Dead Heat (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

It's been a long while since I read a book by Dick Francis, having missed last year's UNDER ORDERS. For years I watched eagerly for his annual offering and many of them still hold a place on my shelves. I'm delighted that after the sad death of his wife Mary, a new collaboration with son Felix is producing such solid material.

In usual Francis fashion, the protagonist is a pleasant fellow with a connection to British horse racing; in this case, Max Moreton of Newmarket, a young Michelin-recognized chef. Moreton unknowingly caters a poisoned dinner on the eve of the prestigious 2,000 Guineas race, and on Guineas Day he is again catering when the site is blown up. Max's kitchen is closed and he's served with a notice of prosecution under the Food Safety Act.

To complete the tale of Max's woes, the brakes are cut on his car and his house is burned down. This is fairly standard for a Dick Francis protagonist, and Max withstands it all with the usual philosophical attitude. Max may be less edgy than some of Francis characters, and as a result less compelling.

DEAD HEAT varies in a few subtle ways from Formula Francis. For one thing, there's little of the racing world in evidence. No dawn rides in the misty Sussex training paddocks; no intrigue among the jockeys in their distinctive racing colors; no stables, spotless or otherwise, with the "lads" tending to the horses; no parade ring with the victorious horses steaming and tossing their heads while exultant owners brandish gaudy prize mugs. I never thought I loved Francis' books for the racing, but to my surprise, I missed it.

Another subtle difference in this book is that Max seems oddly devoid of friends and family. The story would have benefited from a few more characters to swell his progress. True, the point is made that a chef's working hours interfere with personal relationships; but a few more fully-drawn characters would have rounded the book out.

Ah, and the love interest. Charming, but possibly a bit too slick? The lovely Caroline fell into his lap a bit too easily.

But with those provisos, DEAD HEAT is well done and satisfying, with unexpected flashes of humor, and the good guy wins in the end. Definitely recommended if it's your kind of book, and let's cross our fingers that the Francis dynasty continues.

I didnt think that he could write a better book than "to the Hilt" but he has surpassed himself with Dead Heat as it kept me spellbound for the entire storyline much to my partners disgust.

If you are a DF fan or even just a fan of intrigue \ mystery then this is a definate must as it is truly captivating right up until the final few pages.

When Dick Francis stopped writing for personal reasons, which need not be mentioned here. It left a huge void, that was never really filled, although there are many authors with a horse racing background, writing books today. Most of them are very good, but none of them have the magic touch of Dick Francis. This is Dick Francis's latest novel. Before that he had written in excess of 35 novels. Many short stories, his autobiography and the biography of arguably the greatest jockey that ever lived, Lester Piggott.

After a spell out of the `saddle' as far as his writing career goes, Dick Francis returned with Under Orders, which many critics claimed was not as good as his previous novel. I have no hesitation in saying I was not one of them. Bad authors do not begin best seller authors overnight and Dick Francis had not lost his writing ability when he wrote Under Orders.

Some people claim that you have to have an interest in horse racing to enjoy the books of Dick Francis. I think that this is nonsense. I have not interest whatsoever in gambling or horse racing, although I do have a love of horses. I think that Dick Francis has written one of his best ever books with Dead Heat. How he comes up with all these different plots I will n ever know.