Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Book review: Gamble - Felix Francis

Gamble (Dick Francis Book 1) by [Francis, Felix]




















Title: Gamble

AuthorFelix Francis

FICTION

Genre: Thriller

Ranking: 7.5 out of 10.0

Buy: Maybe

Borrow: Yes

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005GET4XO/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Summary:  Nick Foxton once won the Grand National, but a terrible accident cut his career short. Years later, he returns to Aintree as a spectator and to meet his IFA clients.

Minutes before the big race, Nick's colleague, financial adviser Herb Kovak, is shot dead and the gunman vanishes into the crowd. The police want answers but Nick can't explain why anyone would want Herb dead.

When he finds a threatening message crumpled in Herb's coat, Nick begins questioning all he knows about his friend. And on learning that he is the benefactor of Herb's will, Nick is certain that something is not right.
A fact confirmed when Nick discovers he's the next target of the killer.
Main review: 
Felix Francis, son of jockey/suspense writer Dick Francis’s son coauthored his late father’s last four novels (Crossfire, 2010, etc.), turns in a solo performance worthy of the family name.
There’s nothing like having a colleague murdered in front of you at a racecourse to turn a financial advisor at Lyall & Black into a freelance investigator. Nicholas Foxton's friendship with Herb was just beginning to deepen when he was shot minutes before the Grand National was to be run.
Nick has the computer skills to follow the money and the physique of a former jockey sidelined when he broke his neck seven years ago. In his unexpected capacity as Herb’s executor and sole heir prompts Nick into looking into Herb's estate, and it’s one unholy mess. Herb, a transplanted American, owed thousands of pounds on a dozen credit cards and had only a nominal savings account. 
With some help from Herb’s twin sister Sherri Nick realizes that Herb also had a large income stream he kept carefully off the books. Meantime, Col Jolyon Roberts, a client at Lyall & Black, has asked Nick to look into a hospital the Roberts Family Trust had supposedly built in Bulgaria—a hospital the Colonel’s nephew Ben claims doesn’t exist. 
Meanwhile, Nick’s artist girlfriend Claudia, who’s been suspiciously distant lately, dismays him when she tells him why. As the plot unfolds, Nick falls into the hands of his enemies, comes to terms with a dark family secret and gets one more chance to climb on a horse and ride him to glory.
If all this sounds familiar, Francis fans can be assured that, like Nick’s mount, they’re in expert hands.
Further reading suggestion: Front Runner - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00XOA7IN0/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

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