Status
Available
Genres
Description
Thirteen stories on horse racing. In Blind Chance, a blind boy discovers a scheme by crooks to rig bets, while in Carrot for a Chestnut, life punishes a jockey who drugs his horse.
User reviews
LibraryThing member tripleblessings
Thirteen short stories set in the world of horse racing. Some are mysteries, some are suspense, or have a twist ending. Good light reading.
LibraryThing member monado
These are nicely written stories by Dick Francis. They show his interest in how people think and feel, what makes them "tick." He recalls magazines asking him to write a story; and when he asked what it should be about, they'd say, "About 3 000 words" or "About 5 000 words." The stories are
- "Raid
- "Dead on Red"
- "Song for Mona"
- "Bright White Star"
- "Collision Course"
- "Nightmare"
- "Carrot for a Chestnut"
- "The Gift" (published as "The Day of Wine and Roses"}
- "Spring Fever"
- "Blind Chance"
- "Corkscrew"
- "The Day of the Losers"
- "Haig's Death"
- "Raid
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at Kingdom Hill"- "Dead on Red"
- "Song for Mona"
- "Bright White Star"
- "Collision Course"
- "Nightmare"
- "Carrot for a Chestnut"
- "The Gift" (published as "The Day of Wine and Roses"}
- "Spring Fever"
- "Blind Chance"
- "Corkscrew"
- "The Day of the Losers"
- "Haig's Death"
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LibraryThing member wdwilson3
I read many Dick Francis mysteries in the 1970’s and ‘80’s. I admired his intimate knowledge of all facets of horse racing and his able plotting. In time, I lost interest because his characters were, in the main, one-dimensional and a bit too pat. “Field of Thirteen” is a collection of
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Francis’ short stories, written mainly in the ‘70’s. In the short story format, one-dimensional characters are pretty much the norm, and the plot’s the thing, so I thought I’d enjoy these more. I unfortunately found most of the 13 stories to be rather routine. Having just put the book down (it was my “waiting room” read for a couple of weeks) I can only recall the plots of three or four. Francis seldom wanders far from the racecourse, and when he does (as in his story that involves the American legal system) the results are disastrous. Perhaps I just need to attend more steeplechases to get full enjoyment. Show Less
LibraryThing member MrsLee
I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of these stories. With moods from O'Henry to Du Maurier, they were each of them absorbing, well told and most had a good twist to them. I have read a few mysteries by Dick Francis, so I knew he wrote good novels. It's nice to know that his short stories are
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top notch as well. Show Less
LibraryThing member antiquary
Collection of short stories chiefly with racing backgrounds as usual with Francis. Some have the rather tiresome "short story" twist endings which I dislike.
LibraryThing member polywogg
PLOT OR PREMISE:
A collection of thirteen short stories, eight of which were published previously in various magazines.
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WHAT I LIKED:
"- Dead on Red - A contract killer kills a jockey for another jockey, but the results are not quite what the surviving jockey had desired. (4.00/5.00)
- Song for Mona -
- Collision Course - An editor loses his job and runs into snobs who won't let him park his boat at their restaurant while he has dinner with three publishers. Turns out the owner is a up-and-comer who needs to win an upcoming race in order to attract horses to his farm. An interesting battle develops. (4.00/5.00)
- Carrot for a Chestnut - Fixing a race by doping the horse with a doctored carrot. With a great twist at the end. (3.50/5.00)
- Blind Chance - A man has a perfect way to know the outcomes of photo-finish races, and to make money on it. Until disaster strikes. (4.00/5.00)
- Corkscrew - An honest man is charged with a crime and his lawyer swindles his parents out of the bail money. He doesn't count on the road to justice being somewhat long and windy. (3.75/5.00)
- The Day of the Losers -- Money from an old robbery is the glue that holds this story together as the police attempt to fix a race in order to catch a crook. There are twists all around at the end. (3.50/5.00)
- Haig's Death - All the people who have their fates resting on the outcome of a race are all affected when the decision falls to the judge, whose fate has already been decided. Multiple storylines all leading to a combined finish. (3.50/5.00)"
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WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
"- Raid at Kingdom Hill - A bomb scare at the racetrack, and money goes missing during the chaos. (2.00/5.00)
- Bright White Star - The theft of a horse from an auction and a wandering tramp who is displaced from his home on the land...includes a great set-up/intro though -- ""Write us a story,"" they said. I asked, ""What about?"" ""About three thousand words,"" they replied. (2.00/5.00)
- Nightmare - A horse thief is running from his past where his father was killed during a theft. (2.50/5.00)
- The Gift - A down-and-out alcoholic journalist finds the horseracing story of the century, but may be too drunk to write it. (2.00/5.00)
- Spring Fever - A woman falls in love with her jockey and is taken advantage of, at first. (2.50/5.00)"
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BOTTOM-LINE:
An average Francis collection
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DISCLOSURE:
I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I was not personal friends with the author, nor did I follow him on social media.
A collection of thirteen short stories, eight of which were published previously in various magazines.
.
WHAT I LIKED:
"- Dead on Red - A contract killer kills a jockey for another jockey, but the results are not quite what the surviving jockey had desired. (4.00/5.00)
- Song for Mona -
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A snobbish daughter is ashamed of her mother's life and history while others find her charming and praise her. (4.00/5.00) - Collision Course - An editor loses his job and runs into snobs who won't let him park his boat at their restaurant while he has dinner with three publishers. Turns out the owner is a up-and-comer who needs to win an upcoming race in order to attract horses to his farm. An interesting battle develops. (4.00/5.00)
- Carrot for a Chestnut - Fixing a race by doping the horse with a doctored carrot. With a great twist at the end. (3.50/5.00)
- Blind Chance - A man has a perfect way to know the outcomes of photo-finish races, and to make money on it. Until disaster strikes. (4.00/5.00)
- Corkscrew - An honest man is charged with a crime and his lawyer swindles his parents out of the bail money. He doesn't count on the road to justice being somewhat long and windy. (3.75/5.00)
- The Day of the Losers -- Money from an old robbery is the glue that holds this story together as the police attempt to fix a race in order to catch a crook. There are twists all around at the end. (3.50/5.00)
- Haig's Death - All the people who have their fates resting on the outcome of a race are all affected when the decision falls to the judge, whose fate has already been decided. Multiple storylines all leading to a combined finish. (3.50/5.00)"
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WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
"- Raid at Kingdom Hill - A bomb scare at the racetrack, and money goes missing during the chaos. (2.00/5.00)
- Bright White Star - The theft of a horse from an auction and a wandering tramp who is displaced from his home on the land...includes a great set-up/intro though -- ""Write us a story,"" they said. I asked, ""What about?"" ""About three thousand words,"" they replied. (2.00/5.00)
- Nightmare - A horse thief is running from his past where his father was killed during a theft. (2.50/5.00)
- The Gift - A down-and-out alcoholic journalist finds the horseracing story of the century, but may be too drunk to write it. (2.00/5.00)
- Spring Fever - A woman falls in love with her jockey and is taken advantage of, at first. (2.50/5.00)"
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BOTTOM-LINE:
An average Francis collection
.
DISCLOSURE:
I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I was not personal friends with the author, nor did I follow him on social media.
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LibraryThing member infjsarah
I've read all of Dick Francis so I know I've read this before but it was a good book to listen to on audio as it is short stories. And I'd forgotten them all so the repeat was no problem. Very enjoyable.
LibraryThing member thesmellofbooks
Thought the first story was very poor and stopped reading. Liked his novels, though.
LibraryThing member ajlewis2
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
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someone would drop it, so there you have it. Good writing and stories, but just too short for me. I should have known better. Show Less
LibraryThing member rosalita
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
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.
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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.
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LibraryThing member hhornblower
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
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heart-wrenching. Show Less
LibraryThing member witchyrichy
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.