When it comes to a bookstore having a sale, I can’t seem to help myself and when it’s a John Francome book marked down from $25 to $8, I definitely can’t! I picked up Free Fall because it had been marked down and I had a couple of Francome books after reading one by Dick Francis with a foreword by Francome.

Free Fall focuses on two sisters who are involved with men in the racing industry. One is an apprentice jockey involved with a well practised jockey while the other a hairdresser, married to a yard foreman.

Both men are short on money, one eager to improve his bank balance to impress his unhappy wife, the other disillusioned about life as a jockey and looking for a quick financial fix. Together they hatch a plan to win money on the horses but find that the Murphy’s Law of life causes things to run in a rather haphazard way.

The novel starts out with a potential suicide leaving you questioning who the two characters are in this situation before the story moves suddenly elsewhere. It’s not until the near conclusion of the book that you’re brought back to this first scene and given answers.

A murder mystery, Free Fall contains enough horses to keep the enthusiast following and was aside from this the sort of book I didn’t want to put down until my many questions were answered.

The interrelationships between the characters kept the story moving along nicely and although there was only thirty or so pages left and I didn’t see how things could be wrapped up when they’d just seemed to reach a pivotal moment, the ending didn’t seem rushed and came together well.

Author: John Francome
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/f/john-francome/
Fiction – murder mystery
In my library? Sure. Don’t necessarily agree with the actions of some of the characters but didn’t find the writing in itself offensive. In fact very interesting and a catching read.

“… you rise and fall with the leg by the wall …”

Tag: horse story, equine book review, john francome, equine author, horse library, horse writing

I was loaned this book by Lyndon Stacey from a friend who handed it over when she realised I was a fan of Dick Francis’ novels. Stacey has had said of her writing, “The closest to taking Dick Francis’ crown”.

Dead Fall revolves around Lincoln (Linc) Tremayne, an heir to a viscountcy rising thirty year old male who has a passion for horses, his goal to follow in the footsteps of his recently deceased mother. She was headed for the Olympics before an accident while riding took her life.

Linc keeps his horse elsewhere due to his father’s disapproval of equine pursuits and consequently becomes close friends with the family where he boards his horse.

When one of the young girls who straps for him at competitions ends up in a coma on account of some tack thieves, he finds himself investigating who the attackers are. No surprises, this brings on a heap of trouble for the young man.

Stacey’s novel is a really interesting read as well as extremely informative. For the equine enthusiast who perhaps isn’t familiar with the world of one and three day events, a lot of explanation goes into the book to bring you up to speed with rules and regulations, details of jumping courses and even gear used on horses.

The book is a long one – nearly 500 pages – but flows well and it wasn’t one that seemed to drag at any point. The characters are interesting and entertaining and the storyline is well researched and believable.

You can’t beat a fictional read that is entertaining and causes you to learn as you read.

Author: Lyndon Stacey
http://www.lyndon-stacey.com/
Fiction – Thriller.
In my library? I don’t own it yet as this was a borrowed copy but I’ll be on the look out for all that Stacey has put out on shelves so far. There is noticeable swearing throughout the book but otherwise it’s fairly friendly to the horse obsessed young adult.

“He who always needs a mounting block had better not fall off in the middle of the field.”

Tag: horse story, equine book review, lyndon stacey, equine author, horse library, horse writing