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Longshot

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Longshot

By: Dick Francis
Narrated by: Tony Britton
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John Kendall knows how to survive. He's written six handbooks on the subject. Now he wants to become a novelist, preferably without starving to death. But when cold and hunger set in, Kendall impulsively accepts an unlikely job.

He is to research and write a biography of Tremayne Vickers, a famous racehorse trainer. Staying at Vickers' home in rural Berkshire, Kendall soon learns to like his host and friends, learns to ride racehorses, learns about murderers ... and how his own survival tips can become deadly traps.

©1990 Dick Francis Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Exciting Fiction Survival Sports Animal Sports
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Critic reviews

"Intelligent, fast-paced." ( The New York Times Book Review)
"An exuberant, irresistible collision between writing and racing ... Few match Francis for dangerous flights of fancy and pure, inventive menace." ( The Boston Herald)
"Fast-paced, meticulously plotted ... Nobody sets up a mystery better than Dick Francis." ( San Francisco Chronicle)
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Francis is known for his solid mastery of the archetypal mystery thriller, and Longshot is no exception - in fact, it's a highpoint of his work. It begins, building the picture of the protagonist; John Kendall, who, while he is something of a 'poster-boy' hero type, nevertheless manages to carry the listener along with him, and into the world of a survival-guide writer, caught up in the high stakes drama of a well-to-do horse racing family, and the dark secrets that threaten the otherwise peaceful rural idyll they inhabit. With some clever nods to the world of writing, an insider's view of race horse training, and tense, dangerous misadventures that threaten the hero and his new friends, the story weaves a nervous, complex, and thoroughly quintessential example of the mystery genre, that is barely untangled even by the very end of the tale - keeping the listener enthralled, and never quite sure just who it is that lurks in the shadows, waiting to ensnare Kendall and company, and bring their world crashing down around them. 9/10 - a must read!

Classic Francis, peerless mystery

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Read this many years ago . Audio made it so much better . have all the rest of his books to listen to. perfect.

Perfect

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Britton brilliant as usual. I think Francis could have done better with the brutal climax and denouement but it's pretty classic Francis. some nice blinds but the perpetrator is a bit left field. some more esoteric bushcraft would have been welcome. Bolinda manage to record and edit more satisfactorily than some previous efforts so it's not a chore to listen. One book will be produced giving the impression that Bolinda is competent, but not this one.

Classic Francis. reliable but unspectacular

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Good tale, Tony Britton tells the story very well. I love all the racing stuff too

Wonderful narration

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Excellent plot well constructed and thought provoking. It was extremely well read by Tony Britton and easy to follow and understand.

Excellent book

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