Silks

This is a typical Francis story with excitement and some violence. Geoffrey Mason , a barrister and an amatuer jockey, takes on the defense of a professional jockey accused of murder. He is instructed by an unknown adversay to take the xase and lose and the threats are lethal and frightening. Mason is called Perry by his jockey friends and the court actions are bery much like the Perry Mason of old. It's edge of the chair anticipation and thrills.

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In Dead Heat, Dick and Felix Francis combine their talents to resurrect the elder Francis' formula writing style. This is not a complaint, since I appreciate the twisting plots, the in-depth discussions of horse racing, and the real human protagonists that Francis delivers. The partnership worked with Dead Heat. Will it work again?

In Silk, lawyer Geoffrey Mason, who uses his profession to support his hobby as an amateur steeplechase jockey, gets threatened with physical harm if he doesn't lose a murder case against a fellow jockey. He gets a taste of this harm just outside his office, in the form of a baseball bat connecting to his body.

He decides not to tell the police, fearing retribution to his father and his emerging romantic interest. To protect those he loves, he must win the case for his client, and find the true killer.

To be frank, the book starts off slowly, and the reader may find it difficult to be sympathetic to Geoffrey Mason. Yes, he lost his wife and his unborn son seven years earlier. Yes, he lives for steeplechasing. But he initially does not demonstrate the courage to report the assault and the threats, which seems out of character. Is he brave and fearless, or not? This weakness almost had me put the book aside; I depend on Dick Francis to develop believable characters. However, I'm glad I stuck with the story, because Geoffrey Mason's character and courage continued to build up through the book.

So does son Felix plan to inherit and use the Dick Francis formula? We'll have to wait for the next installment. In the meantime, "Ride on!"

I've read every novel Dick Francis has written and I look forward to each new one that comes out.
Silks is good, vintage Dick Francis -- a mystery with a sympathetic hero, a despicable villain (or two), a couple of violent murders and violent confrontations, twists and surprises, clues and withheld information, a building tension and a satisfactory conclusion. It goes beyond the typical Francis mystery in its further exploration and development of the hero-heroine relationship and gives us an ending that goes farther, as well ..., perhaps Felix's contributions?
But, above all, this story is a courtroom procedural, a step-by-step explanation of the processes of a criminal case under British Law, spread across the months that such a case takes, from act to arrest and arraignment to trial and verdict, and a bit beyond. The tension is between the Law as a social system of nonviolent dispute resolution and the violent outlaw.
It's a good Dick Francis read and it's a thoughtful education into the workings of the legal system, as well.

Wow! Dick Francis has done again in Silks. For years Francis turned out books that were great fun, thrilling mysteries set in the racing world. After his wife died, Francis announced no more books would he write, that her companionship and help had been too instrumental to his work. Thankfully after a few years Francis realized that his books are the greatest tribute he could make to her; with his son Felix Francis, he co-wrote Dead Heat. Truly, that book was not so good. So it was with much trepidation that I read the latest mystery co-written by father and son, and I am very happy to say that it is right up there with some of Francis' best novels.

To Francis fans, Silks continues with the well-used formula we have come to love: corruption in the racing world, either in business or in personal life, and the man who just cannot let it go; the man is a self-deprecating but thoroughly heroic hero; the female love interest is wholesome but plucky, good looking but modest, sometimes frightened but always loyal; the plot twists and turns on questions of identity and responsibility; anonymous threats propel action; just when you thought you could take a breath and relax, there is a final encounter between good and evil; and all in all the story is well-told with a satisfying ending and all nastiness taken care of. This book adds in a resolute action by the hero that is spine chilling and cracking, and quite gratifying as well.

Other Dick Francis favorites of mine: Longshot, Banker, Hot Money, Bolt, Proof, Twice Shy, Reflex, and Whip Hand. I did not like the short stories in Field of Thirteen.

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