Now he gets his adrenaline rush from riding down the Cresta Run, a three-quarter-mile Swiss ice chute, head first, reaching speeds of up to eighty miles per hour. On a side note, I keep recommending Dick Francis to people (beloved of my ENTIRE family) and they keep ignoring me. While I enjoy Felix Francis as a worthy successor to his father's (mother's, some say) literary mantle, this book seemed more to be a recovery exercise or penance.

The trainer, Jerry Dickinson is a typical high strung asshole, who gambles and berates with frequency.

I suspected, but was kept guessing, and had to smile to myself when everything was sewn up very nicely at the end.

Finding himself in St Moritz during the same weekend as White Turf, when high-class horseracing takes place on the frozen lake, Miles gets talked into helping out with the horses. He did point to point races, worked in stables, rode whenever he could, his mum wasn’t happy as he wasn’t doing his schoolwork.

I notice that the title of the book is Iced: A Dick Francis Novel and I wonder how relevant this is now.

I was disappointed because I was looking forward to a mystery, however I did gain insight to the mental health issues and their impact on an individual. I understand I can change my preference through my account settings or unsubscribe directly from any marketing communications at any time.Starting out as a young jockey is tough, a competitive world then there is rivalry with some who believe he is only where he is because of who his father was. Out of all the stupid things in the book, the idea that a person who is incredibly well entrenched in her life: she is a nurse in the town she has spent her whole life at and presumably has lifetime friends and family there, decides to move willy-nilly for a selfish prig of a man like Miles is the most outlandish.

Alternate passages of the book swing between the present day in St Moritz and Miles’ rise towards fame – and then descent into failure – as a steeplechaser.If you're a confirmed reader of this author's books - and/or those of his late father, Dick Francis - do not expect this one to be another standard issue. It's pretty obvious that Miles Pussett is suffering from PTSD and the character is a brave choice for Felix Francis, whose heroes have usually been rather more immediately capable. That leads to Miles’ discovery that Jerry is probably fixing races and maybe was when Miles was his jockey. He was in St Moritz the same weekend as White Turf - that's high-class horseracing on the frozen lake and against his better judgement he gets talked into helping with the saddling of the horses.