Nerve

By: Dick Francis

Narrated by: Tony Britton

Despair, suicide, and obsessive hatred, mixed well with humor, love, and horses, brew up into the story of a battle between one man's nerve and another man's cunning. Robert Finn, steeplechase jockey, finds himself the focus of a malicious campaign which is also afflicting his friends. He sets out to discover its source, and remove it.

©1964 Dick Francis

Another great one, but the ending is weak.

Even tho it seems that his formula (horses, jockey, British racing world) would get tired, Dick Francis churns out at least one a year and they don't dissapoint. Altho I think the ending is somewhat weaker than other of his, the story itself is well-written and well-narated.

Bottom line -- get it!

An old read now on audio

I am just so tired of the same old gratuitous sex and violence, 4 letter vocabulary and formulaic plot of the stuff being written today that I'm going back and listening to old favorites now on audio. Not to say that there is no sex, violence or cussing in Dick Francis novels, they are crime stories after all and Francis can be gruesome along with the best of them.

I've been a Francis fan for a long time. I find him a wonderful storyteller who balances description and action such that his stories don't lag. Once I start one, I don't want to put it down. Yes, he has a formula: all of his stories are somehow connected to the world of British steeplechase racing. But every book is different -- different heroes, different crimes. Nerve was written in 1964 and was his second novel. Yes, it reflects Britain in the early 60s--tut tut and cheerio--but the story of jealousy and murder is timeless and you will enjoy riding along with Rob Finn as he tries to figure it out.

As for the reader, Tony Britton is delightful, pleasant to listen to, clear crisp and well paced.

one of my favs

I think this is one of Dick Francis' best books. His descriptions of horse races are masterful and this books has one of the best descriptions of the revenge the protagonist takes against his for.

Another great Dick Francis

I always enjoy Dick Francis. I also like having a different "hero" and characters each time.

Another great story from Dick Francis

Great story and narration! I wish Audible USA had all the books by Dick Francis and also narrated by this narrator. Great fun!

One of the Master's Best

I read this when it first came out -- 40 years ago? It's incredible still. Francis creates the very best villains, and any novel that can claim arguably the best opening line in mystery can hardly fail. Tony Britton is stellar in the role of Finn, if a bit too mature for the twenty-something hero. The breathing referred to in the negative review is required by the script -- our hero engages in exhausting and stressful efforts to escape a gruesome capture, and another character has asthma. The only drawback is with the uneven recording. The engineers failed to preserve the tone and timbre of prior entries, so the volume is uneven, and one portion sounds as though Britton is reading in a bathroom. Still, well worth the money to get lost in a to a classic, memorable suspense novel.

Another great novel...well read

I was enjoying this audio book so much that I was sorry it ended. Brilliantly performed with Tony Britton creating numerous voices for so many characters. A good story with just the right mix of psychological and physical drama. I did notice a few themes in this book that I had encountered in other Francis novels. This was probably the prototype.

Enjoy.

A little farfetched, but very entertaining

I really enjoyed the book. I have read a couple of Francis' books previously, but this was my first via audible. The audio was a little scratchy at times, but overall a very entertaining listen.

Nerve

One of the best Dick Francis

Please let other countries get more Dick Francis

A favourite rediscovered

This was the first Dick Francis I ever read, back in the time still in German and abridged. Nevertheless, the story hooked me and I got a fan. I read nearly all his books but I always came back to this. The storyline keeps close to the characters and uses racing as a colourful background. It starts with a bang and keeps your nerves taut till the gripping finish.

Tony Britton does a wonderful job reading it, giving each character its own voice.

If you are wondering, what the hype about Dick Francis is all about - try this one for starters.