Audiobook10 hours
Wild Horses
Written by Dick Francis
Narrated by Simon Prebble
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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About this audiobook
Once a blacksmith, now famous and respected as a newspaperman, Valentine Clark knows everyone who is anyone in the racing world. Aged, confused, blind, and dying, he harbors a daunting secret that he is desperate to be rid of and makes his last confession to his visiting film-director friend, Thomas Lyon, whom in his delirium he mistakes for a priest. Unburdened and at peace, Valentine passes away, yet his legacy remains, guarded by Thomas.
On location in Newmarket, Thomas is troubled by the old man’s secret. Seeking to understand this puzzling revelation, he uncovers a long-unsolved mystery that he soon finds is very much unforgotten. But as much as he wants to learn more, it seems he already knows too much. Imaginative and decisive though he may be, he will need superhuman courage and extreme cunning to stay alive.
On location in Newmarket, Thomas is troubled by the old man’s secret. Seeking to understand this puzzling revelation, he uncovers a long-unsolved mystery that he soon finds is very much unforgotten. But as much as he wants to learn more, it seems he already knows too much. Imaginative and decisive though he may be, he will need superhuman courage and extreme cunning to stay alive.
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Reviews for Wild Horses
Rating: 3.8157895465587046 out of 5 stars
4/5
247 ratings8 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Loved the book. Narrator difficult to understand. Doesn't speak clearly.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5England, Newmarket, ca 1980Filminstruktøren Thomas Lyon er på besøg ved en gammel ven Valentine Clark, der er ved at dø af knoglekræft. Manden er ikke helt klar i hovedet, men dog klar over at han snart skal dø og han bruger Thomas som skriftefar og siger noget om død og om en kniv, han gav til Derry. Og selv om Thomas ikke er en katolsk præst, kan han godt sige "Ego te absolvo". Så vidt så godt, men hvad med den viden, han fik i skriftet? Valentine boede sammen med sin søster Dorothea Pannier og han har skrevet testamente, så hun arver næsten alting, mens Thomas får bøger og papirer. Det er Dorotheas søn, Paul Pannier, ikke ret begejstret for og han er en arrogant og ubehagelig person, der også har planer for at flytte Dorothea på plejehjem, sælge huset og i det hele taget gøre alle forberedelser til at lægge hende i graven i utide.Thomas er ved at skyde en film med manuskript af en kendt forfatter, Howard Tyler, hvis bagvedliggende bog "Staldens gåde" bygger på en virkelig hændelse og har en åben slutning. Thomas vil hellere have en klar konklusion og dykker ned i den gamle hændelse, hvor en kvinde enten begik selvmord eller blev myrdet. Filmens producer hedder O'Hara, fotografen Moncrieff, filmens stjerne Nash Rourke.I den virkelige verden var det hestetræneren Jackson Wells, der fik sin karriere ødelagt af at hans kone blev fundet hængt og han selv mistænkt for at have gjort det. Galopselskabets bestyrelse talte en mand, der var gift med den hængtes søster, så det hjalp ikke på noget.Handlingen tager fart, da Dorothea tilsyneladende overrasker en indbrudstyv og bliver banket og slået trekvart ihjel med en stor kniv. Hun bliver reddet, men bøgerne og papirerne er væk. Nogen overfalder Nash's stuntman med samme kniv, men taber den i flugten. Det er en kopi af en skyttegravskniv fra første verdenskrig. Giftige avisartikler truer også med at ødelægge Thomas, der til gengæld får et bedre forhold til både Nash og Tyler. Thomas bliver selv stukket med en ækelt stor og bred kniv, en Fury, men han har garderet sig nogenlunde med et korset og skal bare lige syes lidt bagefter. Værre er det for Paul Pannier, som bliver stukket ihjel i sin mors hus.Inden har Thomas fået talt med moderen, Dorothea, og fået at vide at hun havde gemt bøger og papirer ved en bekendt.Lægen Robbie Gill har checket hvem i området, der er eksperter i knive, og har fundet en pensioneret professor Meredith Derry. Thomas kontakter Derry og får at vide at alle tre knive er ulovlige i Storbritannien siden 1988, så de er formentlig ulovligt importeret fra USA.Thomas kigger papirerne fra Dorothea igennem og finder dels henvisninger til autoerotik, parafili og seksuel ophidselse under kvælning og dels et gammelt billede, hvor Jackson Wells, Sonia Wells, Ridley Wells, Paul Pannier, Roddy Visborough og P. Falmouth står samlet i en yngre udgave. Thomas gætter at Sonias død var et uheld og at Jackson var bortrejst da det skete, men at han og alle de andre dækkede over det. Jackson bekræfter det og siger også at det var jockeyen P. G. Falmouth, der kvalte Sonia ved et uheld. Thomas har en ide om at Valentine dengang slog Falmouth ihjel og at det aldrig er blevet opdaget.Thomas bruger Lucy til at lokke Roddy Visborough til og det lykkes så godt at Thomas bliver skåret ret slemt inden han får overmandet Roddy.Politiet er ikke overbevist om de motiver, Roddy har haft til overfaldene, men de får ikke at vide at den gamle skandale er den virkelige årsag. Roddy var med i det, der skulle være endt med seksuelt samkvem med hans moster Sonia. Og lige den hemmelighed ville ikke være rar at få frem.Thomas gætter på at P. G. Falmouth blev slået ihjel af Valentine med en speciel kniv, som Derry fik som gave og at Falmouth ligger i en gammel brønd på Valentines grund. Det røber han ikke, men han får optaget og klippet en fænomenal god slutning ind i sin film, hvor han blander hængningen med en folk vilde hestes ridt.Ok bog om filmmagere og skuespillere og lidt om heste
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Horrible....absolutely horible!!! Could not finish. No more Dick Francis....PLEASE!!!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Francis's usual mix of professional something and amateur sleuth gets a little mired in the business of movie-making, but still delivers a satisfying mystery, along with some gruesome details about combat knives.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Not one of my favorites, but excellent none-the-less. Interesting insight into film-making - both the practicalities and the politics. The way he tries to solve the mystery, mostly so that the film _won't_ be correct, is great - he doesn't want to stir up old troubles. The scene where he shows the daughter the characters in the movie and urges her not to identify them with the actual people involved is great. Good, interesting, well-written (well, it is a Francis!), just doesn't quite catch me. Glad I read it again, though.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent novel from Dick Francis. Thomas Lyon is a director working on a film involving a mysterious death that happened many years ago. Lyon feels that if he solves the mystery it will make a better ending for his movie. Well-plotted, good characterization. Highly recommended.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5OK, I admit it--I like books that are about horses in some way or another. I guess I never got over all those Black Stallion books I read as a kid. Anyway, I enjoyed this book.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Movie director Thomas Lyon comes to Newmarket to shoot a film about a long-ago scandal, and finds the past still dangerous. Interesting descriptions of a film director's work, good suspense.