WITH THE STAKES SO HIGH, RACING CAN BE A DEADLY BUSINESS
'Felix Francis' novels gallop along splendidly' Jilly Cooper

Chris Rankin is a doctor, a specialist in Emergency Medicine at Cheltenham Hospital, but a doctor who also has health problems.

A smartly dressed man has been found unconscious at the local racecourse and is rushed to the hospital, where he subsequently dies. But who is he? Where does he come from? He had no form of identification on him, and no one claims the body.

Doctor Rankin is intrigued by the nameless dead man, obsessed even, and starts asking questions. However, someone doesn’t want the questions answered and will go to any lengths to prevent it, including attempting murder. But no one else believes that someone tried to kill Chris, leaving the doctor no option but to discover who the nameless man is and why he died, preferably before following him into an early grave.

The Francis brand of thrillers are bigger and bolder for a new generation!

Praise for Felix Francis's novels:

'The Francis flair is clear for all to see' Daily Mail
'From winning post to top of the bestseller list, time after time' Sunday Times
'The master of suspense and intrigue' Country Life
'A tremendous read' Woman's Own

Print length

448 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Simon & Schuster UK
Publication date

21 Sept. 2017
Dimensions

15.3 x 0.14 x 23.4 cm
ISBN-10

147115551X
ISBN-13

978-1471155512
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Product details

Publisher : Simon & Schuster UK (21 Sept. 2017)
Language : English
Hardcover : 448 pages
ISBN-10 : 147115551X
ISBN-13 : 978-1471155512
Dimensions : 15.3 x 0.14 x 23.4 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 338,177 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 39,574 in Thrillers (Books)
- 42,985 in Mysteries (Books)

Customer reviews:
656 ratings

Product description

About the Author

Felix Francis studied Physics and Electronics at London University and then spent seventeen years teaching Advanced-Level Physics. The younger son of crime writer and Naional Hunt jockey Dick Francis, Felix assisted his father with both the research and writing of his novels in a father-and-son writing partnership. Since Dick's death, Felix has written ten successful novels, the latest being Front Runner.

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5 star		58%
4 star		16%
3 star		13%
2 star		7%
1 star		6%

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

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Lynn D

Did not raise my pulse rate

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 April 2018

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I am a great fan of the Dick Francis novels, and a lot of them are well thought out, interesting and gripping reading. I like the way they cover all sorts of lives/work sectors etc, as for example, bankers, jewellers, architects, transport companies, lawyers. And of course jockeys, though there is a limit to the number of times I want to read about falls, cheating etc etc.
This latest novel was not bad but there was too much repeating of the 'padding', which was probably copied and pasted, about the mental state of the principal character. After a while I started skipping these paragraphs. In the older books and some of the newer ones the action is really well paced and often there are twists to the plot which really surprise.

So read Pulse with an open mind; I was tempted but do regret the purchase now, there are others I could have added to my collection of Dick Francis books.

9 people found this helpful

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fordiebobs

Is this even the same author? Disappointing.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 November 2017

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I am an avid Francis reader, have loved all the Dick Francis novels and was very relieved when Felix Francis proved equally as good, until now. If I had picked it up without seeing the author’s name I would say this book has been penned by a different hand. It lacks the wonderful writing style of all the other novels and led me to become irritated with the “heroine”. It’s the first Francis book where I really don’t care what happens to her and I’m not bothered if I don’t finish reading it. Please, Felix, go back to your tried and tested formula and give us what we love.

12 people found this helpful

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FROM EU TO ME

The Francis novels’ renaissance is complete - and better than ever

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 April 2018

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Both Dick Francis and his son Felix have a true gift for exploring fear and the way in which humans can rise to challenge. Whilst Felix’s earlier novels seemed at times to be somewhat formulaically seeking to reproduce his father’s winning formula, with this novel he steps into genuinely new - but curiously related - territory, and in doing so seems to have finally found his own true voice.

Many of Dick Francis’s best stories showed us driven heroes, and this novel does too, but it goes much deeper into the area of mental rather than physical vulnerability, the desire not to succumb to which latter state was often used in his father’s books as a proxy for overcoming gut-wrenching fear.

Felix’s heroine (of whom I long to read more in the Francis tradition!) is battling an eating disorder and suicidal depression, which threatens her career, children, marriage and ultimately her life, and the intricately woven tale brings together all that quickens the pulses of race lovers and those fascinated by the temptations of turf.

Having a racecourse doctor and A&E consultant as your heroine facilitates the introduction of specialist knowledge, but it is done here with a much defter and more dextrous touch than some earlier attempts by father (already tutored by his son?) and son in his first solo ventures to take us down complex technological alleys, and this story coalesced wonderfully to reach a splendidly unexpected and satisfying crescendo. It was accompanied by utterly authentic and compelling descriptions of the excitement and atmosphere of the Cheltenham Festival and of ‘behind the stands’ life of a racecourse in both sun and rain, with a splendid cast of completely convincing racing characters, from bookies to female jockeys through the players, big and little, in the global spot-fixing scourge.

I found myself regaining with every page my earlier eagerness for more Francis novels, and am sure that I am not alone. It used to be said that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth would expect an early copy of the latest Dick Francis book for her holiday reading, and I’d be prepared to bet that after reading this she reinstated the Francis name to her must-read list!

5 people found this helpful

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k9steward

Sadly Disappointing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 March 2018

Verified Purchase

It's the first Francis novel I've had trouble with, not least because it's written by a man in the shoes of a woman. Explanations are lengthy and page filling but don't 'grip' me as they usually do, indeed I was well into the 100+ pages before the story became vaguely interesting. I normally start a Francis novel on arrival and finish it within a few days, as I can't put it down. Once finished, it'll stay on the bookshelf with the others, but the only difference is where I re-read the entire Dick Francis collection regularly, this one will stay put. Sadly disappointing.

6 people found this helpful

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william stevely esq

There is no PULSE,it died in the first chapter!!!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 March 2018

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I have no idea how this author continues to be allowed to profit from his fathers name.This novel is as bad as all his other efforts,more padding than the obligatory overstuffed sofa.At least some of his fathers novels were well researched,this is just full of unimportant,uninteresting "facts" and some unbelievable characters.

6 people found this helpful

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Timothy Nigel

Didn't quite get my pulse racing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 October 2018

Verified Purchase

Not as keen on this one as the others in the Felix Francis 'Dick Francis' books. I have read all of them and generally like them a lot. Indeed I have just given a great review of his 2018 book Crisis.

This one, though entertaining, doesn't quite do it for me and the problem is I feel with the protagonist Chris Rankin. As these books are written in the first person, the reader inevitably identifies with and 'becomes' the main character as the tale unfolds through their eyes. That's fine if you can like or empathise with that character. If you can't, it's a problem.

Therin lies the fault for me. I found her to be irritating and slightly irrational and I didn't really care what happened to her.

As usual however, the story is well researched and flows well, and the racing world is a great place to set the stories. So I would say a very decent read, but not in my view one of Felix Francis best, and the new book Crisis, is much better.

One person found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

An intriguing departure for Francis

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 November 2017

Verified Purchase

People don't go round saying, "I'm a man," but after reading all the other Francis books it was a surprise, some pages in, to discover that the hero was in fact a heroine. One with problems as well as skills. The plot twists and turns, there's a shattering denouement , and the issues are handled with understanding. Felix has chosen his own thoughtful path. A great addition to the canon.Still

5 people found this helpful

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