Product Description

Architect Lee Morris has plans to restore Stratton Park racecourse to its former grandeur. But the combative Stratton heirs have violent plans of their own.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #724815 in Books
• Published on: 2004-12-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780425199381
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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From Publishers Weekly
Dick Francis knows horses, but in this deeply satisfying novel of intrigue, he shows that he also has a handle on architecture, construction, even crowd control. Narrator Lee Morris, 35, is an architect/builder specializing in restoring "ruins" like his own splendid barn house inhabited by his six sons and his lovely, but increasingly remote, wife. He is also one of few shareholders in Stratton Park racecourse, ownership of which is being hotly contested by the heirs of Lord Stratton. Lee's mother had married and quickly divorced the baron's vicious son Keith. Since part of her divorce settlement included the racecourse stock, Lee (accompanied by his five eldest sons) attends a shareholders meeting. With few exceptions the Strattons are a very nasty crew--cheats, blackmailers, just plain vicious--and during the course of the fight over selling or restoring the track, Lee is beaten, nearly blown up and finally forced to race to save his sons at the excruciating climax. Francis's deft plotting and sharp characterization are, as usual, on the mark: both Lee and his progeny are realistic and appealing. And as usual, he excels in exposing some of England's nastier class habits, meanwhile affirming the morality of his protagonist. BOMC main selection; QPB alternate; Reader's Digest selection; author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Meet Lee Morris, an architect with six children and a small share in a successful racetrack, Stratton Park. Morris becomes embroiled in the excitement of the racetrack and a fight for its control. This is the last thing he ought to become involved in, especially considering the many skeletons in the Stratton family closets. The personalities in Francis's ( Driving Force , Audio Reviews, LJ 4/1/93; Proof , Audio Reviews, LJ 4/15/93) tale are strong and the action swift. Simon Jones narrates well, and the abridgment is unobtrusive. This will do well in general collections.
- Miriam Kahn, Columbus, Ohio
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
Francis's newest suspenser (his 32nd) is typical not only in its racetrack setting, but in its doubling of the hero's mildly dysfunctional family (he and his diffident wife are held together only by their brood of six sons) with another family of deep-dyed villains. Because his mother Madeline was once married into the fractious Stratton family, owners of the Stratton Park racecourse, architect/ builder Lee Morris, a restorer of ruined houses, owns a small number of voting shares in the course. His long-standing revulsion from Madeline's wife-beating first husband Keith Stratton has kept him away from the family--especially from his half-sister Hannah, a child of marital rape--and, despite the pleas of course manager Roger Gardner, he intends to keep his distance even when Keith's father, Lord William Stratton, dies. But an invitation to a meeting of the shareholders leads to an unexpected request from matriarchal Marjorie Binsham, William's sister--to look into the question of whether the outdated grandstands really need replacing--and while he's poking around along with his five oldest sons, an explosion rocks the stands and nearly kills him. Sabotage, of course; but was the culprit habitual animal- rights picketer Harold Quest, or one of the Stratton heirs--Keith himself, his despised twin Conrad (the new head of the family), their ineffectual brother Ivan--or one of their children--spiteful unwed mother Hannah, sullen jockey Rebecca, insouciant Dart, or troublemaking Forsyth? Francis's biggest coup here is his success in delineating shades and varieties of wickedness in the superbly monstrous Strattons. Despite an unconvincing hint of May-December romance for his fatalistic hero, this is the most elaborate and satisfying of his recent books--a winner from the starting gate to the last hurdle. (Book-of-the-Month Dual Selection) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Solid, with likeable hero but over-the-top villains
Following closely to his usual formula (likeable, 30ish hero facing dangers undreamed of in his prior life but facing them with courage and humor), Francis has crafted another extremely readable suspense novel. This time, his hero is an architect who specializes in restored crumbling buildings, who also happens to have 6 sons who tag along with him through many of his adventures.

When our hero is forced to become involved in the affairs of a racecourse that he owns 8% of, and thus is ensnared in the VERY unpleasant lives of the Stratton family, who own most of the rest of the course, he finds himself in repeated mortal danger.

The book is a bit more "cinematic" than most, with big explosions and some fires, rather than Francis' usual knock on the back of the head into unconsciousness. The book has further charm because this hero is the parent of young children, something Francis has seldom offered us before, and never in such generous quantities. As always, his character is well-versed in his chosen profession, showing that Francis has done his homework well.

The plot is a humdinger, but I find that the Stratton family is SO full of truly VILE people that they become too 1 dimensional, like villains in an old-fashioned melodrama. Their actions are often so violent and hate-riddled that they are a bit difficult to believe.

But that being said, this is another fine, quick, enjoyable read in the amazingly large and outstanding body of work produced by Dick Francis. I recommend it to fans and newbies alike!

This time the hero's an architect
Dick Francis has a winning formula: he writes books about a young man of around 30, in a career most people might think is boring, but which turns out to be exciting. His hero is usually taken for granted and under-appreciated by his family, and under-employed, but in the course of the book proves he is far smarter, cleverer, and more observant than anyone supposed. Usually, there's a highly intelligent middle-aged career woman who recognizes his worth and helps him along. It's a formula, but the details that Francis provides makes it work every time.

In this book, our hero is an architect and builder. We find him almost finished with his latest restoration project - he and his family move into a place, restore it, sell it, and move on. This time, however, the family wants to stay put. Even though only in his 30's, our hero has six sons, and wonderful kids they are, too. Perhaps a little too good to be true, but hey, this *is* fiction.

Lee and his sons are travelling around in a large motor home, one converted from a more utilitarian large vehicle. We find that the motor home is made efficient by building it using yacht-building techniques, so that the most possible stuff can be put in the least space. Francis has used yacht-building in some of his other books (for example, Risk), and it was interesting to see the same thing here.

Apart from Lee's wife, who doesn't really appreciate him, we also have Lee's family on his mother's side, from which he has been estranged, and most of whom outright hate him. Of course, by the end of the book, he has won respect from a few of them. The matriarch of that clan is a cunning old lady, with a whim of iron; her assorted offspring and their offspring are a wide bunch of eccentrics, and the descriptions of them will remind one of why the British aristocracy has such a reputation for eccentricity.

The youngest son accompanying Lee is a smart kid, and listening to him point out common sense, or bits of chemical or physics trivia, to adults who know nothing but horses, is amusing. Maybe a little too good to be true, but Francis nonetheless makes him seem like a real little boy, so we can almost wish that real little boys were like this!

NO WONDER HE'S A LEGEND
Yet another astounding Dick Francis mystery. Lee Morris is an architect/builder, a hands-on kind of guy who likes to get down and dirty restoring grand old buildings. His other obsession is his five young sons ("My wife likes to have babies," he says). When he's left small shares in a racetrack, he attends a stockholders meeting, where he is about as welcome as a skunk at a lawn party. The vicious and wealthy Stratton family mean to chew up and spit out this interloper, and his quiet existence with old buildings and babies literally blows up in his face.