Saturday 3 November 2007

The latest Francis

Finished November 2
Dead Heat by Dick Francis and Felix Francis
The latest Dick Francis, and the first since the death of his wife, is no disappointment. In his classic style, the action takes place near the world of horses. This time the protagonist is a young chef, whose brother is, and late father was, horse trainers near Newmarket. Max Moreton became a chef at a young age, and has been running his own restautant for more than ten years. He also works some outside venues and has just done a celebrity chef dinner at the Jockey Club. Unfortunately he, and most others who attended have food poisoning. He has a luncheon, again at the club, and must scramble to get the food and service ready while the inspection agencies launch an investigation and close his restaurant due to the food poisoning. When a bomb blast rips through the private boxes where his luncheon was, killing one of his staff, several guests and injuring more he begins to wonder what is going on.
As his investigation leads him to believe that the poisoning was deliberate, and he delves further into the disruptions to his life, he is led to more disturbing facts.
As usual Francis offers plenty of action and suspense, including near misses and just-in-time saves. He also, as in many of his books, offers a spot of romance, some travel, and new insights into the horse and criminal worlds. A winner.

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