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No Reserve: The brand new 2023 thriller from the master of the racing blockbuster
£9.50
Theo Jennings is a young auctioneer at the Thoroughbred sales ring in Newmarket. The October yearling sales are where the big money exchanges hands in frenzied auctions: millions of Guineas paid for horses that are as yet unnamed, untested, and have never taken a step on the track. It’s the greatest gamble in all of horseracing, and one that can end in ruin.
Theo has just made the biggest sale of his life, when he overhears a secret conversation between the two bidders – can they really have colluded to fix the price of his big sale? When that same horse is found dead the next morning, he has no choice but to investigate, even against the wishes of his boss. But the more he uncovers, the less he can trust the people around him.
The higher the stakes, the greater the risk. And in the bloodstock game, the ultimate price can be murder.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Zaffre (25 April 2024) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 400 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1804183253 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1804183250 |
by E. Rose
As usual, Felix Francis carries on his father’s tradition of great and likeable characters with a sly turn at the end. Excellent whodunit that whizzed along, I started and finished this book on the same day and it felt like I had barely got started before it was all being unravelled by our hero! Super read, lovely details about the local history that just made it feel so British, a heartbreaking insight to the legacy left behind from the evil a man can do gave this back story real depth. I enjoy Felix Francis as much as I loved Dick Francis…now a long wait for next year’s book….
by Peter
Felix Francis has filled his father’s shoes more than adequately, have long been a fan of the Francis books.
Clever plot line, that kept me guessing.
Only downside is having to wait a whole year for the next one!
by Gasman
As always I enjoyed the plot and this time the detailed look inside the sales side of the racing industry. However Janis and her family’s continuing reaction to something that happened many years ago was totally unbelievable. As someone local to the area and who can remember the tragedy I was uncomfortable with the use of such an event in a novel and feel that if needed, a more believable storyline for the family could have been written.
by Mrs. J. M. Smith
While the content was interesting and it became more exciting as the chapters wore on, I did find some of the writing very pedestrian and dull. Dick Francis always had a light touch and imparted knowledge inside a sort of wrapper.
The plot is quite good and since I come from Ely and was a keen Newmarket racegoer in the past, I found the geographical locations interesting.
However, I am sorry to say this book is not one of Felix’s best.
by Kindle Customer
I think Felix Francis is a better storyteller than his father. I learnt so much about Horse Auctioneering and always looked forward to the next exciting chapter.
This is really a cracking good read
by IJRead
Felix Francis is as good a storyteller as his father although he is slightly less inclined for the story to be immersed within the racing world. This story is set in an auctioneers’ premises and the main character overhears two men discussing their plan, unaware that he is close enough to overheard. Written in a well-rounded style which keeps the pace moving along, I managed to guess the ‘why’ and enjoyed the characterisations of the main characters, including a girlfriend, to balance the story nicely.
(I found four typos, which is a bit irritating though)
by Man on the Green
Felix has shown his plotting and technical skills in abundance in the years since he first started assisting his mother with the research for the legendary Dick Francis’s racing novels. In the years since Dick’s death, he has grown in confidence and story-telling skills, but this is the first novel where I have truly felt that he has fully come of age as a leading storyteller in his own right, with his own voice, and not simply as the writer of “franchise” novels in the vein of those written by his father. That being said, there are enough clever nods to his father’s favourite themes to give his loyal readership a sense of his legacy living on. But the letter size on the cover is more than justified: this is Felix Francis in full flow and larger than life! A triumphant success, which I read in a single sitting.
by Liz H.
Enjoyable with new characters