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Longshot cover art

Longshot

By: Dick Francis
Narrated by: Tony Britton
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Summary

John Kendall knows how to survive. He's written six handbooks on the subject. Now he wants to become a novelist, preferably without starving to death. But when cold and hunger set in, Kendall impulsively accepts an unlikely job.

He is to research and write a biography of Tremayne Vickers, a famous racehorse trainer. Staying at Vickers' home in rural Berkshire, Kendall soon learns to like his host and friends, learns to ride racehorses, learns about murderers ... and how his own survival tips can become deadly traps.

©1990 Dick Francis

Critic reviews

"Intelligent, fast-paced." ( The New York Times Book Review)
"An exuberant, irresistible collision between writing and racing ... Few match Francis for dangerous flights of fancy and pure, inventive menace." ( The Boston Herald)
"Fast-paced, meticulously plotted ... Nobody sets up a mystery better than Dick Francis." ( San Francisco Chronicle)

What listeners say about Longshot

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Expect the unexpected

Written with humour and.irony, this book keeps you on your toes throughout. Thoroughly enjoyable, delightfully narrated with plenty of twists and turns. Dick Francis is a master of descriptive narrative and you are there in the unfolding events with nerves stretched to the limit! The skill in writing such involving books is an immense talent and this one will twist your mind in knots!!

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Predictably enjoyable.

I know I can rely on Dick Francis to provide an interesting mystery read with an aroma of hay and horsey folk. Not a bad thing by any means. He does create protagonists who are not necessarily of an equestrian bent, and those occupations are clearly well researched, though they predictably end up in the saddle, racecourse or stables by one route or another. I feel I've absorbed quite a lot of the racing world through Dick's stories! In this tale the story canters around with an author who is intelligent, perhaps almost too insightful for his age and thoroughly likable who trips over murders, clues and baddies, ends up in a mess and solves the mystery very satisfyingly. The narrator sounds a good many years older than the hero of the plot but that doesn't seem to matter. Any of Dick Francis's books will entertain you, this one is no exception.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Great book by Dick Frances

Great book, good story line and of course a horse in the plot. Unbridged story is again worth the extra money of a unbridged story.



This story was one which I loved. It was one 'book' I just didn't want to stop playing.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Gripping - Bear Grylls in racing!

Teens and I all loved this - the bushcraft stuff particularly. Great plot twists. John Kendall is a useful person to have around!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • D
  • 07-04-13

great narrative

having been a fan of Dick Francis for almost 20 years now, I whave read and re read all of his books. The narrative form has ticked every box, when reading we enter our own imagination. The narrator has his voices down to a tee. I throughly recomennd to any one. five stars.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Simply marvellous

Tony Britain is a wonderful narrator and brings this unusual thriller to life. I honestly had no clue of the perpetrator and was truly panic stricken for John during the last chapter. Loved every minute.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Classic Francis, peerless mystery

Francis is known for his solid mastery of the archetypal mystery thriller, and Longshot is no exception - in fact, it's a highpoint of his work. It begins, building the picture of the protagonist; John Kendall, who, while he is something of a 'poster-boy' hero type, nevertheless manages to carry the listener along with him, and into the world of a survival-guide writer, caught up in the high stakes drama of a well-to-do horse racing family, and the dark secrets that threaten the otherwise peaceful rural idyll they inhabit. With some clever nods to the world of writing, an insider's view of race horse training, and tense, dangerous misadventures that threaten the hero and his new friends, the story weaves a nervous, complex, and thoroughly quintessential example of the mystery genre, that is barely untangled even by the very end of the tale - keeping the listener enthralled, and never quite sure just who it is that lurks in the shadows, waiting to ensnare Kendall and company, and bring their world crashing down around them. 9/10 - a must read!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

clear winner

The supreme storyteller, Dick Francis, and the mellow tones of Tony Britton, bring a fabulous tale to life. Loved it.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of Francis'S best, brilliantly read

I have listened to this countless times and enjoy it as much as the first time I read it. It's one of Dick Francis'S best novels with an intriguing main character, great world building and an expertly executed murder plot, including some of his most riveting scenes. Tony Britton'S reading of it is perfect.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Gripping story: I couldn’t stop listening.

I keep on giving Tony Britton’s readings of Dick Francis novels 5 stars across the board, even though I wrestle with it every time. I try to evaluate the experience fairly and critique it thoroughly but end up thinking:’Oh hell. I loved every minute of the journey.” Britton’s rendition of the story and characters is beyond reproach, so empathetic of the nuances of the story.
Yes, it was a hero typical of the Francis stable... they always are. Unassuming about his general brilliance at all he does, valued by all except the baddies who are hell bent on taking him down, but at least in this take we were spared the toe-curling romantic element which is the one part of a Francis story that I ever skip over: too pre-enlightenment strong silent type .

The characters are well drawn, fleshed out and likeable and the Climactic scene is utterly gripping. Given the theme of the book, it’s survival at its rawest. A very good listen.

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1 person found this helpful