Come to Grief Dick Francis After an almost 20-year hiatus, Dick Francis returns to his favorite character Sid Halley in “Come to Grief.” Like the other Sid Halley stories, this one is dark and edgy even for a Dick Francis book, and like the other novels from the early 1990s, it features a particularly sadistic […]
Read more "“Come to Grief” by Dick Francis"Whip Hand Dick Francis In “Whip Hand,” Sid Halley returns, this time with his damaged hand replaced with a myoelectric version. He’s returned to life after the depression of the first book, but has to face his own weakness when his nemesis threatens him with his worst fears. Francis’s use of Halley as a recurring […]
Read more "“Whip Hand” by Dick Francis"Odds Against Dick Francis In “Odds Against,” Francis’s fourth fictional outing, he takes a decidedly darker turn. Although not lacking in evil villains, both “Dead Cert” and “For Kicks” had a strong aspect of glamorous wish fulfillment, and so, in its own way, did “Nerve.” Alan, Rob, and Daniel all had tough times, sure, but […]
Read more "“Odds Against” by Dick Francis"For Kicks Dick Francis In “For Kicks” Francis continues to demonstrate the mastery of the horse-thriller genre he established in “Nerve.” Even more so than “Nerve,” “For Kicks” is slightly bizarre, unrealistic wish fulfillment, but that in no way diminishes its charm–in fact, it is one of the key factors in its charm. Who doesn’t […]
Read more "“For Kicks” by Dick Francis"The Ghosts of Galway Ken Bruen “A failed suicide is a sad, sad *****” So begins “The Ghosts of Galway,” dropping the reader right into the action, as Jack Taylor, former Garda member and failed suicide, ends up, not kinder or wiser, but as a security guard, which he calls “Suicide by boredom.” Only things […]
Read more "“The Ghosts of Galway” by Ken Bruen"Nerve Dick Francis “Art Mathews shot himself, loudly and messily, in the center of the parade ring at Dunstable races.” Thus begins “Nerve,” and thus begins Dick Francis’s career as one of the leading crime writers of the 20th century. Although “Nerve” was his second novel, it was the one in which he got the […]
Read more "“Nerve” by Dick Francis"Dead Cert Dick Francis “Dead Cert” wasn’t the first Dick Francis book I read–that honor belongs to “The Danger”–but it’s his first novel in what would turn out to be a long and storied career, so it seems fitting to start my “classics of Dick Francis” retrospective with it. Reading “Dead Cert” after becoming familiar […]
Read more "“Dead Cert” by Dick Francis"Crossfire Dick Francis and Felix Francis Last January I set an absolutely ridiculous Goodreads reading challenge for myself–so ridiculous that I’m embarrassed even to admit how high it is (okay, it was 200 books). Needless to say, unless a miracle occurs I’m not going to meet it, although I will say in my defense that […]
Read more "“Crossfire” by Dick Francis and Felix Francis"The Sandbox David Zimmerman A surreptitiously weird book, “The Sandbox” follows the story of Toby Durrant, soldier and screw-up, who ends up in something way over his head while deployed in Iraq. The weirdness begins when Durrant’s convoy comes across the body of a little girl lying in the road. When they stop to investigate, […]
Read more "“The Sandbox” by David Zimmerman"When Time is a River Susan Clayton-Goldner In “When Time Is A River,” teenager Brandy wants to be an actress more than anything. But her dream may have been dashed before it was even formed: she has a noticeable scar on her cheek from a childhood accident. Now she’s going through plastic surgeries and trying […]
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E. P. Clark: Author, Book Reviewer, and All-Around Literary Handiwoman 