Even Money

Even Money is the third book that Dick Francis, and his son Felix, have co-written.While I just loved the last 2, and all of Dick Francis' previous books, I didn't like this one as much.The book centers around Ned Talbot, the heir to his grandfather Teddy's bookmaking business. Ned is fairly low key, as most British men are, and is trying to make a decent living setting up his "shop" in racecourses all around England.The book opens on a race day with Ned selling racing bet slips to the general public, and a man announces to him that he is Ned's father, whom he hasn't seen for 36 of his 37 years on earth. Before Ned can get much, if any, information from this man who claims to be his father, the man is murdered right in front of him while they were leaving the racetrack parking lot.The story takes off from there, and Ned is a reluctant, amateur 007 trying to figure out what his father had been up to all these years, and why he was murdered. In between his sleuthing, Ned has to deal with his wife's hospitalization for a bi-polar disease, otherwise known as manic depressive disorder.The characters didn't grab me the way the previous books have, and I was not that invested in their stories. They seemed a bit two dimensional to me, and it took me quite a while to warm up to them. There was a lot of information on race track betting in England, which was a bit confusing to me and seemed a tad unneccesary to the overall story. The Francis hallmark has always revolved around racetracks or racehorses, and has given the reader some inside information. However, Francis has always given us characters that we could become quite fond of, and love to root for, while I feel this book didn't quite do that. As well, the decriptions of the locals and the countryside weren't as vibrant for me as they have been in the past.I did warm up to the characters and the story a little more than halfway through, and it did have a satisfying conclusion. While I was a bit disappointed that the book wasn't as great as all the others, I have high hopes that they will get it right next time!

Yet another viewpoint of racing, this time from the perspective of a racetrack bookie. As always Felix provides a wealth of information both about bookmaking as well as racetracks and interesting historical bits. The book is certainly a Francis and well worth a read. The main difference between a Felix Francis book and a Dick Francis book is the horses. Felix mentions many horses by name but we do not get the up close and personal relationships with the horses as you do in a Dick Francis story. I miss that.

Good, well-written and plotted, interesting storyline, but doesn't have his father's touch in making his protagonist likeable.

I have followed the literary career of Dick Francis all the way from "Dead Cert" in 1962 through 40 of his 42 books up to and including 2009's "Even Money", the third acknowledged collaboration with his son, Felix.On the journey, he has spoken through the many voices of British horse racing, including jockeys, trainers, owners, veterinarians, and financiers.In addition, he has shared with us some of the fascinating aspects of photography, furniture restoration, painting, survival, architecture, cooking, wine selling, flying, sharpshooting, and computers.We have learned how Romans heated their homes, been given a travelogue of railroading across Canada, and (my personal favorite), the origin and meaning of "trivia".In "Even Money", Dick and Felix bring us for the first time into a part of the racing world that has always been recognized, assumed, and alluded to: the world of the professional bookmaker. As usual, the characters are fully rounded, with real problems and joys in life and relationships. And, also as usual, the action builds inexorably to a white-knuckled finish.If you like Mystery and Suspense, and want to see the "every-man" triumph over adversity and greed, while learning about a profession unlike any other, with high-tech gadgetry and fascinating locales, "Even Money" will be an odds-on favorite.

Just when I thought Dick Francis couldn't find another tale to tell about Britain's many faceted horse business, he comes up with a great story about race track bookies. Race track betting in Great Britain is very different from that in the US. Track bets are placed with independent, legally licensed bookies who individually set the odds and maintain a complex system of accepting bets and protecting their bottom line.Ned Talbot owns the bookie business started by his grandfather, but he's lost his love of the business and the sport. The big bookie parlors in the cities are hurting his bottom line; computers have changed the way he does business. Now his wife is in a mental hospital for another round of treatments, his computer-savvy assistant wants a piece of the business and his father, whom he thought was dead, has just showed up at the track. Within hours, his father is murdered in front of Ned, and Ned is plunged into a nerve-wracking series of events as he tries to understand his past, protect his business and his family, and find out about the items his father left behind.This is a story of stolen identities (both humans and horses), real and imagined truths and the complex relationships in the horse racing world. It is fast paced and riveting (I lost a night's sleep). You may find the intricacies of Britain's book making business somewhat tiring, but the complexity makes for an intriguing plot. Enjoy!

Well let me repeat Even Money was even better than the last Dick Francis book I read. Full of twists and turns and ending with a surprise finale. Always leaving a puzzle at the end. But a good read nevertheless.

Dickの息子との共著です。いつものEnglandの風景が目に浮かびます。何にもない、それこそなんら関連もなさそうな突然の出来事からとんでもない、いわば人生の出発点からの歴史がが呼び戻されるという！　DFではならでの素晴らしいstory tellingが見事と言う外はありません。謎解きの材料（考え方はともかく、読者に重要とは思わせず隠しておいた）を最後に近くなって一気に示して謎を解き明かす、という　DFのちょっとずるい作風は相変わらずです。素晴らしい。

I am already a big fan of Dick Francis and have loved books by Felix Francis as well. The book was so good I finished it at one go.

This is the first time I read a Felix Francis and didn't once think about the old master. So glad that Dick Francis' legacy is safe!

Arrived promptly, was as described condition wise, like the author, all is good here.