Well written, good research, a good read ( )

OK but not much of a mystery ( )

Francis, Felix. Iced: A Dick Francis Novel. Crooked Lane, 2022.
Dick Francis has been dead for more than a dozen years. But Dick Francis novels were always a family enterprise, first coauthored by Dick and his wife, and after her death by Dick and his younger son Felix, who worked as a high school physics teacher until the family novel-writing business began to monopolize his time. Felix now owns the Franchise, but his dad’s name is still what sells. So, what is a “Dick Francis Novel”? Iced will suffice as a paradigm. The setting has something to do with the British horse racing industry. In Iced, the protagonist is an ex-jockey who has taken up tobogganing to get his adrenaline rush. The required crime story in this case is much subordinated to the protagonist’s struggles with his inner demons, the result of PTSD from having witnessed the death of both of his parents. The stories are marked by the quiet, reflective voice of the first-person narrator, who almost always learns something important from his experience. Iced does not have the dramatic tension of many of the earlier novels, but Felix has the voice just about right. 3.5 stars. ( )

Francis can write thrillers and I dashed quickly through this one. But it was more of a character study than a crime mystery as it was glaringly obvious who the "bad guy" was as soon as the crime is revealed. As story of my life it was OK, as mystery it was failure. ( )

I knew almost immediately that Felix Frances has taken over the reins from his father in this series. It is not exactly a "cozy" mystery, but contains more spice and a bit more meanness. I liked the emphasis put on the mental health aspects of participating in high-pressure sports, and the acceptance of one's inability to take care of problems on one's own. Miles Pussett wants to follow his father as a championship racehorse jockey, but things stand in his way from the outset. Once he is unable to pursue the jockey career, he embarks on high-speed toboggan racing in St. Moritz to feed his speed appetite. There is a lot of action, intrigue and character development which I enjoyed. ( )