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Under Orders (Hardcover)

by Dick Francis (Author)
3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
RRP: £18.99
Price: £12.79 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Michael Joseph (7 Sep 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0718149971
  • ISBN-13: 978-0718149970
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.4 x 3.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 179,557 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #42 in  Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Authors, A-Z > F > Francis, Dick

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Product Description

The Press

'A book you won't want to put down until you reach the last
satisfying page.' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.


Product Description

‘Sadly, death at the races is not uncommon. However, three in a single afternoon was sufficiently unusual to raise more than an eyebrow.’ It’s the third death on Cheltenham Gold Cup Day that really troubles super-sleuth Sid Halley. Former champion jockey Halley knows the perils of racing all too well – but in his day, jockeys didn’t usually reach the finishing line with three .38 rounds in the chest. But this is precisely how he finds jockey Huw Walker – who, only a few hours earlier, had won the coveted Triumph Hurdle. Just moments before the gruesome discovery, Halley had been called upon by Lord Enstone to make discrete enquiries into why his horses appeared to be on a permanent losing streak. Are races being fixed? Are bookies taking a cut? And if so, are trainers and jockeys playing a dangerous game with stakes far higher than they realise? Halley’s quest for answers draws him ever deeper into the darker side of the race game, in a life-or-death power play that will push him to his very limits – both professionally and personally. In his first new novel for six years, Dick Francis returns to prove once again that he is the Grand Master of thriller writing.
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Under Orders
55% buy the item featured on this page:
Under Orders 3.4 out of 5 stars (26)
£12.79
Silks
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Silks 4.2 out of 5 stars (21)
£3.84
Dead Heat
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Dead Heat 3.7 out of 5 stars (17)
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Even Money
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Customer Reviews

26 Reviews
5 star:
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4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:
 (5)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.4 out of 5 stars (26 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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74 of 85 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Dick Francis!, 31 Jul 2006
By Ben Ripley (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
'Under Orders' is vintage Dick Francis. It is almost as though the last six years hadn't happened, but it reminded me how much I had missed him while he was away.
All the classic elements of a Dick Francis novel are there. The hero (in this case, the fourth outing for the jockey turned private investigator Sid Halley who has previously been seen in 'Odds Against', 'Whip Hand' and 'Come to Grief') with his humble yet wise nature and his knack for self-deprecating humour; the racetrack and the horses, without which it wouldn't truly feel right; the arrogant press; the beautiful girl... It all sounds rather cliched, yet the elements have succeeded for 39 previous novels with little variation and still remains a success.

As ever, Dick shows he has a superb ability to keep the action at a steady pace with our hero overcoming various hurdles and speeding up at breakneck speed to the finishing line. Never one to shy away from a showdown with the villain of the piece, Dick always manages to get the reader on the edge of their seat and the finale to 'Under Orders' is no exception.

Like all good crime novels and 'whodunits', 'Under Orders' has its fair share of suspects and various motives and sub plots. Within this story, we have internet gambling, race-fixing and family feuds. I was genuinely surprised by the final revelation.

For all those pessimistic nay-sayers who claimed his wife actually wrote all the books, here is the proof that Mr Francis is a talent to be reckoned with, unless the late Mrs Francis has been using a planchette.
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24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars average, 11 Nov 2006
By Maria (Greece) - See all my reviews
I have read everything Dick Francis ever wrote and I have to say this book was a disappointment. While there is nothing outstandingly bad about it and it is quite well written, compared with his previous books it is certainly lacking both in suspence and in interesting characters. That special atmosphere of the racing world that always captivated my imagination is gone and the information given about it seem forced.
Also, this book is the fourth which features ex-jockey Sid Halley, so an irritatingly large potrion of it was spent explaining his history and his relationship to the other characters, things that are already known to readers who have read the prequels. However, more annoying was the fact that it does not coply with the other books in many ways; e.g. Sid's ex-father-in-law has very different personality, his ex-wife is still inexplicably angry at him, although they made peace in the last book, and Rachel, a little girl dying of cancer whom Sid had come to love as a daughter, is not even mentioned. Lastly, the number of people who had died of or had cancer in this book defies all laws of probability!
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12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Left at the the stalls, 29 Dec 2006
By Peter Jones (Cambs, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
If, like me, you're a Dick Francis fan, don't read this Alzeimher's version of a Francis thriller. If you're not, then don't read it either and invest in "Odds Against", the 1965 thriller that first introduced Sid Halley to us. "Under Orders" is merely a rehash of a number of previous plots, though less convincing and less well written. The book fails to acknowledge the changes occuring in the characters' lives in earlier novels and too often lapses into thinly veiled political polemics. The impression is that of a Grumpy Old Man venting his feelings about Blair's Britain through the pages of a novel which would not have been published were it not for his name. Those feelings may be shared by some of us who live here year round, but it ill behoves Francis to express them when he spends most of his time abroad. The name Dick Francis was synonomous with good crime fiction for the latter half of the 20th century. It hasn't translated to the 21st.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars dad's xmas gift
lovely light reading. very good for book presents for parents. dick francis is one of the few authors that both my folks can actually read.
Published 5 days ago by Currenr Plus

5.0 out of 5 stars The Master is back!!!
I must admit that I approached this book with some trepidation. It had been many years since Francis had written a novel, and the last few before he "retired" had been not quite... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. D. H. Mills

1.0 out of 5 stars Dross - they shoot horses don't they?
This is sad. They were never great works of literature but this one categorically proves that the stirrups should be hung up. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Officer Dibble

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing--and illuminating
Like many other reviewers here, I've read all of Dick Francis' earlier thrillers--many of them more than once, they're that good--and have always enjoyed the deft writing, crisp... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Sophie Masson

1.0 out of 5 stars Not so much a fast gallop as a sedate walk.
Dick Francis has been a hugely successful author over a period of thirty years and has a devoted following. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Sunnie Gill

1.0 out of 5 stars Francis has gone off the boil
For many years I looked forward eagerly to the year's Dick Francis book. They were always good, stirring stuff. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Ms. Sv Lewis-morgan

4.0 out of 5 stars A Hearty Welcome Back to the Author

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... Read more
Published 23 months ago by J. Chippindale

3.0 out of 5 stars Welcome back, Dick
I enjoyed this latest outing from a thriller writer who has become somewhat of an institution in the crime genre. Read more
Published on 27 Oct 2007 by Rivercassini

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful
Having read many of the downbeat reviews I was not particularly looking forward to reading this book.

In fact I was put off buying the book. Read more
Published on 19 Sep 2007 by David Johnston

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
As several of the other reviewers here have mentioned, I too have read every one of Dick Francis's books. Read more
Published on 1 Sep 2007 by Solange

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