Dead Cert is the first book by Dick Francis, written in 1962. I have read several of his works a long while ago and decided to pick up this one in order to meet some specific timeframe challenge prompts. I am pleased I made this decision. I really enjoy reading the books set around horse racing. Francis as a retired jockey and writer has done a wonderful job of capitalizing on both his skills and knowledge. This book is about Alan York and is considered a standalone work. I thought the details about the horse community, horses in general and steeplechase are well incorporated into the story without being too overwhelming. The mystery itself has lots of layers and intertwines personal relationships with the investigation. Alan is definitely torn on whether he wants to get to the bottom of what happened to his friend Bill Davidson at times as he is afraid of the guilty party being someone he cares about. This book is a good balance of character development and action. Dick Francis captures the stress and adrenaline of a chase and hunt very well and has the reader on the edge of their seat waiting to see the outcome. I look forward to reading more of the books and don't mind rereading the ones I read as I don't remember all the details by any means.
Dead Cert by Dick Francis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I always have enjoyed Dick Francis books. I find it interesting to read about the racing world and I am also up for a well written mystery. Francis knows his crafts- writing and horse racing and it shows in his stories. This one has red herrings and a plot full of personal relationships that lead to confusing and suspicion.
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Challenge Prompts
The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:
- Library Love #LibraryLoveChallenge Book #58
- What an Animal Book #38
- Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2022 Book #68
- Back List Reader #Backlistreader Book #55
- Cruisin thru Cozies Free choice #45
- Cloak & Dagger #CloakDaggerChal Book #67
- Craving for Cozies Book #62
- Medical Examiner Challenge 2 Toe Tags
- Beachcomber Challenge
- Crime Scene- horse track
- Weapon- wire; knife
- Detectives- Alan York
- Victims- Bill Davidson; Joe N
- Six Shooter Challenge Target # 86 Shot #1
- 52 Book Club #the52bookclub #27 Includes a map
- Nerd Daily #NERDREADING2022 #44 released before you were born
- Pick your Poison #79 a book set within 10 years of your birth
- Uncorked Reader #UncorkedReading2022 6 set in Mexico
- Century challenge 1960s
If you enjoy mysteries set in the horse racing world, I recommend "The Calendar" by Edgar Wallace (1930). "The Racing Calendar" is a popular newsletter for the horse racing/betting crowd, eagerly perused by our characters, and the social media of its day. You can read my synopsis/review here, and you can get the Kindle version here for $1.99.
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