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Rough Ride
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Hardcover
First published August 5, 1993
About the author
John Francome
38 books22 followersEx-National Hunt Champion Jockey John Francome is a broadcaster on racing for Channel 4. He lives in Berkshire.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fra...
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fra...
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 31, 2018
This was one of eight thrillers I picked up in a box set a decade or more ago, and had sat on my shelf for some years as Dick Francis etc. isn't really my kind of thing. However, it was an entertaining enough ride once it got going (albeit the going was a little heavy at the start and it took time to get used to the style), so long as you're not expecting anything too high-brow and with the understanding that disbelief needed to be somewhat suspended.
The story follows an amateur jockey and all-round super chap as he seeks to solve the mysterious death of a family friend and also get revenge on the local nasty piece of work rich bastard. There is a cast of the usual suspects - posh totty, snooty in-breds, drunken squires, and of course the obligatory hearty 'English Rose' love-interest. Add into this a series of experts with very particular skills and information which enter the story at the moment of most dramatic impact. It was all a bit silly, somewhat dated, and caused my eyes to roll at numerous points.. but I stopped taking it too seriously fairly soon and hence wasn't too bothered about the lack of depth and realism.
I did also have a very loud chortle at the key sex scene late in the book where the phrase "..her hand took a slow and tantalising wander until she touched the pulsing fleshy baton at my groin" - which got me a few funny looks on the train where I was reading this.
The story follows an amateur jockey and all-round super chap as he seeks to solve the mysterious death of a family friend and also get revenge on the local nasty piece of work rich bastard. There is a cast of the usual suspects - posh totty, snooty in-breds, drunken squires, and of course the obligatory hearty 'English Rose' love-interest. Add into this a series of experts with very particular skills and information which enter the story at the moment of most dramatic impact. It was all a bit silly, somewhat dated, and caused my eyes to roll at numerous points.. but I stopped taking it too seriously fairly soon and hence wasn't too bothered about the lack of depth and realism.
I did also have a very loud chortle at the key sex scene late in the book where the phrase "..her hand took a slow and tantalising wander until she touched the pulsing fleshy baton at my groin" - which got me a few funny looks on the train where I was reading this.
April 16, 2020
Brilliant! Good story, not too violent, characters believable and I cared what happened to them.
August 20, 2021
It is always going to be a temptation for readers to compare Mr Francombe to Dick Francis for obvious reasons and I'm no different. This book certainly has a similar storyline to some of DFs books, but this tale has more of a slightly raw edge. The main character, Archie, is a bit more flawed and uncertain than many found in DFs books (no bad thing), and I did feel this book was a little overlong, but having said all that I did enjoy it and look forward to reading more from John Francome.
March 6, 2022
I found this to be a bit long and there was some really posh words used that I needed to look up lol. It had a good storyline, but could be a bit long winded around the races, but if your gonna read a horse racing based book, what can you expect - would try another John Francombe
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews