Product Description

In this newly repackaged novel from the master of crime fiction and equine thrills, pilot Matt Shore is hired to fly four racing buffs to the track-and then forced to make an emergency landing just minutes before his plane explodes. Luckily, no one is hurt, but it isn't long before Matt realizes that he's caught up in the rat race of violent criminals who are dead-set on putting anyone who stands in their way on the wrong side of the odds.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #314768 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780425210765
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Dick Francis has written more than forty international bestsellers and is widely acclaimed as one of the world's finest thriller writers. His awards include the Crime Writers' Association's Cartier Diamond Dagger for his outstanding contribution to the crime genre, and an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Tufts University of Boston. In 1996 Dick Francis was made a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master for a lifetime's achievement and in 2000 he received a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.

Customer Reviews

this is a pretty good dick francis,
It's kind of strange, but every Dick Francis is pretty much the same. It's strange because only two of his many books have the same lead character. What Francis does is find a profession, research what may pertain to said profession, and then plop his readymade protagonist and story-line into this situation.

The gift that Francis has is that as a reader I really don't mind that I have seen this plot and character twenty times before. The authors prose is elegant in its way and it allows the reader easy access to a world that is fascinating to visit. Whenever I think of Francis as an author I think of Cocteau, the French director who built worlds where poets were the rock stars of society. Francis does this with jockeys. Every time you open up one of his books, the jockey is on the highest echelon of culture even if the other characters don't realize this.

Rat Race is either a fine place to start on Francis if you have not read him before, or it is one of his more captivating short novels if you are looking for a next title in the series. If you want his best book in my opinion, try 'In the Frame.'

Usual story
If you are a Dick Francis fan, this book will neither disappoint nor surprise you. It's more or less like all his other books--similar hero (average to himself, to those around him stoic, tough, cool under pressure) in the standard situation (doing his job, which gets interfered with, when the hero feels called upon to take care of the interferers, which act reveals to him his true personality, plus down-toned love story). This one involves airplanes--also not unusual for a Dick Francis book. I sound critical. But I really enjoyed it--thus the stars--and though it isn't likely to burst anyone's literary bubbles or change their lives, it certainly provides an entertaining and exciting couple of hours. Which is the objective.

Get Me to the Race Alive
RAT RACE is the second Dick Frances that explores his love of flying light aircraft. Matt Shore has a air taxi service which he uses to transport race goers and jockeys from track to track. He has his competetors in this lucrative business who will stop at nothing to put Matt out of business.
Bombs and evil have become more sophisticated since this 1971 entry in mystery fiction, but that doesn't cloud the enjoyment of Matt's romance with the sister of a champion jockey, his resourcefullness in solving his problems and the excitement of his efforts to guide a cripple plane to a safe a landing.
Nash Black, author of SINS OF THE FATHERS and QUALIFYING LAPS.