Advanced reading copy fine

Thirteen stories from the master. Each one a perfect gem with quirky characters who come together at the track. Greed, love, jealousy, the range of human emotions and foibles. Good guys tend to win and bad guys learn their lessons in sometimes very hard ways. And always a twist that caps the tale. ( )

I tend to avoid short story collections (can't really say why, just biased towards novels I guess) and I hadn't realized this was a such a book. Well, I'm going to have to adjust my attitude. Granted, I am a fan of Mr. Francis, but found these stories completely enjoyable and occasionally heart-wrenching. ( )

Most of Dick Francis' mysteries set in or around the sport of horseracing were full-length novels, but he did occasionally write short stories for publication in various magazines. This is a collection of 13 of those, written at various times and for various publications. Francis added short header notes to each story giving a little of the background or inspiration, or indicating when something had been updated. Generally speaking, they range from okay to good, but I still prefer his longer works.

My brief notes on each:

Raid at Kingdom Hill — A seemingly straightforward tale of villainy through a bomb threat at a racecourse turns twisty as all sorts of people look to cash in.

Dead on Red — A professional assassin goes to the races.

Song for Mona — The meek may not inherit the earth, but sometimes they get their revenge.

Bright White Star — A trainer, a tramp, and a tale of "what goes 'round, comes round'.

Collision Course — Never pick a fight with a man who buys ink by the barrel.

Nightmare — Crime pays just fine most of the time, but once in a while the good guys win one.

Carrot for a Chestnut — A chain of conspiracy is only as strong as its weakest link.

The Gift — An alcoholic sportswriter gets the tip of a lifetime at the Kentucky Derby — if only he can stay sober enough to write it.

Spring Fever — An older woman's crush on her young jockey is paid back with treachery.

Blind Chance — Sometimes you don't have to watch the ponies run to know who wins.

Corkscrew — Drawing straight with crooked lines is sometimes the only way for justice to be served.

The Day of the Losers — Racing is full of winners and losers, and they aren't always who they seem to be.

Haig's Death — The butterfly effect plays out at the racecourse. ( )

I abandoned the book half-way through, because unfortunately I really don't like short stories very much. The 7 that I read were good as short stories go. I read Dick Francis novels many years ago and enjoyed them, so I decided to give these stories a try. This book deserves an explanation of why someone would drop it, so there you have it. Good writing and stories, but just too short for me. I should have known better. ( )