Free Kindle 10-lb Penalty: Complete & Unabridged ebooks Download
A classic mystery from Dick Francis, the champion of English storytellers. Seventeen-year-old Benedict Juliard's ambitions of becoming a steeplechase jockey are dashed when he's falsely accused of taking drugs. For his estranged father, however, this is an opportunity. A wealthy businessman running for a parliamentary by-election in Dorset, Juliard Senior needs all the help he can get - especially when the campaign moves from mudslinging to something more deadly. Now young Benedict has to grow up fast, not only to find out who is trying to harm his father's chances of election but also to keep him alive long enough to stay in the race... Praise for Dick Francis: 'As a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing' Daily Mirror 'Dick Francis's fiction has a secret ingredient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding it tight until the very end' Sunday Telegraph 'The narrative is brisk and gripping and the background researched with care . . . the entire story is a pleasure to relish' Scotsman 'Francis writing at his best' Evening Standard 'A regular winner . . . as smooth, swift and lean as ever' Sunday Express 'A super chiller and killer' New York Times Book Review Dick Francis was one of the most successful post-war National Hunt jockeys. The winner of over 350 races, he was champion jockey in 1953/1954 and rode for HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, most famously on Devon Loch in the 1956 Grand National. On his retirement from the saddle, he published his autobiography, The Sport of Queens, before going on to write forty-three bestselling novels, a volume of short stories (Field of 13), and the biography of Lester Piggott. During his lifetime Dick Francis received many awards, amongst them the prestigious Crime Writers' Association's Cartier Diamond Dagger for his outstanding contribution to the genre, and three 'best novel' Edgar Allan Poe awards from The Mystery Writers of America. In 1996 he was named by them as Grand Master for a lifetime's achievement. In 1998 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2000. Dick Francis died in February 2010, at the age of eighty-nine, but he remains one of the greatest thriller writers of all time. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Audio CD
Publisher: Chivers Audio Books (February 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0754054861
ISBN-13: 978-0754054863
Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (111 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #7,074,893 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #62 in Books > Books on CD > Authors, A-Z > ( F ) > Francis, Dick #12541 in Books > Books on CD > Mystery & Thrillers #13082 in Books > Books on CD > General
I skipped this book because of the reviews, but it bothered me that there was a Francis book that I hadn't read. IMHO the reviews were overly harsh. The story was good, the characters were likeable and the depictions of British politics were fascinating. While I always enjoyed Francis' racing stories, the glimpses into various other occupations that have appeared in many of his later books have always taught me something I didn't know before - never to the detriment of the story. In fact my two favorite Francis books are only peripherally about horses and racing, "Straight," about a gem dealer and "Longshot," about a survivalist travel writer. I like the horses but it is Dick Francis' writing that brings me back every time. This book was no exception. Highly recommended.
Dick Francis is good at writing about fathers and sons. In this case the father, George Juliard, was too young at the death of his wife to raise his son Benedict. And so Ben grew up not knowing his father, a situation about to change as Ben approaches his eighteenth birthday.George, who has made piles of money in the City, is going to stand for Parliament. Never having remarried, he needs Ben's smiling presence during his campaign to lend him the respectable aura of a family man. To achieve this, George has to lure Ben away from the dream of being a jockey. The fact is, Ben has limited ability and will never be one of the greats.Dick Francis himself won over 350 races and served as jockey to HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, for four years. He did achieve greatness in the racing world - and went on to become a world-class mystery writer as well. So it's interesting to observe Francis' empathetic portrayal of a young person who must accept his limitations and discover his true strengths.The plot revolves around Ben's adventures helping with the campaign and outsmarting his father's enemies. Ben combines a methodical cleverness with a brash willingness to throw himself into danger in defense of others. Both father and son are morally upright, which could be boring, but in fact they somehow make niceness seem multi-faceted and attractive.So yes, I enjoyed the book very much and recommend it. I will soon have read every book available by Dick Francis, and I'll move on to the ones written in collaboration with his son Felix. There's another interesting father-son story!
A few days ago my father told me that I should try out "10 lb. Penalty", saying that I might like it. And I surely did enjoy it! Totally hooked, I finished the book in about three days, each page an excitement and pleasure to read.Here's the main plot: Young soon-to-be eighteen-year-old Benedict Juliar's hopes of becoming a steeplechase jockey are all dashed when he is fired for reason he can't understand. But things become clear as he realizes the whole idea was his father's. George Juliard is a businessman battling a Dorset by-election for a street level entry into politics. And he now needs his son to help him in his campaign. Benedict has no choice and agrees. Unfortunately, things get bad as many strange and dangerous incidents occur. Can Benedict protect his father from a mysterious attacker?Dick Francis has a style all his own, with a plot which is believable and realistic. But one of the best things I liked about "10 lb. Penalty" is the wonderful array of characters. Each individual has his or her own personality, flaws, and characteristics put on paper so well that you can't help but feel that you know each person. There's characters like Benedict Juliard, George Juliard, Orinda Nagle, Mervyn Teck, Polly, A. L. Wyvern, Usher Rudd, and others. In the story also there is a quality of humor to it, making me chuckle at times. But still this book is ONLY for older people, NOT for younger children, due to language and innuendos.Most of the reviewers have given less than 5 stars for this book, saying it was very different and not as good as Dick Francis' other books. I cannot agree or disagree with that since this is my first book of his to read and I think 5 stars is very much indeed accurate. I'm now also reading "To the Hilt" which I'm finding VERY interesting and exciting to read!
This is one of Dick Francis' most slow-moving books. It takes place among boring British politics, and Francis is always at his best on the racecourse. If I didn't already like Francis and his style, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed this book. I did like to watch the relationship bloom between father and son, the protagonist. I thought it was nice that Francis didn't make Ben a "champion jockey" in this novel, because, in the reality of the world, not all jockeys can be great. So I thought that was a nice touch of realism. Pick this book up if you're already a fan, but otherwise turn to one of Francis' others.
Survivor - writer goes to live with family of Racehorse trainer , ostensibly to write about him. The "family" is not all pleased, and soon writer becomes the target. He has to use all his survivor skills to track down a serial killer and stay alive. This is an unputdownable book - bad things are always happening. A good read!
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