- Unknown Binding
- Publisher: G.P. Putman's (1989)
- ASIN: B0038X7ZU4
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
Straight (Dick Francis Library)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
(one in a series of Dick Francis reviews in which I try and separate all those rather similar titles, and in which I try not to give away plotlines)
Derek Franklin is a jockey, but recuperating from a nasty fall - when his brother dies (don't worry, this is on the first page!) and he has to take care of the brothers' gemstones business, search for missing items, solve several major problems - and find the culprit(s).
My opinion: excellent mid-period (1989) Francis thriller. Early Francis was all about horse racing, the middle period was when all kinds of interesting professions cropped up which sometimes (as in this one) were loosely connected to racing.
Francis is always very good at 'painting' people in a few lines (sometimes far apart, those lines!); he is brilliant at people interaction, too. He pares things down to the essential, whether it is people or life he talks about; in this book he is very good on loss, on friendship, duty and honour. Moral dilemmas, too, and the philosophy of life of a jockey; don't moan, deal with it. Which is a pretty good overall philosophy, I think!
A top Francis, and a satisfactorily long one. The end is not the strongest bit, but a great read overall. Five stars.
Derek Franklin is a jockey, but recuperating from a nasty fall - when his brother dies (don't worry, this is on the first page!) and he has to take care of the brothers' gemstones business, search for missing items, solve several major problems - and find the culprit(s).
My opinion: excellent mid-period (1989) Francis thriller. Early Francis was all about horse racing, the middle period was when all kinds of interesting professions cropped up which sometimes (as in this one) were loosely connected to racing.
Francis is always very good at 'painting' people in a few lines (sometimes far apart, those lines!); he is brilliant at people interaction, too. He pares things down to the essential, whether it is people or life he talks about; in this book he is very good on loss, on friendship, duty and honour. Moral dilemmas, too, and the philosophy of life of a jockey; don't moan, deal with it. Which is a pretty good overall philosophy, I think!
A top Francis, and a satisfactorily long one. The end is not the strongest bit, but a great read overall. Five stars.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Straight builds on a very neat piece of psychology. Derek Franklin, injured steeplechase jockey, unexpectedly has to carry on for his much older brother (18 years to be exact) after the brother dies from an accident. I am sure we all have wondered what it would be like to be one of our siblings. The experience for Derek is very literal.
Derek's brother is in the diamond trade, and a fortune in diamonds is missing. That sounds like the source of the mystery, but the mystery is actually launched by getting mugged in the parking lot after leaving his brother's bed in the hospital as the beginning of a nonstop tale of intrigue. In the course of unraveling the mystery and fighting for his life, Derek also learns a lot about his brother . . . and himself. This is a great novel for anyone who likes to think about "what if?".
The only quibble some will have is that this book has relatively little about horse raising in it, compared to the other Dick Francis novels. Be open minded though, for the change is good for you, the reader.
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This review is about one Dick Francis book, but it applies to almost all of them... especially the ones written when Mary was alive. He had a refreshing sense of justice, which rarely involved the law that seeks to punish the guilty, and too often forgets the victim. That aside, every story is fast-paced with characters that jump off the page, and a truly unguessable twist in the tale... no pun intended :-)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A good book by Dick Francis
This is one of Dick Francis's better books. It has a good plot, a fair amount of mystery and moves along at a good pace. Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2009 by Emanon
Fascinating as well as gripping
This was the first Dick Francis novel I had read and I found I just couldn't put it down. The interesting information about the precious stones sat nicely between the action and... Read more
Published on 17 May 2003 by Miss C Atton
crime in jewelley and horses - a hit by Dick Francis
as usual Dick Francis keep you awake during night just with one thrilling chapter after another. 'Straight' is jewellery, jockyies and beautiful women combined with crime - a hit... Read more
Published on 25 July 2001 by lottalindstrom@hotmail.com
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