(Poll Ballot Tally) Front Runner by Felix Francis - 2.5 stars

[annapi]

Jeff Hinkley is an undercover investigator for the British Horseracing Authority. When a champion jockey admits to him that he has intentionally lost a race because of blackmail, his investigation leads to several attempts on his life.

I took a break from reading Felix Francis because I was so disappointed by his mediocre writing in comparison to his brilliant father (and mother). My eventual return with this book simply justifies my opinion once again. Jeff Hinkley is not a character I can sympathize with, or like very much. The pace of the book is SLOW, and Jeff's thoughts and decisions are so contrived to keep the mystery going that they are bordering on idiotic. Yes, I've read much worse, but it feels outrageous to ride his father's coattails and so dilute his father's brand. The mystery itself is clever enough, but the character needs to shape up because his stupidity is just not believable. The romance is also lukewarm - although I kind of liked his love interest, I did not find any of the other characters likeable. I kind of feel sorry for the character because the author does not treat him very well - I'll bet he doesn't like being made to do stupid things to conform to the story.

I debated on whether to drop this to 2 stars, but I'll just say 2.5 and begrudgingly round up to 3 because it could have been a decent story if the author had just treated it right.