Driving Force (1992)

I read this book before I was ever aware of LibraryThing or quite possible before it was even available. Dick Francis is one of my all time best authors. I find ever book to well be written and you don't want to stop reading until it is finished. The story line is always associated directly or indirectly with horse racing. I would highly recommend Dick Francis' books to anyone who loves a good mystery story. My rating is based on my knowledge of his work and how much I enjoy reading them. ( )

Jockey Freddie Croft discovers a high-stakes conspiracy that exposes the seedy underside of horse-racing-and faces deadlier odds of survival than in any steeplechase run.

Francis was prolific, writing about 40 mystery novels set in the world of horse-racing, usually, as in this case, in first person, and only six of the novels featured recurring characters. Part of why Francis' novels wear well is that instead of having some amateur stumble into murder after murder a la Marple or Fletcher, instead the novels feature different characters involved in disperate aspects of racing--not just jockeys but breeders, transporters, grooms, reporters, bloodstock agents, trainers, etc.

Francis was himself a champion jockey (one of the owners he raced for was the Queen Mum) and horse racing newspaper correspondent, so he knew the world in which he sets his novels intimately. This novel centers on ex-jockey Freddie Croft, who owns a racing horse transport business. I loved how Francis details Croft's world. It's rare in fiction I get a feeling for what it's like to own a business or get a glimpse of an industry such as horse racing.

There's also something engaging about Croft and the voice Francis creates for him. I enjoyed this greatly; it was a pleasure to read. ( )

Classic Dick Francis, a real page turner. Pretty complicated puzzles comes together at the very end of the book. ( )

I was disappointed after doing a little research and finding that apparently this is the only Freddy Croft book ever written. It's tailor-made for a series, and I thought for a while that I'd come in in the middle of it, as there seemed to be a lot of depth to the characters that wasn't sufficiently explained. But I think that's simply a characteristic of this well-written book, and makes me want to look for others by this author, whom I'd not heard of before reading this. Croft has a sort of unemotional doggedness that resounds with me. In addition to that, the puzzle was interesting, the cockney rhyming clues were a fun touch, and the setting was incredibly realistic - the last not being a surprise if Francis was as close to racing as it appears. It's a shame we'll never hear more about Croft, or his physicist sister who owns a helicopter, or his illegitimate daughter being raised by another man. Amazing depth for a one-off and fairly short book. ( )