Slay Ride

Written by Dick Francis

Narrated by Tony Britton

Dick Francis takes you into the thrilling world of horse racing with this gripping tale about the illusion of film and the reality of murder.

Champion jockey Robert Sherman has disappeared right before his wife was about to give birth. And right before he was sure to win the National. A coincidence?

British investigator David Cleveland doesn’t think so. He’s convinced someone made Sherman disappear, but with every answer David gets, the body count rises.

And if he isn’t careful, the next body might just be his own …

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9781705071359

Reviews for Slay Ride

[stephanie_m-868484 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Not bad, but a good effort. A little slow, for one of his earliest works I have been able to find. Made me want to visit Norway, though... lol. I'm rarely disappointed by the author, so I will read more of his works.

[aliceanna-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Yet another good mystery. Not terribly convoluted ... just a straight up mystery with a good plot, great characterization and excellent writing. Good solid short work.

[leslie398 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dick Francis is one of the few prolific mystery writers whose books are primarily stand-alones. Although all his settings involve horses and/or racing in some way, there is an incredible variety to his work so it doesn't get stale. In Slay Ride, the main character is investigating the disappearance of an English jockey in Oslo.

[docwalt10 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Always an enjoyable read. Title is a little misleading. Some mention, at the end, of a sleigh, but not pertinent to the story. An English jockey, racing in Norway, goes missing, after his last race, as well as the racing receipts for the day. The Norwegian Jockey Club requests the assistance of the British Jockey Club. The main character, David Cleveland, is the senior investigator for the British Jockey Club in London. While all believe the missing jockey has stolen the money and fled, David determines this isn’t the case. He’s the target of three attempts on his life. It quickly brings him to the conclusion, that there is a lot more involved, then missing money. Dick Francis weaves intrigue and suspense page after page. This story was published in 1973. Dick Francis has the main character, David, taking a knife on an airplane with no mention or thought of security. Go forward 38 years and you can’t take water bottles through security.

[markatread · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

David Cleveland is a Jockey Club investigator who is asked to help his friend in Norway find an English jockey who is suspected of stealing a days take from a Norwegian race track and then disappearing. David is nearly killed in the first 10 pages and it won't be the last time he is in danger. The plot is typical of the Dick Francis style and the book leans a little more towards action than some of his do. There isn't a lot of horse racing intrigue this time but there is again some sexual intrigue when the hero is attracted to a married woman and she reaches a climax while dancing with David. I didn't start reading Dick Francis novels until the 80's. Most of them had some romantic interests for the hero but sexual encouters were not described. But the last two I read were from 1968 and then this one from the early 70's and they both have sexual encounters and both of them have the hero having affairs. Pretty strong stuff for a Dick Francis novel.

[darla_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

How peculiar. In the original paperback, the title is clearly "Slayride"--one word. But the recent reprints have all been "Slay Ride"--two words. Not a big deal, unless you're looking for it on Amazon.British Jockey Club investigator David Cleveland travels to Norway investigating the disappearance of British jockey Robert Sherman. It's presumed that he'd stolen the day's take from the racecourse and vanished. However, neither he nor the money has turned up, and some of the evidence doesn't quite fit together.Things get complicated fairly quickly, and instead of a straightforward case of theft, Cleveland finds himself with a murdered witness, and his own life in danger.If you like horses and horse racing, you'll probably enjoy this (and all of Dick Francis's books, for that matter) more than I did. In Slayride, there's a lot of detail about the Norwegian racing world, and how it differs from, say, the British.I enjoyed the logical unraveling of clues--my favorite type of mystery. At times, this made the book seem a bit plodding, as Cleveland followed false leads, but it also felt realistic.Best, though, was the twists and turns. The reader gets to experience them along with Cleveland--that is, they're not telegraphed or obvious... at least not to me.I tend to mildly enjoy Dick Francis's books, and Slayride was no exception. He does a good job of crafting a mystery, but I get bored with the horse stuff after a while. So he's an occasional read rather than an author I collect.

[reading_fox · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Short fun thriller - typical Dick Francis, loosely based on the horse racing scene but only as a location.David Cleveland is a young looking 33, and head of the UK Jockey Club's Investigation department, that covers everything from doping to fraud and the occasional more serious crime that may occur at race meetings. He is sent to Norway to aid a former student Arne Kristiansen investigate an English jockey who appears to have stolen a sum of money from one of their race meetings and then disappeared. Arne suffers from a mild persecution complex necessitating a journey out into one of the fjords. An accident occurs and David realises that a trivial incident has far deeper and more worrying possibilities, and some inexplicable events start to make sense.Fast paced, fun, and facile enough to skip over any plot holes - police don't generally co-operate with civilians, Norwegians get badly stereotyped etc etc. As usual in a DF novel women get short shrift. There isn't any depth to the characters, but the plot doesn't require much. Fun all the same.

[tripleblessings_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Racing in Norway: Jockey club investigator David Cleveland is invited to Norway to help catch an English thief who has stolen the day's take from a Norwegian racecourse. When his friend Arne is killed in a boat accident (or murder?) it is up to David to stop the crime wave. Interesting setting, average Francis thriller.