Geoffrey Mason, known as `Perry Mason' by his racing friends. He had once successfully defended a violent young man, Julian Trent. Trent, found guilty nonetheless and swearing revenge against Mason, is now being released on appeal.
Mason receives a call from fellow jockey, Steve Mitchell. Steve has been arrested for the murder of another jockey, the hatred between the two of known was well known. Mason first receives a warning and then a beating, instructing him to lose the trial and ensure Mitchell is convicted. Mason realizes his only option is to stand up to Trent, but a at the risk of his life and those he loves.
Even though this was written by Dick and Felix Francis, I'm going to refer to them as singular. Francis has such a wonderful voice. He has a way of drawing you into the story, a way of explaining things that make the information fascinating and an excellent ear for dialogue. I appreciated his including information on English law.
Francis creates great characters. His protagonist isn't particularly brave and strong, but he is stubborn and determined, and his villains are about as villainous as they come. I liked that he made the point about not understanding how hard it is to stand up against violence and intimidation. It was nice to see the hero actually get the girl in this story.
The story was similar to a horse race in that it milled out a bit in the beginning giving you background information, took off with sudden action and built in pace and suspense up to the end. Even the courtroom scenes, which were so well done, had an element of suspense.
Portents are something I normally hate and the one early in the book wasn't necessary. I also don't usually like when authors hold information back from the reader, but here it worked. Thinking back, I probably could have anticipated many of the turns in the plot, but I was so engrossed in the story, I didn't take the time to analyze as I read. And that's what makes Francis, Francis; you jump on and go to the end. The ending is violent and bothers some people; however, I felt he addressed the age-old question of legality versus justice.
This was definitely the best Francis book I've read in a long time.
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Summary: At best a trot, never a gallop
Comment: This is my first book read via Kindle, and because each "page" contains less information than a visible two page spread of a book, I think it made me more aware of constant page turning with little yield of much in the way of new story elements. That said, all the usual ingredients of a Frances story are here, but this time delivered at a painfully slow pace. Only my loyalty to the author motivated me to turn the pages, rather than excitement to find out what was happening, because not much was(happening).
I didn't find the main character- an amateur steeple rider- as usual- and full time barrister, and not exceptionally gifted in either pursuit, very interesting. Having read most of France's stories, I now find myself knowing much more about horse racing , than I want to know. As a subtle way of educating readers to that particular sport, the material is interesting, but in this case slows the story telling to a crawl.
All the usual ingredients of a Frances story are here, but nothing new. No signs of a growing strength in story telling, or plot development, just business as usual but at a slower pace. Like watching an old fashioned photo slowly emerge from the developer, in a world of instant digital imagery. That's not necessarily bad, but for me in this instance, the process took longer than I could sustain interest in the finished product.
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