What do You think about Rat Race (2006)?
Matt Shore has replaced the usual pilot on this run. The people he meets are a bit strange. I guess that is the way with racing folk. It seems they are all angry with each other. He meets a woman named Nancy, becomes friends with her. Her brother Colin is a jockey that flew on his plane. They are friendly. Then on the flight back something did not feel right in the controls so Matt lands the plane. The passengers don't want to land but he insists. As soon as everyone is off, the plane explodes. WOW! Who is responsible for this? Matt knows he will be blamed. He hopes that he will keep his job. He has a lot of bills and alimony to pay.The investigation starts and there are really no leads. Does it have to do with the horse racing passengers or his employer?
—JoAnne
This is my first time to read a book by Dick Francis. I wasn't really expecting anything, but am pleasantly surprised to like it. I mean, really like it. I was a bit busy when I picked this up; I couldn't dedicate all my attention to it as a good reader should. Yesterday though, I had some free time. I was meeting up with a friend, she ran a bit late, so I had more than an hour to myself, drinking coffee, smoking, reading. I couldn't put it down. It was interesting to read about horse racing, tracks, betting, and flying, too. Those little Cherokee planes and whatnot. And yes, even making bombs. Unfortunately, all the details went over my head. Don't expect me to relay it to you, because I can't. But I can do this: tell you how it felt as I joined Matthew Shore in his search for a lost aircraft, feeling like there's so little time left, so very little time, to try and save a life. It was a mixture of fear, a tense few minutes as my eyes race through the pages, a holding of breaths, and then releasing it with a sudden whoosh as I finally got to the point where it looks like everything might be alright after all.I also wasn't expecting to read a bit of romance in here, but once it has reared its head inside the story, I find that it fit quite nicely. And the ending, gosh! Yes I think that was handled quite elegantly.Overall, not bad for a first encounter with an apparently quite popular author. I shall look forward to another work by him :)
—T.
This is a fairly typical Dick Francis novel. In this case, the loner, withdrawn protagonist is a pilot, Matt Shore, who once flew for BOAC but who is now reduced to flying puddle-jumper charters. It's not initially clear why this is the case. Like a lot of Francis's heros, Shore has also recently been divorced and is very gun-shy regarding women, although inevitably a beautiful and desirable woman will soon be practically dropped into his lap.Matt flies a party of four to a race meet and only a minute or so after they land, the plane explodes. It's a narrow escape, and luckily no one is hurt. But several other incidents follow and it appears that someone may be targeting a prominent jockey who frequently flies with Matt. As usual, there's a dark sinister force lurking in the background pursuing a foul agenda irrespective of the cost in lives or in property damage. Matt will have to sort all of this out and tame his own demons as well if he hopes to bring the mystery and his own personal circumstances in for a happy landing. Anyone who enjoys Francis's work could spend a pleasant evening with this book.
—James Thane
