Customer Reviews

Come To Grief

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed "Come to Grief," as I enjoyed "Whip Hand," the second of Francis' three Sid Haley novels. Insomuch as all of Francis' main characters are essentially the same person, Sid Haley fits his bill, but - perhaps by simple virtue of being ressurected through three novels now - Haley is a much deeper, more real person than some of the others. Francis really threw himself into writing Haley, exploring his motivations, fears, bravery, and tenaciousness to a far greater extent than his typical character, and you end up caring about the outcome quite a lot. I listened to this book (narrated by Simon Preebles) simultaneously to reading "Hot Money," and there's really no comparison in quality. "Hot Money" is average, "Come to Grief" is well above the norm.
The other reviewers' comments about this being a darker, more disturbing book than Francis' average are all true, of course, but in my opinion this improves the read.

I will admit going into this that I am more than halfway in love with Sid Halley. However, we would not be a good match, since I, like his ex-wife, would be aggravated because he wouldn't be reliable and be home on time for dinner.

Levity aside, I am predisposed to like and of Francis' books about Halley, and there are things I like here. I like Sid having a chance to develop relationships with some people and having a chance to genuinely love, as he does with the little girl with leukemia here. I also really want him to have a satisfying relationship, and he seems to be interested in that, although I don't think the love interest in this one is as pleansant or as good a prospect as in Whiphand.

However, as some other reviewers have noted, this seems to be a rather mean-spirited book. I don't understand why the handsome man who appears to have everything stoops to mutilating horses, and I don't understand what the fundamental message about human nature is here. I think Francis was really trying to say something profound here, but I can't get to it. I was left feeling like I missed something important, and it made me frustrated and sad.

Sid Halley is one of Dick Francis' most intriguing characters. A former jockey, he is left less than whole due to an accident. He becomes an investigator for the Jockey Club, and begins to discover the wide assortment of people who make up the world of racing. He discovers that a friend has a frightening compulsion to mutilate horses, but he can do nothing to prove his belief or to stop the problem. Follow him through the mental torture and physical danger to the truth, and be astonished at the frightening conclusion. You'll be on the edge of your seat through every page. You'll also be amazed at Francis' understanding of human weakness--that's why he's such a good writer.

This is one of my favorite Dick Francis books; I find myself occasionally going back to the book to relive one of my favorite moments. Sid Halley is one of Francis' best done and most complex characters. I find myself chuckling and admiring his resourcefulness, and loving his mixture of strength and vulnerability. The action in this novel is first rate, too, with just enough horses in the background to make this a Francis treat.

Given that for virtually every book one can purchase, there are at least a dozen excerpts from reviews somewhere inside stating "never better" and "top of form," one needs other avenues to discern which books are indeed a given author's best. Normally for crime novels the Edgar (and other) Awards is a good reference point. With this one, though, one has to wonder what happened. Sid Halley, the star of two previous first-rate novels, is here not only a saint, a giant among men, but in the second half of the book, is relentlessly referred to as such by the other characters, for no reason having to do with the story. There is little mystery; instead the structure follows the prove-he-did-it format. In addition, the story is driven forward by one wild, implausible mistake made by the culprit, and a fight (also unnecessary) in which Halley, effectively zero-armed, uses judo to defeat a couple security guards. I have never been the least bit disappointed in an Edgar-winner before now, but this one is a head-scratcher. Perhaps Francis was very ill at the time. Read Whip Hand and call it a day for Halley.

This book is the 3rd Francis wrote involving one of his characters, Sid Halley. While the book, like many of his others, was an acceptable read it did not live up to my expectations. I just didn't enjoy it as much as the other 2 books involving this character; it was much more predictable and in many places over-drawn. If you have read the other Sid Halley books (Odds Against, Whip Hand) I would recommend this one as well, but if you haven't read the other two start with them first- I found them to be much more enjoyable.

I felt exhausted after reading this book, in which nothing is as it should be: the hero is a vulnerable disabled jockey, his friend, a well-known TV-star, is a horse mutilating psycho, the press ruins the reputation of the really good guy, a sweet little girl has to struggle against leukemia and has nearly lost. Dick Francis does not spare his detective and the readers some of the worst feelings a human being can go through, but Sid Halley admits all these, and bravely goes on. In the end he wins without triumph. A great book - tense thriller and striking lesson on human nature.

I didn't like this one so much. I've read & enjoyed just about everything else Dick Francis has written. This one, however, was based on a sick idea (cutting off horses' feet - how disgusting), and I never did figure out what was the point of doing it.

Sid Halley is back to play the hero. A caring mother hires Sid to find out who cut off the off-fore leg of her daughter's horse. The daughter is suffering from cancer and hope is bleak. Sid of course takes the case. He tracks done owners of horses who have recently had the same fate as the girl's pony. Sid tracks down the villian... Who? You'll have to read the book. Trust me you'll like it, I read it in four days!

I started out cynical, considering the fact that this book is a MWA award winner. Slowly, but surely this book of Francis proves to be a real page-turner. The only grievance is that the protagonist is very unreal--almost a reincarnation of Gandhi in magnanimousness; he also fights back to win, almost always.