Bolt

Dick Francis books read as if they came directly from the pages of the racing review. This book especially must be considered one of his best in both storyline and character. One reviewer said there was no mystery here, maybe so maybe not, but there certainly is suspense.

To bolt: that is what a horse can do when throwing its rider; that is what Kit Fielding's girlfriend is in the process of doing, and a bolt is what has been used to kill 3 prime racing steeds.

We learn from this book that a horse's brain is about the size of a person's fist, and that to kill one quickly one needs only draw a line from the right ear to the left eye and from the left ear to the right eye and where the X meets is the exact point to shoot the bolt. If true to aim, the horse will go down immediately with no loss of blood, it will just die. Grim business this book.

In BOLT Dick Francis has included just about as much racing action as any other of his books that I can recall. Several stories are taking place at various times throughout this novel and the reader's attention is captivated throughout. Racing injuries are mentioned too with some racing lore and strategy spread about also. This book has the feel of the track taking the reader along.

Starting on page 160 we receive several pages of information on the internation gun traffic with types of guns mentioned, especially the new plastic type that can go undetected through airports. And this background ties directly to the main plot of the story. Granted this information is dated by the book being published in 1987, but much of these statements would yet today hold truth.

On page 169 Kit Fielding sums up his thoughts on today's justice: "The law doesn't always deliver justice. The victim mostly loses. Too often the law can only punish, it can't put things right." Great statement Mr. Francis and alas only too true.

To go on and on would make this review longer than my arm, however, suffice it to say that this is one of more interesting and thought provoking Dick Francis books I've read. It ranks up there with the best. Read it and see if you don't agree.

Semper Fi.

I a Francis fan. He took on a hard subject and he did a good job. How can a story fail when it has a three generation family feud, a French villian, a princess, and last but not least, horses?

Do not read this sequel until you've read BREAK IN. Francis continues the story of the hate obsessed Maynard Allardeck vendetta against Kit Fielding who destroyed his chances of knighthood. Many readers may not understand the revenge motif that drives the villein without having the background of the earlier book. BOLT and BREAK IN are companions, which can stand alone, but are much more savory together.
Kit has more problems as he may lose his new love to a young prince from her own world "who doesn't have the courtesy to be bad looking."
The killer is always known in this story, but proving who is killing Kit's best rides is another question.
Enjoy, Bolt is anything but humane.
Nash Black, author of SINS OF THE FATHERS and QUALIFYING LAPS.

I have to say that out of all of the Dick Francis books that I've read this one really made an impact on me. I enjoyed the plot so much in Break In, which featured Kit Fielding, that I immediately picked up a copy of this book which once again had him as the main character.

Kit Fielding is a steeplechase jockey, who's a little too tall and a little too old to continue racing, but he has his own agenda. Kit's friend, Princess Cassilia, has always been there for him and she's very much involved with the racing world as an owner of a very large horse farm. When she's threatened and her racehorses begin turning up dead, Kit takes it on himself to investigate, even with her personal life in turmoil. As he investigates, it seems as if everyone in the wealthy class of racing is a suspect and this puts Kit in danger himself.

Stretching the boundaries of his writing style, Francis has written a great "who dun it" and created a variety of possible villains along the way. There is the unknown enemy who is determined to ruin Kit's family, a rival in the romantic arena, a weapons dealer who is the King of the underworld black market, and then the horse murderer who uses a bolt to kill horses.

For those who have little knowledge of horses, a bolt is a weapon that is similar to a gun, but instead of a bullet being fired, it shoots a heavy metal slide (bolt) against the horse's head which immediately kills it. I'm told that this is a humane way to put down horses and usually administered by a veterinarian in extreme cases. Just the thought of such a weapon left chills up and down my spine, and leave it to Francis to use such a weapon in one of his books.

Bolt left me feeling uneasy about the method in which these horses were destroyed, but I guess murder of any kind should never be viewed with complacency! The character of Kit Fielding is one with which many can easily identify and the action is non-stop until the last page. There are even a few twists and turns along the way, just so you don't get over confident that you have figured out the murderer's true identity.

Bolt is definitely not for the faint of heart, but an excellent mystery with lots of adventure and wonderful descriptions of the English countryside.

In Bolt, Dick Francis continues the misadventures of Kit Fielding, jockey and all-round good guy. Francis' heroes are nearly always good and honest and brave, but never boring. They're the sort of men women would love to love and men should want to be like.

This time, however, Kit seems on the verge of losing, Danielle, his fiance and the love of his life. As he wrestles with these feelings, he is struck with the murder of the Princess' horses, first one, then two, then one more. Henri Nonterre is out to make the Princess and her husband turn to gun manufacturing, but Kit will do anything in his power to keep that from happening, as long as the family chooses to resist.

Meantime, Kit's old enemy, Maynard Allerdeck, looms in the background with renewed malice. What can possibly have increased his hatred for this particular Fielding? Fully occupied in helping the Princess and her family (which includes Danielle)avoid Nonterre's machinations, Kit merely tries to avoid any adverse contact with Maynard. But that may not be possible.

In typically honest, straight forward fashion, Kit strives to protect his employers and friends, and the horses he loves so much. In the meantime, he waits for Danielle to make up her mind about whether she wants to spend the rest of her life with him. A first rate story and most pleasant narrator.