May 30, 2022
The entire life of Miles Pussett, the narrator of Francis’s subpar sixth solo addition to his father’s horse-racing series (after 2019’s Guilty Not Guilty), has been shaped by that of his father, Jim Pussett, a British steeplechase jockey champion. Jim died in a car accident when he steered his side of the vehicle into harm’s way to protect then 12-year-old Miles. Suffering from survivor’s guilt, Miles sets out to emulate his father’s success as a jockey, a career that’s threatened by his dependence on alcohol and comes to an end after an unfortunate incident. Seven years later, Miles competes in toboggan races in Switzerland, where on one occasion he winds up participating in the White Turf, a horse race run on an iced-over lake. Soon afterward, Miles is almost killed when someone puts a cement block in the path of his toboggan, forcing him to play sleuth to identify his adversary. The mystery element is minimal, and a clichéd and superficial romantic subplot undercuts the suspense. Hopefully, Francis will do better next time. Agent: Ed Wilson, Johnson & Alcock (U.K.).
June 1, 2022
Felix Francis, the successor to his late father, Dick, in crafting thrillers set in the British racing world, here brings us three different kinds of racing, all breathtakingly perilous. The first is British steeplechase racing, familiar to all Dick Francis readers. The second is toboggan racing in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The third kind, also taking place in St. Moritz, is horse racing on ice. Competing in all three kinds of daredevil events is a wonderfully complex and compelling hero, Miles Pussett, who gets a break from his inner demons by riding full tilt over racetrack hazards and headfirst down twisting ice chutes. The central mystery here is Miles himself, bedeviled by crippling panic attacks and survivor guilt after the death of his father, a champion steeplechase jockey. Francis juxtaposes scenes of Pussett competing in past steeplechase races against his present-day, near-suicidal toboggan rides, drawing the reader more and more into the mystery of Pussett's downfall. Francis also takes readers behind the scenes, detailing, for example, the complicated logistics of getting horse and rider to the post, as well as the eating disorders and addictions that often plague jockeys trying to maintain their weight. A harrowing subplot connects Pussett's past and present as he tries to right himself. Brilliant all around.
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