Under Orders

I'd forgotten how much I enjoy Dick Francis novels. I read a bunch of them when I was 13 (it's what my grand-parents had lying around their house) and hadn't really gone back to them in the many decades since. They're just fun, charming reads. No great mystery to solve, no convoluted plot, just an enjoyable, escapist afternoon. Haven't read one that I haven't enjoyed.

It's been a while since I've read a Dick Francis book. I enjoyed them in the past, the race horses, the rules of racing, the mysteries and unnatural deaths that can happen in the racing world. Closer to the cozy style of mystery where relationships are more important than detecting but still in the PI genre of mystery. This book is filled with the things I like. And I get to revisit an old friend, Sid Halley, who manages to get married at the end of the story, injecting a touch of romance in the tale.

Not one of the best. Although Dick Francis gets sole credit as the novelist, it's plain that some of the text was written by his son, Felix, as the rhythm of the story and the abruptness of some of the prose is quite unlike Francis's body of work to date.However, it was great to get reacquainted with Sid Halley and see that he's (finally) found the woman of his dreams.

Dick Francis is in fine form in this one. Sid Halley returns, retired steeplechaser and ace PI. It is true that Francis has a certain formula for his plots but he weaves the story so well that the formula becomes secondary to the unravelling of the mystery.

I've read almost all of DF's novels and was a bit disappointed by this one. The plot was alright but lots of dead wood and simply not as much going on as in his other books. Dare I say it? It was a bit boring at times.
Sid's relationship with Marina was cold and lacking feeling. And to me that was the main problem with the entire book: it lacked feeling, spirit.

Audio book read by Martin Jarvis
3.5***

Opening lines: Sadly, death at the races is not uncommon. However, three in a single afternoon was sufficiently unusual to raise more than an eyebrow. That only one of the deaths was of a horse was more than enough to bring the local constabulary hotfoot to the track.

Sid Halley is a former steeplechase jockey turned detective (following an accident which cost him his left hand.) He and his former father-in-law are at the track as guests of Lord Enstone but the events of the day draw him into an investigation that involves race-fixing and big-stakes gambling.

I really enjoyed this exercise in detection which focuses on the world of steeplechase racing. Francis assumes a certain intelligence in his reader (always a plus), but gives enough explanation of technicalities of the sport so as not to leave the novice completely in the dust (i.e. this reader was never confused). The pace is good, although I did think it slowed a bit in the middle, and Halley is a likeable, intelligent protagonist. The plot was sufficiently intricate to keep me guessing, and I was surprised at the reveal. I did think the ending was a little contrived; he seemed to have painted himself into a corner (or locked himself in a bathroom) with no way out. But that was a minor flaw. I thought he did a fine job with the supporting cast as well; I learned enough about Marina, Charles, Jenny and Rosie to believe their involvement and to like them and want to know more about them.

As much as I love mysteries, and as often as friends have recommended Dick Francis to me, I had not read any of his books before. My understanding was that his novels are stand-alone works and not series, so I picked this one because it satisfied a challenge to read a book whose title begins with “U.” Just my luck, Francis did write two series – the Kit Fielding duet (Break In and Bolt) and the Sid Halley series, of which Under Orders is number 4 (and the last he completed before his death in 2010). I’ll definitely go back and start at the beginning. Although I had a vague feeling I might be missing some interesting background stories, I don’t think my enjoyment of this book suffered for not having read the previous Sid Halley works.

Martin Jarvis did a credible job of the audio performance. His voice is pleasant, he reads at a good speed, and he has enough training as a voice artist to differentiate the characters.

I learned a few weeks ago that Dick Francis had written a fourth Sid Halley novel in 2006. I rushed to the library and found a nice large print version. I am sorry to say that it was not up to the standard set by the earlier three, perhaps because Francis appears to have been writing it either during or just after his wife's last illness. The plot and climax were a bit far-fetched; the new character (Halley's in love!) was engaging, but what turned me off a bit was two kinds of superfluous verbiage that kept recurring. First, several times during the book Sid Halley (who, as always, tells the story) goes off on a rant about something completely irrelevant to the plot -- for example, traffic jams in London caused by "empty" buses. Second, whatever research Francis or his assistants have done, whether it's on Internet gambling, DNA, or cancer research (Sid's lover is a cancer researcher), is just dumped into the text paragraphs at a time until the reader's head swims. Much of what Francis writes about in the books of his that I've read is new information to me, and I believe it was handled better in earlier novels. Fortunately for me, I still have many earlier works of his that I haven't read yet. I really like the characters of Halley and his ex-father-in-law Charles Rowland, and that kept me reading.

Tremendously formulaic effort by Dick Francis. Sid Halley makes just the right mistakes at just the right times to keep the plot moving and allow a violent denouement. The Epilogue is both trite and cruel. Martin Jarvis reads the book in a tone that makes Sid, the narrator, seem quite insufferable. Sid makes some comments about British society today which seem to be the author's own views; in his later works, Dick Francis has seemed very critical of the younger generation of male Britons, a pathetic, overweight contrast to his small, brave, effective, and invariably stoic heroes. He may have a point, or he may be remembering the past as rather better than it really was. I can not recall any book in which he has been critical of younger British women.The author had evidently done some research on internet gambling and DNA testing; unfortunately the parts of the narrative that required research were obtrusive and it seemed that the research had been rather shallow.

A good read, but not as good as early books in "Sid Halley" series

Featuring Sid Halley, the one-handed ex-jockey turned investigator (previous outings in Whip Hand, Odds Against, etc.), this was a slightly more loggy Francis than I remembered. A race-fixing scheme and a couple of murders, along with an attack on Halley's new girlfriend liven things up, but lengthy segments on internet gambling weren't all that fun to sweat through. (Yes, this was elliptical fodder, as well-lol!)I almost had the feeling that a few of the passages had been used previously.... I will, of course, have to read back through a few others to find out if it's only writing style that jogged my memory, or if there is a bit of self-cribbing going on.

A ripping yarn that races along. I read it at a single sitting over three mugs of coffee so it is not hugely demanding. I enjoyed the experience although I felt that this return of ex-jockey Halley as a hero also involved undesirably familiar plot elements from the previous Halley tales.

A third tale about jockey-turned-private-eye Sid Halley, "Under Orders" resolves Sid's feelings about his ex-wife, gives him a new one, and confirms the proposition that you can only defeat bullies by standing up to them, despite the horrific costs of doing so. The mystery itself was only so-so (the culprits were clear early on, although the exact mechanisms required work).

I am a bonafide Dick Francis junkie and this book is not up to snuff. I keep all my copies of his books to revisit whenever I need an old friend to lift my spirits and just enjoy a good read...but... I'm not sure what happened with this one. It seemed to lack substance and the plot line was very shallow as compared to the other Sid Halley stories. Gruesome and gory was certainly upheld but the wit was singularly lacking and the original Sid Halley although as ruthless as he needed to be wasn't the same amiable but intriguing hero. I will try the next Dick Francis if he writes another but I will be holding my breath for a return to the original well researched and fleshed out stories. Disappointed!

Generally, I have enjoyed Dick Francis books because the main character is always such a reassuring fellow: people tell him secrets, he always does the right thing, he refuses to be pushed around, he comes up with clever ways to get the "bad guy" to show himself or herself. Francis also generally includes interesting details about a particular career or industry: banking, art, architecture, etc. Under Orders includes these two elements, but I didn't find the book as engaging as other Francis books I've read in the past. Sid Halley is our clever and reliable hero who won't be pushed around, even if his girlfriend is threatened. We learn a fair amount about online gambling and a bit about DNA testing, but it some of it read like nonfiction, rather than being more seamlessly introduced through the story. Overall, the whodunit aspect was interesting, but the book didn't wow me. Not one of Dick Francis' best.

I was SO happy to see another book come out by one of my all time favourite authors. And featuring one of my favourite characters, Sid Halley. With thoroughbreds and racecourses as the backdrop, and villans around every corner, this proves to be another thrilling read.

Sid Halley #4. Halley the retired jockey investigates a case in which a trainer and jockey are suspected of fixing races, then both are found dead. Suspense heightens as Sid's girlfriend Marina is assaulted to stop him investigating. Very good, though so much according to the Dick Francis formula that I had a sense of "deja read" and wondered if I'd read the book before.

Another engrossing Dick Francis novel. This time the story involves race fixing, love and murder.

Like many of the other reviews I found this up to Francis's usual standard: great fun, topical and a 'page turner'.I had forgotten about Sid Halley until a little way into the book, but investigating the suspicious death of a jockey leads him into all sorts of danger which manages to escape from.

Not one of his best, but perfectly acceptable beach / holiday fodder.

Three deaths in one day at a race meeting is a bit traumatic, especially when one of them is the murder of a jockey. In this, the most recent of the Sid Halley novels, Sid becomes involved as the dead jockey has already left two pleading messages on his answering machine. Sid is convinced that the jockey and his trainer are somehow involved in race fixing. During the course of this investigation we learn quite a bit about the recent phenomena of online betting, a system where only the punters lose, but it helps of course if you know horses are not going to win. The investigation brings real danger as well as unwanted publicity to ex-jockey and one handed sleuth Sid Halley and his girlfriend Marina. Francis has had a 6 year break in publications and this book has been long anticipated by his fans. For me this is as good as Francis has ever been

Just finished this. Very satisfying read, and achieved closure on many fronts.This is Dick Francis's first novel since the death of his wife, Mary. Many of DF's novels featured an insider's view of a field such as flying, painting, photography, wine-making, or British politics. The research was extremely well done, and DF made no secret of the fact that Mary did almost all of the research.Shortly before her death, there were dark whispers that she also did most of the writing, taking advantage of Dick's fame and reputation as a champion steeplechase jockey. I'm afraid that Dick's decision to retire from writing after she passed away may have given some credence to those whispers.Then, much to my surprise and delight, a new novel came out last fall. A novel featuring Sid Halley, the protagonist in three previous novels who had recovered from personal tragedy to achieve a fair degree of success, but not happiness, not peace.Under Orders featured an insider's view of English horse racing, which required no research at all for DF, and a view of internet gambling that was not as deep as views of other subjects in previous novels. But Sid was clearly Sid, and the other old characters still the same, and the new characters well developed and believable. The writing was the same as before, putting to rest, for me at least, any doubts that DF had written all of the previous novels.And in this novel, I believe Sid did find what had eluded him in the past, happiness and peace. If DF never writes again, I would think that this book makes a most satisfactory ending. Perhaps with it, he, like the character that I always thought was a thin disguise, has regained some happiness and peace.

Disappointing to this devoted Francis fan; not up to the standard of some of his earlier work, but still a fun read with a likable former jockey and amateur sleuth as the lead character.

Dick Francis is back in fine form. The return of a well-liked character in typical gentlemanly style and suspense with a glimpse of the behind the scenes of horseracing.

Classic Dick Francis. The man is back. Not great literature but great fun. A hero with an electric arm who still doesn't back down from a fight for justice and right - what's not to love?