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Refusal (2013)

by Felix Francis(Favorite Author)

3.69 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0718159373 (ISBN13: 9780718159375)

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Michael Joseph Ltd

series

Sid Halley

review 1: I have been a fan of Dick Francis almost as long as I've been a fan of reading and of books. His writing career spanned more than five decades and included dozens of wonderful novels. Francis passed away in 2010, and the world of literature lost one of the most gifted storytellers its ever known. I feel like I owe him a debt of gratitude. His novels not only provided countless hours of enjoyment, but he, at least in part, inspired me to launch my own writing career. Francis, in case you're unfamiliar with is work, wrote mystery novels and they all centered around horse racing in some way. I know very little about that sport nor do I care to. His books are still fantastic. I decided, if he could do that with horse racing, why couldn't I do it with auto racing? A Sh... moreot at Redemption was born, and I'm confident you don't need to be a supermodified fan to enjoy it. There is no greater tribute to an author than for someone to carry on his/her work after the author's death. Francis's final few novels, including Silks, Even Money and Crossfire were co-written by his son, Felix. Felix Francis subsequently released Dick Francis's Gamble (2011), and Dick Francis's Bloodline (2012) under his own name. I was thrilled he revisited the familiar horse racing theme. In all honesty, though, I felt like those first two novels were missing a little something. It was nothing I could put my finger on. It just wasn't the same. When Dick Francis's Refusal was released in 2013, I wasn't sure if I'd read it. If fact, for quite a while, I didn't. What finally sold me was the return of Sid Haley, the jockey turned detective who was also one of Dick Francis's few reoccurring characters. He was the one with the missing left hand. In Refusal, Haley is forced out of retirement and strongly, even violently encouraged to sign a report stating that suspicions of race fixing are unfounded. Of course the fix is on in a big way, but everyone is too scared to talk about the threatening Irishman who's behind it all. As was the case in previous novels, when Sid Haley is pushed, he pushes back even harder. Threaten his wife and his child and there's simply no stopping him. In my opinion, Refusal is, by far, Felix Francis's strongest effort to date. At times, I felt like he should have titled that book Dick Francis's Return because it seemed like the old master was at it once again. I'm happy to say that I very much look forward to reading Felix Francis's next book.
review 2: 3.5 stars. In the latest Sid Halley book, Sid is happily married and has a 6 year old daughter. He's given up his investigations, and is now making money on the stock market. When an old friend from the British Horseracing Association asks him to investigate some suspicious results in racing in the last few months, Sid refuses, as he's promised his wife to not get involved in dangerous situations anymore. When the old gentleman is found dead a day later, Sid begins to wonder if there is something wrong. From an old friend he hears the name of a bookie from Northern Ireland who's got a vicious gang that coerces people to do his bidding, so collect money from racehorse gambling. When Sid's daughter is kidnapped, he goes ballistic and begins to investigate in depth.This was a good read, but not a lot of action until the 2nd to last chapter. less

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