Iced

A Dick Francis Novel

By: Felix Francis

Narrated by: Martin Jarvis

In the tradition of Clive Cussler and James Lee Burke, Iced, the latest in Francis's fictional world, is a heart-pounding thriller that will keep you racing forward.

Seven years ago, Miles Pussett was a steeplechase jockey, loving the rush of the race. But after an unfortunate event, he left horseracing behind and swore he would never return. Now he gets his adrenaline rush from riding headfirst down the Cresta Run, a three-quarter-mile Swiss ice chute, reaching speeds of up to eighty miles per hour.

Finding himself in St Moritz during the same weekend as White Turf, when high-class horseracing takes place on the frozen lake, he gets talked into helping out with the horses. Against his better judgement, he decides to assist, but things aren't as innocent as they seemed.

When he discovers something suspicious is going on in the races, something that may have a profound impact on his future, Miles begins a search for answers. But someone is adamant about stopping him—and they'll go to any length to do it.

©2022 Felix Francis (P)2022 Recorded Books

Storyline was hard to follow

Miles is a very likeable character, much more flawed than most of Dick/Felix Francis' characters.

Whiplash of Flashbacks

This story became very confusing. The "main" story seems to be the contemporary story which includes an attempted murder on the Cresta Run (Taboggan Run) at St. Moritz. This is interrupted with ping ponging back and forth in time to the past.

Though the setting was interesting, this was not up to Felix Francis' usual.

The narration was excellent. Martin Jarvis did an excellent job.

I did finish the book, but there was a lot of rewinding and I'm sure this isn't something I will re-read or re-listen to.

Felix Francis is a wonderful writter

I don't understand why the name Dick Francis is still on Felix Francis novels. He's a wonderful writer in his own right. He writes fully three dimensional characters and very interesting mysteries that give you insight into the horse racing world and other very interesting worlds. I always enjoyed Dick Francis books but since Felix started writing, I have found that his writing and stories are much more engaging and entertaining for me. He certainly does a much better job at writing female characters even when they are a small part of the story. I'm so happy to read anything he writes.

disjointed

the story doesn't hang together very well. the back and forth with historical events doesn't link well. there is a lot of content on the thrill of the ice racing and horse racing that are fillers for the plot.

Watered down Francis genre novel.

Felix Francis appears to pick a disorder or disease state to overshadow the thriller, mystery portrayed in the last 3-4 novels. The protagonist, affiliated with British horse racing, has turns in their life spinning them into a variety of nefarious events. ICED Is the next in this line. Unfortunately, this novel winds along with the protagonist’s success, trials and failures at leaving his past behind. The familiar Francis progression is finding a fascinating opposite sex character, and repeated attempts at the protagonist’s life. The villain(s) pop out of a familiar corner only to self destruct before a thoughtful protagonist has the do away with them!
Pretty much the case here, but we jump tie periods to two critical parts of life. Set in current times, audiobook has a limitation in portraying the time changes.
Martin Jarvis is a standard with Francis novels.

Mystery?

Not too much mystery. Very good exposition on mental health & alcoholism. Didn’t like the end.

Not one of his best

Not enough mystery or action, and too much flipping back and forth of time lines.

It's not that it's a particularly bad book in it's own way, but not really in the mould of the other books.

The true frailties people suffer through

This book is true “Francis” thru and thru. The main character is just a regular guy struggling thru life’s difficulties that sadly are heavier on some folks than others. The main character suffers thru no fault of his own and is open and raw about his own struggles. The kindness of just one person in his life helps him immensely. Love gives him the courage to keeps moving forward. Lots of twists and very revealing about how one character puts his own self above any regard for others.

just okay

I never felt invested in the character. a compelling story, a solid venture into mental health.

Second Reading

It had been a while since I first listened to this book and while much of it was at least somewhat familiar the ending was not.