Customer Reviews

High Stakes

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Dick Francis has got to be the best mystery writer to come along in a long time. I never tire of his books. I've read High Stakes and listened to it on cassette many times. High Stakes is an enjoyable read with suspense and even romance. As always, Francis writes about horses. Horses are the thread that hold his books together, but none of his books are the same. He always manages to put a different spin on things and he's never boring! I mean, the man's written about so many different professions I'm wondering what he's gonna write about next. He's got jockeys, toy makers (High Stakes), teachers, negotiators for kidnap victims, painters, politicians, detectives, government agents, pilots, truck drivers, survival guide writers. You name it, he's got it. His characters are always ordinary yet extraordinary in what they can accomplish when they set their minds to. They discover strength they didn't know they had--Sid Halley for instance in Come to Grief. I hesitate to say this, but I, as a woman, find it true that many of his characters have an underlying sexiness to them. Francis is not one of those authors who feel the need to use explicit language or sex scenes, but the sexiness is definitely there! I could go on all night about Francis' wonderful plots and characters, so I'll just satisfy myself with saying they are all great and you won't regret reading any of his books.

As usual Dick Francis crafted a tight plot with plenty of character development. Story is about a young, wealthy, toy designer who discovers that his racehorse trainer is cheating him in a big way. The rest of the story involves recovery of the owners property and retribution to the theives. Francis at his best!

High Stakes marks the beginning of Dick Francis' (or Mrs. Dick Francis, depending upon who actually writes his books) writing for the American market. Tho' not the bone-cruncher the earlier books were, his toy maker is one of the more likable protagonists and the beginning zings!

Uneventful fluff about british horse racing. No mystery, no murder, a good way to kill time as well as brain cells.