FREE: Reflex Dick Francis

The listing, Reflex Dick Francis has ended.

Different cover


With my first love of Sci Fi and Fantasy, little else ever seems to hit my reading list. But after being introduced to Francis a couple of years ago, I've made it a point to break things up with one of his books every once in a while.
The formula is predictable as follows: Single, solitary, but extremely honest 30-ish horse guy usually in a period of personal transition gets unwillingly drawn into a mystery far more sinister and dangerous than anticipated. Along the way he meets a girl who surprises him by becoming the woman of his dreams, gets beat up a couple of times, and threatens to give up, but eventually solves the mystery, brings the bad guys to justice (though not usually the police) and discovers that his life is far more worth living than he'd thought.
But unlike most authors, for Francis the forumla works in his favor because the predictability of the plot and the well established personality of his main character leaves him free to focus on the details, which are always vastly different from story to story. In this case, it's photography, which alone probably makes Reflex is one of my favorites thus far. I've never been into photography in the least, but Francis' vivid and detailed descriptions of different methods of developing and creating "hidden images" in a negative made me want to learn more. I also really enjoyed the character of Jeremy, who was much further developed than most of Francis' supporting cast.
As with all Francis' novels, this one is well worth the read.