Crisis

By: Felix Francis

Narrated by: Martin Jarvis

Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling author Felix Francis returns with his newest edge-of-your-seat horse racing thriller in the Dick Francis tradition.

Harrison Foster is a lawyer by training but works as a crisis manager for a London firm that specialises in such matters. Summoned to Newmarket after a fire in the Chadwick Stables slaughters six very valuable horses, including the short-priced favourite for the Derby, Harry (as he is known) finds there is far more to the ‘simple’ fire than initially meets the eye. For a start, human remains are found amongst the equestrian ones in the burnt-out shell. All the stable staff are accounted for, so who is the mystery victim?

Harry knows very little about horses, indeed he positively dislikes them, but he is thrust unwillingly into the world of Thoroughbred racing, where the standard of care of the equine stars is far higher than that of the humans who attend to them.

The Chadwick family are a dysfunctional racing dynasty, with the emphasis being on the nasty. Resentment between the generations is rife, and sibling rivalry bubbles away like volcanic magma beneath a thin crust of respectability.

Harry represents the Middle Eastern owner of the Derby favourite, and, as he delves deeper into the unanswered questions surrounding the horse’s demise, he ignites a fuse that blows the volcano sky-high, putting him in grave jeopardy. Can Harry solve the riddle before he is overcome by the toxic emissions from the eruption and is bumped off by the fallout?

©2018 Felix Francis (P)2018 Recorded Books

could have done with a little more action

A pretty good story, and we'll narrated by Martin Jarvis. The story was a bit lacking in action for a Dick Francis book though

Not yet his father

Firstly, let me say I love Dock Francis books for a light read. His mastery of research, atmosphere and understated prose elevates his work. I have read his collaborations with Felix, and enjoyed them as well, and was looking forward to this book. Unfortunately there were far more negatives than positives, and I really hope Felix matures into a style which does credit to his father. Positive first - the plot was well thought out, and this shows Felix has great potential. However, there was WAY too much over-explaining, as if the reader would struggle to connect the dots. This could have been written for early teens, rather than adults, and it became irritating. The romance was also completely overdone, and became cloyingly sweet at times. In both respects, Dick used subtlety to great effect, while still expressing the same depth of emotion, and it worked wonderfully. Felix needs to acquire that skill, and the sooner the better. There were also unwelcome levels of pomposity and phoniness, although this may well have been exaggerated by the narrator, who was awful. In turn pompous, simpering, sarcastic, whiney, nasal and superior. A very unpleasant listening experience for an adult. However, Dick Francis fans can read it for the skeleton of the story, which shows some promise for the future of the line.