Tom Forsyth comes back from Afghanistan sans one foot. On leave for 6 months he goes to the one place they have to take him in... home. But the world of horseracing isn't as simple as he thought it would be and before he knows it he is up to his neck in danger.
I had read half of this book once before. I can't imagine why I didn't finish it. It was entertaining and a fun read with little military tidbits sprinkled throughout. A pleasure. ( )

This was fairly good but not my favorite Francis. I had a couple of huh? moments with some of the horse stuff. One of the things I enjoy about Dick Francis' work is that I know the horse stuff will be done right. Were these huh? moments because this was more than likely mainly written by Felix? I hope that this isn't going to be a problem if Felix continues to write these books.

The story mostly felt the same as the Francis novels I have come to love over the years. The voice is basically the same, the level of detail and research the same high quality. There were parts that were very well done on the getting of information although some of the machinations were not as convoluted as in other Francis novels. The main character was manly and mostly a loner as usual. There wasn't a bout of fisticuffs which is usually but not always included. It did feel similar in plot to many others of Francis' books. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, at least the familiar is well loved and comfortable. The army stuff was good and the British slant on it all was interesting.

The part I disliked the most was the ending, what the main character decides to do with his life in the future. It 100% didn't ring true. I went "you're kidding me?" You'll see when you get there. ( )

I've read nearly everything Dick Francis has wrote, including the collaborations he and his son Felix have done. I found them solid, very interesting, and a very good read, though you can always tell who's voice it telling what part of the story. Dick's gentlemanly ways shine through, no matter the story line, or words.
Felix is a newer generation of author, and quite a good one, actually. I, too, am betting that Felix wrote most of this book, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
I had been wondering through their collaborations if I would care for Felix's voice, and style of writing; and I couldn't be happier.
Felix really comes through with this novel, and was able to make such a thrilling, tightly wound storyline that I literally could NOT wait to get home and finish it, after dropping the kids off at school, so I could see how it ended. This is after staying up until 3 am, just to read "one more page".. I am quite tired, but very happy.
It's thoroughly researched, quite gripping, and totally in the style of Dick's works, but in a new, younger voice. I am hooked, and I want more! :D ( )

Tom, the son of a horse trainer and a stable owner, returns home after 15 years of military service and lost his foot following a bombing in Afghanistan. He is not received with open arms and soon realizes that his mother is being blackmailed, that the racing team's finances are catastrophic and that his mother is making her good racehorses sick with food so they will not win. Tom decides to get to the bottom of everything and catch the culprit without the police being involved.
Very exciting written and it was a great reading pleasure. ( )

Die ersten 100 Seiten waren todlangweilig und danach wurde es auch nicht viel besser. Weiterhin hat mich der ständige Bezug auf das Militär gestört. ( )

Injured, having no where else to go Tom goes back to his estranged family. Using his army skills he uncovers the blackmailer and helps his mother. ( )

One of my favourites. ( )

Great mystery, fun characters. Very enjoyable. ( )

It was a bit of a chore to get through this. The efforts to be hard-boiled rang false, and the recollections of the protagonist about his past doings in the army were bizarre and irrelevant. The ending was rushed and pointless. There were a bunch of malapropisms in the text. Felix's mother was so much better at this thing than Felix.

I never really wanted to go to the races, but earlier Dick Francis novels made it sound enjoyable. This novel makes it sound onerous.

The details about the stable were good, as if those parts were written by the ex-jockey himself. ( )

The central character was not as likable as Dick Francis's usual protagonists. Returning Afghanistan vet. Good read with some surprises. I listened to the audio and Martin Jarvis was great. ( )

i have a problem with dick francis. he really takes his time at first and everything moves kind of slowly. this is fine with me. then suddenly all kinds of stuff happens way too fast. i never know who did it. the reader was good. sounded like bill nighy ( )

CROSSFIRE is classic Dick Francis. Captain Tom Forsyth encountered and IED in Afghanistan and lost his right foot. He has just gotten out of the hospital and is beginning a six-month leave. He wasn't a good patient being both bitter and impatient. Because the army has been his life since he was seventeen, Tom is at something of a loss about what to do. He decides to go to his mother's home in Lambourn where she is a famous race horse trainer despite the fact that they really don't get along.

When he arrives, he finds that his mother is under more than the usual stress and that she is being blackmailed. It doesn't take long for Tom to get deeply involved in trying to find out who is blackmailing her and solving the problem that led to the blackmail in the first place.

This one delves into hedge funds, murder, and modern vices and has Tom using the lessons he has learned as a warrior and the guidance of Sun Tzu's The Art of War as he solves the puzzle.

This was a mystery with a hero who is competent in his own field and who brings that competency to his investigation. Tom is smart and honorable. He is dealing with and adjusting to the probable loss of the career he loved. His mother's problems give him a new focus. While this one is wordier than early Dick Francis books it is still a fast-paced story filled with tension and danger. I really liked it and recommend it to mystery fans. ( )

Very good mystery/thriller, pretty typical of Dick Francis writing, although this one takes longer to get rolling on action than most of his work. The audio book narrator does a good job too. ( )

Early in the collaboration between Dick and Felix Francis the book is a little rough around the edges. In later novels and those written by just Felix Francis you can see an increased comfort in the writer with how he likes to present his material.

Tom Forsythe is a career soldier injured in Afghanistan. Discharged from both the hospital and the army due to his amputated leg and lacking any home outside the army barracks he aimlessly wanders back to his mother's house. While there he tends to fall back into the slightly adversarial relationship with his mother and step-father and begins to examine his reactions while learning to adjust to life with his prosthetic leg. It turns out that his mother, a successful racehorse trainer, is being blackmailed for not paying her taxes due to advice from a new accountant. It becomes dangerous when Tom attempts to recover his mother's money and subsequently "lost" in a bad financial investment by the questionable and now dead accountant. Tom begins to investigate and discovers a false investment scheme and begins to untangle the many strings of deceit.

The self-reflection by Tom during the course of events feels appropriate for one who is experiencing great upheaval due to drastic changes in their life's pattern. So there is comparison on how he would act as a soldier given an enemy's actions.

I would like to see this character again in another book, especially now that Felix Francis has developed a smoother writing style. ( )

After being wounded at war, Captain Thomas Forsyth is facing six months of leave time to recuperate at his childhood home. Feeling restless and uneasy at the prospect of returning home, Forsyth is not prepared for what he finds back at home. His mother, a champion racehorse trainer, who he has never seen eye to eye with, is being threatened with something far more sinister than the loss of a race. His military skills are tested once again as he faces the threat with the same attitude as the battlefield - kill or be killed.

horse racing ( )

Mmm. Don't like it. It's not terrible, but I don't think I'll reread it. Part of the problem is that I don't like the hero - for all the wounded hero bit, he's too self-pitying and too quick to pick a fight with his family. He's also, it becomes clear, an adrenaline junkie - I don't think his final disposition will satisfy him for long. Then - the story is rather choppy, and he keeps making assumptions. The first few don't go too badly - they are involved, if not primary actors - but the last one very nearly gets him killed and does kill someone else. And he keeps going off in half-page military...not reminiscences, it's not his memories...history bits? To back up "surprise is the best weapon", the author spends a page discussing Pearl Harbor in detail, not just the attack but exactly what damage was done. Utterly irrelevant - a passing comment about Pearl Harbor would have made sense, but it was written as if none of the readers would have a clue what Pearl Harbor was and as if the details of the attack were important to the story. I find the former unlikely and the latter untrue. There were no characters I really liked here - Mr. Whiny and Mrs. Bossy are majors, all the other women who play any noticeable part are sex-starved... Ian is one of the least unpleasant characters, and he's nothing much. I think I liked Mr. Sutton best, and he's in a nursing home and can't hold a thought for more than a few minutes. Bleah. Not the only Francis I won't reread, but a worrying sign. I hope Felix can do better in the future. ( )

Bleh. Not worth finishing. ( )

Mr. Francis' protagonist is an injured army vet who lost a foot in Afganistan. The bad guys are typically ruthless and greedy, but Thomas Forsyth is more than a match for them. Many of Mr. Francis' heros are men pushed to the limits of their wits and determination. In this case, Thomas is dealing with the emotional aftermath of his amputation. A good read and I wonder if Mr. Felix Francis will continue to write, now that his father has passed on. ( )

Capt. Thomas Forsyth is sent home to recuperate after losing a foot when an IED exploded in Afghanistan. After leaving the hospital, he has nowhere to go except to stay with his mother, from whom he has been estranged since the age of 17. She greets him coldly when he arrives at her horse-training yard. He discovers that his mother is being blackmailed for tax evasion and puts himself in danger to discover the identity of the blackmailer. Forsyth's injury and search for a new career remind me of Sid Halley, the hero of earlier Frances novels. These admittedly, are old-fasioned, character-driven tales, with MacGyver-like exploits on the part of the hero. People either love them or consider them boring. I love them. I personally hope that Felix Francis will continue writing books similar to those on which he has collaborated with his father. ( )

Boring and predictable. No detection done. Unnecessarily uses foul language for effect ( )

I thoroughly enjoy Dick Francis, mainly, because I am interested in horse racing. I am amazed at all the underhanded events still attached to this sport. This is the last novel to be written by Dick Francis and the world will sorely miss his wanderings into the world of horses. This story centers on blackmail, taxes, military veterans, money laundering, and horses. I am amazed at the determiniation of England's "IRS". The story shows the mentality of a career army man, plus the remarks by Tom about the Chinese strategy are interesting. This is a quick read. ( )

Tom Forsyth was badly wounded in Afghanistan. After several months in hospital, he goes to his estranged mother's home in Lambourn to recuperate further. His mother, a highly regarded racehorse trainer, is in financial straits and being blackmailed. Tom takes the law into his own hands in an attempt to resolve things without his mother going to prison for tax evasion.

A rather disappointing last gasp from Dick Francis, who died last year. ( )

Great mystery, fun characters. Very enjoyable. ( )

Great mystery, fun characters. Very enjoyable. ( )