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For Kicks
A classic mystery from Dick Francis, the champion of English storytellers. Daniel Roke owns a stud farm in Australia. He's young, smart, hard-working and desperate for some excitement - all of which makes him the ideal candidate for the Earl of October, who has come visiting. The Earl is concerned about a horse-doping scandal that is destroying English racing. He wants to pay Daniel to come back with him, pose as a highly corruptible stable lad and discover who is behind it. Unfortunately, when Daniel agrees he doesn't realise how close he'll have to get to find the truth. Nor how determined the criminals will be to prevent him living long enough to tell anyone... Praise for Dick Francis: 'As a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing' Daily Mirror 'Dick Francis's fiction has a secret ingredient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding it tight until the very end' Sunday Telegraph 'The narrative is brisk and gripping and the background researched with care . . . the entire story is a pleasure to relish' Scotsman 'Francis writing at his best' Evening Standard 'A regular winner . . . as smooth, swift and lean as ever' Sunday Express 'A super chiller and killer' New York Times Book Review Dick Francis was one of the most successful post-war National Hunt jockeys. The winner of over 350 races, he was champion jockey in 1953/1954 and rode for HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, most famously on Devon Loch in the 1956 Grand National. On his retirement from the saddle, he published his autobiography, The Sport of Queens, before going on to write forty-three bestselling novels, a volume of short stories (Field of 13), and the biography of Lester Piggott. During his lifetime Dick Francis received many awards, amongst them the prestigious Crime Writers' Association's Cartier Diamond Dagger for his outstanding contribution to the genre, and three 'best novel' Edgar Allan Poe awards from The Mystery Writers of America. In 1996 he was named by them as Grand Master for a lifetime's achievement. In 1998 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2000. Dick Francis died in February 2010, at the age of eighty-nine, but he remains one of the greatest thriller writers of all time.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1965
364 people are currently reading
809 people want to read
About the author
Dick Francis
535 books1,249 followersDick Francis, CBE, FRSL (born Richard Stanley Francis) was a popular British horse racing crime writer and retired jockey.
Dick Francis worked on his books with his wife, Mary, before her death. Dick considered his wife to be his co-writer - as he is quoted in the book, "The Dick Francis Companion", released in 2003:
"Mary and I worked as a team. ... I have often said that I would have been happy to have both our names on the cover. Mary's family always called me Richard due to having another Dick in the family. I am Richard, Mary was Mary, and Dick Francis was the two of us together."
Praise for Dick Francis: 'As a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing' Daily Mirror '
Dick Francis's fiction has a secret ingredient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding it tight until the very end' Sunday Telegraph '
Dick Francis was one of the most successful post-war National Hunt jockeys. The winner of over 350 races, he was champion jockey in 1953/1954 and rode for HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, most famously on Devon Loch in the 1956 Grand National.
On his retirement from the saddle, he published his autobiography, The Sport of Queens, before going on to write forty-three bestselling novels, a volume of short stories (Field of 13), and the biography of Lester Piggott.
During his lifetime Dick Francis received many awards, amongst them the prestigious Crime Writers' Association's Cartier Diamond Dagger for his outstanding contribution to the genre, and three 'best novel' Edgar Allan Poe awards from The Mystery Writers of America. In 1996 he was named by them as Grand Master for a lifetime's achievement. In 1998 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2000. Dick Francis died in February 2010, at the age of eighty-nine, but he remains one of the greatest thriller writers of all time.
Series:
* Sid Halley Mystery
* Kit Fielding Mystery
Dick Francis worked on his books with his wife, Mary, before her death. Dick considered his wife to be his co-writer - as he is quoted in the book, "The Dick Francis Companion", released in 2003:
"Mary and I worked as a team. ... I have often said that I would have been happy to have both our names on the cover. Mary's family always called me Richard due to having another Dick in the family. I am Richard, Mary was Mary, and Dick Francis was the two of us together."
Praise for Dick Francis: 'As a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing' Daily Mirror '
Dick Francis's fiction has a secret ingredient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding it tight until the very end' Sunday Telegraph '
Dick Francis was one of the most successful post-war National Hunt jockeys. The winner of over 350 races, he was champion jockey in 1953/1954 and rode for HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, most famously on Devon Loch in the 1956 Grand National.
On his retirement from the saddle, he published his autobiography, The Sport of Queens, before going on to write forty-three bestselling novels, a volume of short stories (Field of 13), and the biography of Lester Piggott.
During his lifetime Dick Francis received many awards, amongst them the prestigious Crime Writers' Association's Cartier Diamond Dagger for his outstanding contribution to the genre, and three 'best novel' Edgar Allan Poe awards from The Mystery Writers of America. In 1996 he was named by them as Grand Master for a lifetime's achievement. In 1998 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2000. Dick Francis died in February 2010, at the age of eighty-nine, but he remains one of the greatest thriller writers of all time.
Series:
* Sid Halley Mystery
* Kit Fielding Mystery
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 243 reviews
June 13, 2023
An interesting horse racing thriller, an undercover expatriate (from Australia) returns to the UK to infiltrate UK horse racing to seek out a conspiracy of race fixers. As ever with Francis, his horse racing work always gives insight into how the British horse racing industry works. 6 out of 12.
2008 read
2008 read
February 5, 2012
When I was in middle school, I went on vacation with a friend's family. She was an only child and soon decided she did not like sharing attention with another kid. It was a long week with a lot of time spent in a car. The only thing that saved me was "For Kicks", which I found shoved under the front seat of the family car. I read through arguments about dinner, car sickness, and sleeping in the same room as a sick cat for two nights. After I returned home (finally!) I conveniently forgot to return the book. I haunted the local library for more Dick Francis books and even worked up the nerve to get permission to browse the adult stacks (tiny local library with specific ideas about what children should and should not read). After high school I traveled to England partially because of Francis' books. To this day "For Kicks" remains one of my favorite books.
May 24, 2020
A Spectacular, Tension Filled, Fast Paced, Read that I enjoyed even more the second time!
Daniel Roke feels trapped. His parents had both drowned in a sailing accident when he was eighteen, his two sisters and brother were younger still. Since then he has been running a very successful Australian stud farm in order to support himself and his siblings but he's dead bored of it.
Then one morning a man who calls himself the Earl of October and offers him a job to go to England as a corruptible stable lad to investigate a doping scandal.
"Can I make you understand how concerned my colleagues and I are over these undetectable cases of doping? I own several race horses mostly -steeplechasers- and my family for generations have been lovers and supportive of racing. The health of the sport means more to me, and people like me, then I can possibly say....
Daniel still remains unconvinced that he can afford to leave his responsibilities to chance. Not easily deterred Lord October has come prepared, offering him £20,000.
"I'll tell you what you would do with it, if you like. You would pay the fees of the medical school your sister Belinda has her heart set on. You would send your younger sister, Helen, to art school, as she wants. You would put enough aside for your 13 year old brother, Philip, to become a lawyer, if he still has a mind of it when he grows up."
And with that, Daniel agrees to the job.
The first stable he's been assigned is with Inskip, a hard, no nonsense trainer.
Unfortunately Daniel is finding nothing helpful in his investigations. Daniel needs some way to get moved to Humber's stable, a seedy, mean trainer, but must keep up appearances to do it.
Then, by chance, Lord October's promiscuis daughter lands Daniel in hot water, leaving him with more than a bad taste in his mouth but the perfect reason to move to Humber's.
"Very well he said heavily. I'll tell Inskip that you are to be dismissed. And I'll tell him it is because you pestered Patricia.
"Right."
He looked at me coldly. "You can write me reports. I don't want to see you again."
I watched him walk away strongly up the gully. I didn't know whether or not he really believed me anymore that I had done what Patty said; but I did know that he needed to believe it. The alternative, the truth, was so much worse. What father wants to discover that his beautiful 18 year-old daughter is a lying sl*t?
After two months of less than deplorable conditions at Humber's, including
Adams, an owner, who beats and humiliates the lads for his own entertainment, and no signs of doping. Then a horse returns to the yard from a seemingly routine swim in the ocean. He's completely unhinged, needing daily sedation, with suspicious burns on his legs. Something is very bad happened to him and Daniel won't stop until he finds out what. He also knows that if Humble and Adams discover what he's doing they won't hesitate to stop him. Permanently.
I've read hundreds of books and Dick Francis remains my favorite author.
For Kicks is absolutely riveting! My heart was in my throat and I had to remind myself to breathe. And the world disappeared. The plot is swift and comes to a stunning conclusion. A must read!
Daniel Roke feels trapped. His parents had both drowned in a sailing accident when he was eighteen, his two sisters and brother were younger still. Since then he has been running a very successful Australian stud farm in order to support himself and his siblings but he's dead bored of it.
Then one morning a man who calls himself the Earl of October and offers him a job to go to England as a corruptible stable lad to investigate a doping scandal.
"Can I make you understand how concerned my colleagues and I are over these undetectable cases of doping? I own several race horses mostly -steeplechasers- and my family for generations have been lovers and supportive of racing. The health of the sport means more to me, and people like me, then I can possibly say....
Daniel still remains unconvinced that he can afford to leave his responsibilities to chance. Not easily deterred Lord October has come prepared, offering him £20,000.
"I'll tell you what you would do with it, if you like. You would pay the fees of the medical school your sister Belinda has her heart set on. You would send your younger sister, Helen, to art school, as she wants. You would put enough aside for your 13 year old brother, Philip, to become a lawyer, if he still has a mind of it when he grows up."
And with that, Daniel agrees to the job.
The first stable he's been assigned is with Inskip, a hard, no nonsense trainer.
Unfortunately Daniel is finding nothing helpful in his investigations. Daniel needs some way to get moved to Humber's stable, a seedy, mean trainer, but must keep up appearances to do it.
Then, by chance, Lord October's promiscuis daughter lands Daniel in hot water, leaving him with more than a bad taste in his mouth but the perfect reason to move to Humber's.
"Very well he said heavily. I'll tell Inskip that you are to be dismissed. And I'll tell him it is because you pestered Patricia.
"Right."
He looked at me coldly. "You can write me reports. I don't want to see you again."
I watched him walk away strongly up the gully. I didn't know whether or not he really believed me anymore that I had done what Patty said; but I did know that he needed to believe it. The alternative, the truth, was so much worse. What father wants to discover that his beautiful 18 year-old daughter is a lying sl*t?
After two months of less than deplorable conditions at Humber's, including
Adams, an owner, who beats and humiliates the lads for his own entertainment, and no signs of doping. Then a horse returns to the yard from a seemingly routine swim in the ocean. He's completely unhinged, needing daily sedation, with suspicious burns on his legs. Something is very bad happened to him and Daniel won't stop until he finds out what. He also knows that if Humble and Adams discover what he's doing they won't hesitate to stop him. Permanently.
I've read hundreds of books and Dick Francis remains my favorite author.
For Kicks is absolutely riveting! My heart was in my throat and I had to remind myself to breathe. And the world disappeared. The plot is swift and comes to a stunning conclusion. A must read!
July 10, 2015
Whenever I need a little pick-me-up, I know I can always count on Dick Francis.
First of all, I always fall for his heroes. They are invariably good, honest guys with a core of toughness, an iron-clad determination to do the right thing. In For Kicks the hero is Daniel Roke, an Australian owner of a prosperous stud farm. But even a successful stable takes a huge amount of work--the day starts at dawn and all-night sessions are not uncommon in foaling season. Dan is stuck in a rut, raising his younger orphaned brothers and sisters, worrying about tuition fees, dealing with too many responsibilities thrust on him too early.
A British racing official, in Australia on business, meets Roke and seizes on him as the perfect answer to a problem: horses that have a history of running out of steam in the final furlongs of races have been suddenly winning. They look like they've been doped, but the blood tests are all negative. The investigator the racing officials hired has died in a suspicious auto accident. They need someone to go under cover as a stable lad to ferret out the crooks. Why Roke? He looks the part--young looking and bearing a distinct resemblance to an Italian peasant. Plus he's Australian and British racing is too small a world for someone local to stay hidden. Roke is offered twenty thousand pounds to take on the job--he's tempted not only because he needs the money, but because the chance to do something different, someplace else, just for a few months, is irresistible.
Dick Francis, a former steeplechase jockey, knows horses, stable life and racing inside and out.
He makes you feel the pre-dawn chill, the damp of English winters; the aching muscles after hours of mucking out stalls, grooming horses, cleaning tack; the endless grubbiness and petty humiliation of doing a hard, dirty, menial job. You can practically smell the manure.
And then there are the other stable lads. Francis can make even minor characters come alive with just a few quick lines of dialog or description and he has a real sense of the camaraderie and rivalries that are an inevitable part of stable life. His novels are always psychologically astute. Roke chafes not just because he is accustomed to respect and he's now doing thankless work, but also because he has to make himself disliked. To set an effective trap he needs to seem disreputable...the kind of lad who might be tempted to fix a race.
The mystery was really clever and had me guessing right up until the end and then I was horrified at how the race fixing was done. The villains were believable and I longed to see their nasty tricks stopped forever. It was all very satisfying. There was just one plot twist too many at the end and I knocked off a star for that.
Content rating PG: Some violence (Francis was a jockey and so he knows how to describe pain so you really feel it). Occasional non-explicit sex. Some mild cursing.
First of all, I always fall for his heroes. They are invariably good, honest guys with a core of toughness, an iron-clad determination to do the right thing. In For Kicks the hero is Daniel Roke, an Australian owner of a prosperous stud farm. But even a successful stable takes a huge amount of work--the day starts at dawn and all-night sessions are not uncommon in foaling season. Dan is stuck in a rut, raising his younger orphaned brothers and sisters, worrying about tuition fees, dealing with too many responsibilities thrust on him too early.
A British racing official, in Australia on business, meets Roke and seizes on him as the perfect answer to a problem: horses that have a history of running out of steam in the final furlongs of races have been suddenly winning. They look like they've been doped, but the blood tests are all negative. The investigator the racing officials hired has died in a suspicious auto accident. They need someone to go under cover as a stable lad to ferret out the crooks. Why Roke? He looks the part--young looking and bearing a distinct resemblance to an Italian peasant. Plus he's Australian and British racing is too small a world for someone local to stay hidden. Roke is offered twenty thousand pounds to take on the job--he's tempted not only because he needs the money, but because the chance to do something different, someplace else, just for a few months, is irresistible.
Dick Francis, a former steeplechase jockey, knows horses, stable life and racing inside and out.
He makes you feel the pre-dawn chill, the damp of English winters; the aching muscles after hours of mucking out stalls, grooming horses, cleaning tack; the endless grubbiness and petty humiliation of doing a hard, dirty, menial job. You can practically smell the manure.
And then there are the other stable lads. Francis can make even minor characters come alive with just a few quick lines of dialog or description and he has a real sense of the camaraderie and rivalries that are an inevitable part of stable life. His novels are always psychologically astute. Roke chafes not just because he is accustomed to respect and he's now doing thankless work, but also because he has to make himself disliked. To set an effective trap he needs to seem disreputable...the kind of lad who might be tempted to fix a race.
The mystery was really clever and had me guessing right up until the end and then I was horrified at how the race fixing was done. The villains were believable and I longed to see their nasty tricks stopped forever. It was all very satisfying. There was just one plot twist too many at the end and I knocked off a star for that.
Content rating PG: Some violence (Francis was a jockey and so he knows how to describe pain so you really feel it). Occasional non-explicit sex. Some mild cursing.
May 25, 2020
I was in college when I discovered Dick Francis,courtesy of an Urdu translation of his book Reflex,in a Pakistani magazine.
There used to be an old bookshop at the back of my college and it used to have tons of thrillers.Among those was a stash of early Dick Francis books as well,including For Kicks.
This is very early Francis.There is a good deal about daily life at a racing stable,and especially about the lives of stable lads,who have to clean out the horse muck.I could almost smell it.
The setting is Australia,there is plenty of action.I still have that book from decades ago,its pages are yellowing and are torn.
But,I've kept those Francis books all those years and continued to collect each one of his books when they came out later.There is only one I never found,In the Frame.
There used to be an old bookshop at the back of my college and it used to have tons of thrillers.Among those was a stash of early Dick Francis books as well,including For Kicks.
This is very early Francis.There is a good deal about daily life at a racing stable,and especially about the lives of stable lads,who have to clean out the horse muck.I could almost smell it.
The setting is Australia,there is plenty of action.I still have that book from decades ago,its pages are yellowing and are torn.
But,I've kept those Francis books all those years and continued to collect each one of his books when they came out later.There is only one I never found,In the Frame.
April 30, 2021
An Australian stable owner is hired to find out who is doping steeple chase horses and how.
Some tension, but seems terribly old fashioned.
Some tension, but seems terribly old fashioned.
August 4, 2012
What is there to say about Dick Francis? As I think about all of his books (yes, this review covers all of his books, and yes I've read them all) I think about a moral ethical hero, steeped in intelligence and goodness embroiled in evil machinations within British horse racing society - either directly or indirectly. The heroes aren't always horse jockies, they can be film producers, or involve heroes engaged in peripheral professions that somehow always touch the horse racing world.
But more than that, Francis's heroes are rational human beings. The choices made are rational choices directed by a firm objective philosophy that belies all of Francis's novels. The dialogue is clear and touched with humor no matter the intensity of evil that the hero faces. The hero's thoughts reveal a vulnerability that is touching, while his actions are always based on doing the right thing to achieve justice.
Causing the reader to deeply care about the characters in a novel is a difficult thing to do. No such worries in a Francis novel. The point of view is first person, you are the main character as you read the story (usually the character of Mr. Douglas). The hero is personable, like able, non-violent but delivering swift justice with his mind rather than through physical means. This is not to say that violence is a stranger to our hero. Some of it staggering and often delivered by what we would think of normal persons living in British society.
You will come to love the world of Steeple Chase racing, you will grow a fondness for horses, stables, trainers and the people who live in that world. You will read the books, devouring one after the other and trust me Dick Francis has a lot of novels (over 40 by my last count).
There are several series woven into the fabric of Francis's work: notably the Sid Halley and Kit Fielding series.
Assessment: Dick Francis is one of my favorite writers. I read his books with a fierce hunger that remains insatiable and I mourn his death.
But more than that, Francis's heroes are rational human beings. The choices made are rational choices directed by a firm objective philosophy that belies all of Francis's novels. The dialogue is clear and touched with humor no matter the intensity of evil that the hero faces. The hero's thoughts reveal a vulnerability that is touching, while his actions are always based on doing the right thing to achieve justice.
Causing the reader to deeply care about the characters in a novel is a difficult thing to do. No such worries in a Francis novel. The point of view is first person, you are the main character as you read the story (usually the character of Mr. Douglas). The hero is personable, like able, non-violent but delivering swift justice with his mind rather than through physical means. This is not to say that violence is a stranger to our hero. Some of it staggering and often delivered by what we would think of normal persons living in British society.
You will come to love the world of Steeple Chase racing, you will grow a fondness for horses, stables, trainers and the people who live in that world. You will read the books, devouring one after the other and trust me Dick Francis has a lot of novels (over 40 by my last count).
There are several series woven into the fabric of Francis's work: notably the Sid Halley and Kit Fielding series.
Assessment: Dick Francis is one of my favorite writers. I read his books with a fierce hunger that remains insatiable and I mourn his death.
April 24, 2022
An enjoyable read and a solid 3.5. Daniel an Australian is employed by October to find out how horses are being doped. A bit farfetched bit very gritty in the description of Dan’s working and living conditions in the Humber stables. Set over an English winter near Durham where Francis captures the squalid atmosphere of the stables well.
Dan is playing a subservient role as a stable hand that goes against the grain. Lord October’s daughter create a distraction with one good and the other manipulative. Coupled with the psychopath Adams makes a good tension filled story.
The way the horses are able to win with the use of dog whistles and a blow torch is chilling. I wonder whether Francis heard of this method and incorporated it into his story. A good read.
Dan is playing a subservient role as a stable hand that goes against the grain. Lord October’s daughter create a distraction with one good and the other manipulative. Coupled with the psychopath Adams makes a good tension filled story.
The way the horses are able to win with the use of dog whistles and a blow torch is chilling. I wonder whether Francis heard of this method and incorporated it into his story. A good read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 6, 2022
A very likeable book like all the other Dick Francis ones. I don’t rate it as a 5, because it got boring in the middle and the villain were like caricatures. I have a crush on all Dick Francis's heroes and Daniel Roke is no different. As always there was something new to learn about horse racing and doping.
May 4, 2017
Daniel Roke owns a stud farm in Australia. He and his siblings were orphaned at an early age and Daniel, the eldest, has assumed the responsibility for raising his brother and two sisters, even though it means sacrificing his own dreams in the process. The farm is thriving, but it and the beautiful country in which it sits constitute a veritable prison for Daniel who yearns for other things.
Along comes a prosperous British Earl who is one of a handful of men who oversee the world of British horse racing. Someone is fixing races, but the Powers That Be are unable to figure out how the manipulation is being done, and the future of British racing may be on the line. The Earl hopes to hire one of Daniel's stable boys to go to England and provide intelligence by working undercover.
Sadly, the man that the Earl hoped to hire is clearly not up to the task, and the Earl shocks Daniel by asking if he would be willing to undertake the mission. Daniel's immediate reaction is to refuse, but as the Earl points out, Daniel's siblings are off at school and he can hire someone to run the farm while he is away. The Earl makes a financial offer that he believes Daniel could not refuse, but the Earl fails to realize that when Daniel accepts the job, he does so for reasons that have nothing to do with the money.
This is very much a typical Dick Francis novel, and Daniel Roke is very much a typical Francis protagonist--a stubborn, clever and intelligent man who will subject himself to any number of indignities and who will put himself in very grave danger if that's what's necessary to complete the assignment. It's a clever plot and the pages turn rapidly; any fan of the series will not want to miss this one.
Along comes a prosperous British Earl who is one of a handful of men who oversee the world of British horse racing. Someone is fixing races, but the Powers That Be are unable to figure out how the manipulation is being done, and the future of British racing may be on the line. The Earl hopes to hire one of Daniel's stable boys to go to England and provide intelligence by working undercover.
Sadly, the man that the Earl hoped to hire is clearly not up to the task, and the Earl shocks Daniel by asking if he would be willing to undertake the mission. Daniel's immediate reaction is to refuse, but as the Earl points out, Daniel's siblings are off at school and he can hire someone to run the farm while he is away. The Earl makes a financial offer that he believes Daniel could not refuse, but the Earl fails to realize that when Daniel accepts the job, he does so for reasons that have nothing to do with the money.
This is very much a typical Dick Francis novel, and Daniel Roke is very much a typical Francis protagonist--a stubborn, clever and intelligent man who will subject himself to any number of indignities and who will put himself in very grave danger if that's what's necessary to complete the assignment. It's a clever plot and the pages turn rapidly; any fan of the series will not want to miss this one.
December 30, 2017
I always enjoy reading a good Dick Francis novel. They are pretty clean, the language isn't too bad, and not a lot of sex.... Sometimes I even reread the books, because it's like being with a friend you haven't seen in several years. I really enjoy the characters he uses, and also enjoy the series he writes about too. I'm not a gambler, but I really enjoy watching them live, as well as on screen. There is a certain excitement that I don't find in many other places.
January 12, 2016
I first read this at 13 (the first Francis book I'd ever read), and at that point, fell in love with Francis books. I went through his complete (at that time, at least) library in about a month. My education suffered, but my knowledge of things covered in these books has remained with me ever since!
October 9, 2019
Dame Agatha Christie and Her Peers
BOOK 19
This 1965 publication has a certain 1965 flavor, relating to films of the time. Not a bad thing at all, given the relationship, but more on that shortly.
CAST – 3 stars: Daniel Roke is our hero, a “shining knight” even, as his parent’s had passed when he as young and he does a beautiful job (natch!) raising his siblings and sacrificing his own dreams of seeing the world. But he has done very well for himself and his family. I completely get Roke's itch to move on as I've had 15 permanent addresses since leaving undergraduate school. (And I thought I was ready to settle down, but no, I gotta check out other places. I've never lived outside of America and...oh, there I go again...back to the book.) He grabs for the golden ring when Lord October (savior? or not?) offers Daniel an opportunity requiring Roke to move from Australia to England. But Roke's younger brother, Phillip, and his two younger sisters Belinda and Helen also have dreams, and Roke needs much more money (and adventure) for them to get the right education, for him to LIVE life to the fullest.Early on, the author writes, “Common sense lost” concerning Roke's decision to leave his family. (This is all in the first chapter so I'm not giving anything away.) Friends and enemies abound in England. It’s a solid cast, almost 4-stars. But it’s a bit on the fantasy/hero/how did he survive that...or that...so suspend belief a bit. This author really knows how to tug at reader's hearts, and it's a bit too obvious.
PLOT/CRIME – 4: The crime is a fascinating one: horses that appear to be doped (after the race their behavior is erratic and unusual) are winning said races. But when the horses are tested, analysis shows nothing. Oh, what big red herrings are put forth by the author early. Daniel must penetrate deep into the evil-doers fortress, save the damsel in distress, and live to tell the story. Yes, again, there is a fantasy element, but still a very good story.
PLACE/ATMOSPHERE – 3: Compared to other detective series involving horse racing…wait, there isn’t another one, I don’t think. Anyway, I know nothing about horse racing and horse doping. I thought Francis did a great job with atmosphere in a previous novel, “Nerve.” But I was lost on occasion here. Yes, there is the Australian outback. But I wanted more of that. Yes, there is research into why horses are acting like they do, but I wanted to know more about how regular horses act after a win. Or a loss. The term “box” is used a few times and in different ways. And of course there is fabulous England and moors and castles in the air, but I wanted more of that also.
INVESTIGATION – 3: Daniel digs so deep: it just seems unendurable to me. This is more American style hard-boiled private eye, really, than English cozy: the violence is comparatively, well, violent. During Daniel's adventures, one of two of Lord October's daughters accuses Daniel of rape but it’s a flat out lie as we were there watching/reading the scene. October tosses Daniel to the villians. But what does Daniel do when the other daughter invites him to her dorm room? He goes! Alone! I couldn’t decide if Daniel was particularly naive, or that perhaps times have changed far more than it seems to me. He does other things that seem equally on the side of bad decision-making, and although I was willing to suspend some belief, I wasn't able to step out of reality completely. There are thrills and chills galore, though: you'll keep turning the pages.
SOLUTION – 4: It’s a doozy, alright. But it involves a very ugly subject matter (animal mistreatment, so beware). I liked very much the way everything wraps up: there is a great action sequence toward the end, then a very cool twist that the inner book flap alludes to, that I was looking for, but still it was unexpected and great fun.
SUMMARY: 3.4. I kept thinking, “This sorta feels like an Ian Fleming” spy thriller (I’ve read the first ten in that series). Given the publication date of 1965, I looked up the release year of “Goldfinger”: 1964. Yea, this is Bond/spy thriller/penetrating the fortress, getting the gal (well, maybe) then the final cool twist taking us deep into the world of...secret stuff I can’t talk about. I really liked it, it was fun, and even though Francis might very well be borrowing some Bond adventure (Daniel is hot, and kind, and daring), and we have a good Bond girl and a bad Bond girl, and foreign villains, "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." And the title, “For Kicks” might be telling: Francis perhaps wrote this for kicks, just as the Bond craze had kicked in (and, I think, peaked at 'Goldfinger'). Substitute a farm training stable for Fort Knox, shake but don't stir (rather, think too hard), and enjoy! This would have made a far better Bond film than, say, "The Spy who Loved Me." Couldn't quite gives this one 4 stars because the motivations/actions of the cast were on the unbelievable/heart-tugging side.
BOOK 19
This 1965 publication has a certain 1965 flavor, relating to films of the time. Not a bad thing at all, given the relationship, but more on that shortly.
CAST – 3 stars: Daniel Roke is our hero, a “shining knight” even, as his parent’s had passed when he as young and he does a beautiful job (natch!) raising his siblings and sacrificing his own dreams of seeing the world. But he has done very well for himself and his family. I completely get Roke's itch to move on as I've had 15 permanent addresses since leaving undergraduate school. (And I thought I was ready to settle down, but no, I gotta check out other places. I've never lived outside of America and...oh, there I go again...back to the book.) He grabs for the golden ring when Lord October (savior? or not?) offers Daniel an opportunity requiring Roke to move from Australia to England. But Roke's younger brother, Phillip, and his two younger sisters Belinda and Helen also have dreams, and Roke needs much more money (and adventure) for them to get the right education, for him to LIVE life to the fullest.Early on, the author writes, “Common sense lost” concerning Roke's decision to leave his family. (This is all in the first chapter so I'm not giving anything away.) Friends and enemies abound in England. It’s a solid cast, almost 4-stars. But it’s a bit on the fantasy/hero/how did he survive that...or that...so suspend belief a bit. This author really knows how to tug at reader's hearts, and it's a bit too obvious.
PLOT/CRIME – 4: The crime is a fascinating one: horses that appear to be doped (after the race their behavior is erratic and unusual) are winning said races. But when the horses are tested, analysis shows nothing. Oh, what big red herrings are put forth by the author early. Daniel must penetrate deep into the evil-doers fortress, save the damsel in distress, and live to tell the story. Yes, again, there is a fantasy element, but still a very good story.
PLACE/ATMOSPHERE – 3: Compared to other detective series involving horse racing…wait, there isn’t another one, I don’t think. Anyway, I know nothing about horse racing and horse doping. I thought Francis did a great job with atmosphere in a previous novel, “Nerve.” But I was lost on occasion here. Yes, there is the Australian outback. But I wanted more of that. Yes, there is research into why horses are acting like they do, but I wanted to know more about how regular horses act after a win. Or a loss. The term “box” is used a few times and in different ways. And of course there is fabulous England and moors and castles in the air, but I wanted more of that also.
INVESTIGATION – 3: Daniel digs so deep: it just seems unendurable to me. This is more American style hard-boiled private eye, really, than English cozy: the violence is comparatively, well, violent. During Daniel's adventures, one of two of Lord October's daughters accuses Daniel of rape but it’s a flat out lie as we were there watching/reading the scene. October tosses Daniel to the villians. But what does Daniel do when the other daughter invites him to her dorm room? He goes! Alone! I couldn’t decide if Daniel was particularly naive, or that perhaps times have changed far more than it seems to me. He does other things that seem equally on the side of bad decision-making, and although I was willing to suspend some belief, I wasn't able to step out of reality completely. There are thrills and chills galore, though: you'll keep turning the pages.
SOLUTION – 4: It’s a doozy, alright. But it involves a very ugly subject matter (animal mistreatment, so beware). I liked very much the way everything wraps up: there is a great action sequence toward the end, then a very cool twist that the inner book flap alludes to, that I was looking for, but still it was unexpected and great fun.
SUMMARY: 3.4. I kept thinking, “This sorta feels like an Ian Fleming” spy thriller (I’ve read the first ten in that series). Given the publication date of 1965, I looked up the release year of “Goldfinger”: 1964. Yea, this is Bond/spy thriller/penetrating the fortress, getting the gal (well, maybe) then the final cool twist taking us deep into the world of...secret stuff I can’t talk about. I really liked it, it was fun, and even though Francis might very well be borrowing some Bond adventure (Daniel is hot, and kind, and daring), and we have a good Bond girl and a bad Bond girl, and foreign villains, "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." And the title, “For Kicks” might be telling: Francis perhaps wrote this for kicks, just as the Bond craze had kicked in (and, I think, peaked at 'Goldfinger'). Substitute a farm training stable for Fort Knox, shake but don't stir (rather, think too hard), and enjoy! This would have made a far better Bond film than, say, "The Spy who Loved Me." Couldn't quite gives this one 4 stars because the motivations/actions of the cast were on the unbelievable/heart-tugging side.
November 28, 2017
An early Dick Francis with perhaps fewer twists in the storyline than some of his later books. Nevertheless, still a page-turner
January 8, 2021
This is my second Dick Francis novel and I enjoyed it as much as the first. It felt almost more of a thriller than a mystery, which did not take away from any of the fun. I didn't realize this book was published in 1965, and in trying to guess the time period I was thinking 80s or 90s. It obviously predated the cell phone age. But, when talking about the horsey set sometimes it is very hard to place the era because not much changes.
As an American I'm always a little surprised by how obvious caste is in the UK. That just is how it is. If that makes you squeamish you might not like this book.
I found our main character to be a likable, independent, interesting character. There's a bit of play on "othering" because Daniel is Australian in culture although British by birth. And that's ok, his Australian traits seem to be presented in a positive light.
Some of the other reviewers mentioned this is a book they go back to, enjoying re-reading it. I don't know if I will or not, but that I would even consider re-reading a mystery-type novel says something about the writing. The prose is quite effective at painting the picture of what is going on, there's no lazy writing here. He writes to the level of someone who grew up before TV was prevalent and actually describes things - which I like. I like to imagine in my head what is going on while I read.
Some other reviewers have asked me if I have only good things to say about a book why do I sometimes rate them only 4 stars instead of 5. To that I will explain I like to save "5" for the truly, honestly, exquisite, exceptional books. Books that are not just well written, moving, memorable, but also philosophically and intellectually important - - and mystery novels/thrillers etc., while entertaining usually don't rise to that level. Never say never! But I can't in sincerity mark this one as such.
The prose is so fine I suspect if he had wanted to Francis could have written a life changing piece of literature. But his personality seems to favor entertaining subjects over controversial ones, so I dunno, I would have to read more of him - maybe a non-fiction offering - to see if he ever ventured out to address important topics.
As an American I'm always a little surprised by how obvious caste is in the UK. That just is how it is. If that makes you squeamish you might not like this book.
I found our main character to be a likable, independent, interesting character. There's a bit of play on "othering" because Daniel is Australian in culture although British by birth. And that's ok, his Australian traits seem to be presented in a positive light.
Some of the other reviewers mentioned this is a book they go back to, enjoying re-reading it. I don't know if I will or not, but that I would even consider re-reading a mystery-type novel says something about the writing. The prose is quite effective at painting the picture of what is going on, there's no lazy writing here. He writes to the level of someone who grew up before TV was prevalent and actually describes things - which I like. I like to imagine in my head what is going on while I read.
Some other reviewers have asked me if I have only good things to say about a book why do I sometimes rate them only 4 stars instead of 5. To that I will explain I like to save "5" for the truly, honestly, exquisite, exceptional books. Books that are not just well written, moving, memorable, but also philosophically and intellectually important - - and mystery novels/thrillers etc., while entertaining usually don't rise to that level. Never say never! But I can't in sincerity mark this one as such.
The prose is so fine I suspect if he had wanted to Francis could have written a life changing piece of literature. But his personality seems to favor entertaining subjects over controversial ones, so I dunno, I would have to read more of him - maybe a non-fiction offering - to see if he ever ventured out to address important topics.
June 5, 2012
"For Kicks" by Dick Francis is why the hero takes on a painful job, and gets broken and bruised. The lone hero has to investigate and fight - with some background data, without training, tools, or support. Annoying, too gorgeous, the October daughters, distract, detract, and fatally endanger. From the discomfort and shame the disguised successfully portrays "low-class", I wonder if the author ever went incognito for research, or remembers humbler beginnings.
Daniel Roke, Australian who established stud farm to raise orphaned siblings, accepts undercover stable lad job from the Earl of October, investigating steeplechase doping in England. At least ten horses win adrenalin-high stimulated, but regular lab tests show nothing. He endures cold hard privation at the high-turnover Humber stable, and psychopathic abuse from snob Adams. His fellow lads are believably odd, from food-filching Reggie to comic-book illiterate simpleton Jerry. Tension builds into an explosive chair-leg, cane, and paperweight fight to the death.
(Spoiler:
I like the ending, suggesting Dan has the courage and desire to become an undercover agent. I'd have read more. In his long career, Francis imagined many frauds for his men (never women) to uncover and circumvent, here Pavlovian flight response to dog-whistle trained by fire, few hours for months later. Present-day authors often write too long series, like on TV, same old people do same old sure thing. Maybe author's son Felix could take on the challenge of this already created protagonist, instead of lecturing weathermen and physicists?)
Typo:
p260 Sentences missing spaces. "Thistroubledhim.Hesatupandforgottokeephisplace."
Ponder points:
• If urine and saliva tests show nothing p5, why not try breath, blood, hair, or all the acronyms humans get besides Xrays - EEG, ECG, EKG, MRI?
• Australian pounds strike an odd note p12. Story first published in 1965; national currency changed to dollars in 1966; this edition is 1967. "Field of Thirteen" first story "Raid at Kingdom Hill" "millenniumized money and usages". http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Daniel Roke, Australian who established stud farm to raise orphaned siblings, accepts undercover stable lad job from the Earl of October, investigating steeplechase doping in England. At least ten horses win adrenalin-high stimulated, but regular lab tests show nothing. He endures cold hard privation at the high-turnover Humber stable, and psychopathic abuse from snob Adams. His fellow lads are believably odd, from food-filching Reggie to comic-book illiterate simpleton Jerry. Tension builds into an explosive chair-leg, cane, and paperweight fight to the death.
(Spoiler:
I like the ending, suggesting Dan has the courage and desire to become an undercover agent. I'd have read more. In his long career, Francis imagined many frauds for his men (never women) to uncover and circumvent, here Pavlovian flight response to dog-whistle trained by fire, few hours for months later. Present-day authors often write too long series, like on TV, same old people do same old sure thing. Maybe author's son Felix could take on the challenge of this already created protagonist, instead of lecturing weathermen and physicists?)
Typo:
p260 Sentences missing spaces. "Thistroubledhim.Hesatupandforgottokeephisplace."
Ponder points:
• If urine and saliva tests show nothing p5, why not try breath, blood, hair, or all the acronyms humans get besides Xrays - EEG, ECG, EKG, MRI?
• Australian pounds strike an odd note p12. Story first published in 1965; national currency changed to dollars in 1966; this edition is 1967. "Field of Thirteen" first story "Raid at Kingdom Hill" "millenniumized money and usages". http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
July 21, 2012
Um, what to say about this? Well I read it as it was suggested by a friend due to Mr Dick Francis's superb 1st person writing skills in a hope to improve my own. Not a story I would have normally read but ended up quite enjoying it.
He has a simple approach that never really leaves you not knowing what is going on. His description was exceptional with a full body language included that made the story almost come to live in my head. A nerve racking story that gets you routing for the main character early on until you almost lose hope that he's gonna get out alive.
I'm certainly gonna see if this book ever had any sequels as I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the writers ability to portray a range of different characters realistically.
A damn good read and a surprisingly enjoyable story.
He has a simple approach that never really leaves you not knowing what is going on. His description was exceptional with a full body language included that made the story almost come to live in my head. A nerve racking story that gets you routing for the main character early on until you almost lose hope that he's gonna get out alive.
I'm certainly gonna see if this book ever had any sequels as I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the writers ability to portray a range of different characters realistically.
A damn good read and a surprisingly enjoyable story.
October 16, 2018
Dick Francis in his prime was one of the best thriller writers on the market. His books were always engaging, his plots always fresh, his characters (almost) always new. This book, written fairly early in his career, isn’t as polished as some of his later works – it lacks the tension, twists, and surprises that marked later ones – but still showcases his talent.
It was this quality that kept him on the best seller lists for almost 50 years.
It was this quality that kept him on the best seller lists for almost 50 years.
November 14, 2021
This was a bit slow moving in the first half, but the second half was pretty good.
March 23, 2023
Still a great story written by someone who understands their subject. Thoroughly enjoyable
May 26, 2012
Daniel Roke accepts a job to go undercover to investigate a series of doping incidents among British race horses. The ruse is to be hired as a stable hand, and a not-too-honest one at that, and infiltrate the ranks to learn how the horses are being doped. Only a few weeks in, he witnesses a horse behaving as if it had been shot full of adrenaline. Tests come back negative, just as they had in every other incident. Gradually Daniel figures out what is really going on and is able to gether the evidence. But will he live long enough to report it to the authorities who hired him....
Re-read in 2012. I guess I was about 2/3 of the way through when I began to remember some things but I still didn't remember how it was all going to play out. In true Dick Francis fashion, it's a race to the finish with a crisis or two along the way that you know he'll find a way out of - you just don't know how.
Re-read in 2012. I guess I was about 2/3 of the way through when I began to remember some things but I still didn't remember how it was all going to play out. In true Dick Francis fashion, it's a race to the finish with a crisis or two along the way that you know he'll find a way out of - you just don't know how.
February 26, 2009
One of my favorite Dick Francis books. Daniel Rork (is that right?) at a very young age has to take care of his younger siblings when his parents are killed. He makes a great success of breeding horses at his home in Australia but feels that weight of being too tied down and grown up at 28. He is approached by a Lord from England who is looking for someone to come and be an inside man in the racing world and to investigate why horses are winning and looking "doped" but not testing as doped. He decides to take the challenge and comes on as a stable lad which is far different from his every day job as boss at his stable.
I find this a very interesting study of characters and how we treat people differently based on how they look and what their jobs are. It is a good one.
I find this a very interesting study of characters and how we treat people differently based on how they look and what their jobs are. It is a good one.
November 23, 2014
Daniel Roke is an Australian horse breeder. Orphaned as a teenager, he supports his siblings and is bored to death. When is is offered a job to underground and investigate a racing scandal he takes a chance and discovers the adventure that he craves.
July 31, 2017
Again, I can attest to the effectiveness of audiobooks for books you can't seem to read. I started this months ago in my attempt to re-read Francis in something like chronological order, and simply couldn't get through it because there was too much deadwood. On the page, it was dull and slow. When I got the chance to listen to it, I thought maybe it would be rather like some other dull page-reads, and be more interesting. What was revealed was a thoroughly unpleasant little tale.
If you don't like reading or hearing about cruelty, stay far away from this one. Bored Australian horsebreeder who "looks Italian" or "looks like a gypsy" though he is neither one, runs away from his family responsibilities for several months to look into a race-fixing scam in the UK, having been sought out by the oh-so-credibly named "Lord October." (Really, dear?) Apparently they breed Gary Stus in Oz, too, as he has no problem acquiring a Mockney accent, and the differences in phrases and words don't trip him up either. Francis uses his main character as a vehicle to criticise classism and judging people on their looks and they way they dress and speak--but only to a point. The bad, judgemental folk are all bourgeois--the real nobility are fine and noble and never misjudge anyone for long because, after all--they're noble. Uh-huh.
The bourgeois are money-hungry bastards who care nothing about who or what they squeeze until the pips squeak, and of course the bad guy is a total psychopath. He has to be, this is Planet Francis.
The women are either well-intentioned but not too swift on the uptake, or predatory. Yawn.I also got very tired of Roke's fixation on his own dignity; apparently it was pretty darn fragile if even being looked at by a pretty girl in certain circumstances could make him feel humiliated!!
What eliminated even a second star is the detailed account of cruelty to the actual horses as well as people, and the pathetic "skip forward in time" wrap. The ending sounded like Francis was thinking of a series starring Roke as a James Bond with horses, but fortunately that didn't happen.
The reader did his best with a rather bad book. The constant switch between Roke-as-Australian when narrating and Roke-as-Mockney when speaking to the stable folk was annoying but that's just me.
If you don't like reading or hearing about cruelty, stay far away from this one. Bored Australian horsebreeder who "looks Italian" or "looks like a gypsy" though he is neither one, runs away from his family responsibilities for several months to look into a race-fixing scam in the UK, having been sought out by the oh-so-credibly named "Lord October." (Really, dear?) Apparently they breed Gary Stus in Oz, too, as he has no problem acquiring a Mockney accent, and the differences in phrases and words don't trip him up either. Francis uses his main character as a vehicle to criticise classism and judging people on their looks and they way they dress and speak--but only to a point. The bad, judgemental folk are all bourgeois--the real nobility are fine and noble and never misjudge anyone for long because, after all--they're noble. Uh-huh.
The bourgeois are money-hungry bastards who care nothing about who or what they squeeze until the pips squeak, and of course the bad guy is a total psychopath. He has to be, this is Planet Francis.
The women are either well-intentioned but not too swift on the uptake, or predatory. Yawn.I also got very tired of Roke's fixation on his own dignity; apparently it was pretty darn fragile if even being looked at by a pretty girl in certain circumstances could make him feel humiliated!!
What eliminated even a second star is the detailed account of cruelty to the actual horses as well as people, and the pathetic "skip forward in time" wrap. The ending sounded like Francis was thinking of a series starring Roke as a James Bond with horses, but fortunately that didn't happen.
The reader did his best with a rather bad book. The constant switch between Roke-as-Australian when narrating and Roke-as-Mockney when speaking to the stable folk was annoying but that's just me.
February 18, 2025
I was glad to discover this one is as good as I remembered, a nice simple but tense little thriller. While the bad guys get revealed early on, the precise method they use to make the horses win on demand is not and it's nicely held back as an impressive reveal.
Daniel Roke is a great character to be with. My chief memory of the audiobook version I heard first is of Tony Britton putting on an Australian accent for the whole of the narration, which still seems an impressive piece of work. Roke is relentlessly positive and chivalrous but never stupid, so we are never wondering at a foolish mistake he's made.
1965 is also another world in Britain. Of course, Francis's view may not be the real truth but certainly he's laced this book with the class divide, Lord October and his fellow Stewards showing they genuinely believe stable lads likely incapable of critical thinking due to their working class roots, and the very tame (by today's standards) methods used to make Roke seem like a thug. It does strike a slightly odd note since I feel like a number of his heroes have worked as stable lads, and Chico, Sid Halley's sidekick, is very much a sharp and clever example of a working class man. That said, it never felt like Francis himself was endorsing this, but Roke certainly doesn't contradict Lord October's views. There's even, maybe, a sense of the book asking us not to judge people by how they look but who knows.
Overall a nice slice of 1965 England alongside a mystery that is cleverly setup, even if it's hard to know if that level of monetary return would really be worth the work. And really, one hopes to god Francis never really found a stable that treated their lads so poorly.
Daniel Roke is a great character to be with. My chief memory of the audiobook version I heard first is of Tony Britton putting on an Australian accent for the whole of the narration, which still seems an impressive piece of work. Roke is relentlessly positive and chivalrous but never stupid, so we are never wondering at a foolish mistake he's made.
1965 is also another world in Britain. Of course, Francis's view may not be the real truth but certainly he's laced this book with the class divide, Lord October and his fellow Stewards showing they genuinely believe stable lads likely incapable of critical thinking due to their working class roots, and the very tame (by today's standards) methods used to make Roke seem like a thug. It does strike a slightly odd note since I feel like a number of his heroes have worked as stable lads, and Chico, Sid Halley's sidekick, is very much a sharp and clever example of a working class man. That said, it never felt like Francis himself was endorsing this, but Roke certainly doesn't contradict Lord October's views. There's even, maybe, a sense of the book asking us not to judge people by how they look but who knows.
Overall a nice slice of 1965 England alongside a mystery that is cleverly setup, even if it's hard to know if that level of monetary return would really be worth the work. And really, one hopes to god Francis never really found a stable that treated their lads so poorly.
December 14, 2023
This book really grew on me with its hero, Daniel Roke who owns a stud farm in Australia. I found myself wishing for a sequel book with Daniel Roke. I liked the Australian connection which made it easy for him to be an unknown, undercover investigator in the British racing stables. His job: find out who is drugging steeplechase horses and how they are doing it when drug tests fail to detect drugs. Daniel Roke enters a crucible that tests his grit and determination in the face of humiliating treatment as he dresses and acts the part of a disreputable stable boy. The villains are brutal and need to be stopped. The story moves swiftly, with much suspense, to a stunning conclusion. The ending has many loose ends to gather up. Most importantly, Daniel discovers what kind of man he is and where his passions lie.
November 30, 2022
FANTASTIC - one of the best Dick Francis’ books! First published in 1965, so it was one of his first.
I have to say Australian men can be very attractive and clever (I was married to one) hence my natural interest in this story. But the ending was quite a surprise - a huge loss to Australia but a big win for England.
I have to say Australian men can be very attractive and clever (I was married to one) hence my natural interest in this story. But the ending was quite a surprise - a huge loss to Australia but a big win for England.
October 1, 2024
Another vigorous mystery from Dick Francis. Kept me reading. Great plot. But the real gem for me was the narration by Tony Britton. His rendition of an Australian accent was to me, perfect. A pleasure to listen to.
January 11, 2024
No one writes a scumbag villain like Dick Francis.
November 12, 2023
Superb!
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