Driving Force (A Dick Francis Novel)

“A sentence I’d read once surfaced into consciousness: ‘It isn’t necessary to speculate about the driving force within us, it leaps out and reveals itself. Under pressure, it can’t be hidden.’” (278)Multiple meanings are found in the titles of Francis’ books. Helps to define the essence, the psychological/ethical basis of each story. In this work, ‘Driving force’ implies the horse transportation business, and ‘driving’ horses all over Europe.It also indicates Francis’ goal to, analyze/demonstrate/dramatize, the ‘driving force’ in the heart of the characters.So Francis develops ‘pressure’ that reveals the ‘driving force’ of the players. Therefore, this book serves as a character study (as do all his books). Nevertheless, in this one especially, the ‘driving force’ of the writing is revealing the deepest motives, the hidden drives, the heartfelt force, that control human life.One might think that all this effort could detract from a enjoyable read. Wrong! The characters come alive, make vivid impact and reader is quickly involved.What skill! For example. . .“I said, “If it came to a choice, which would you prefer, to drive Irkab Alhawa to the Derby and maybe bring him back as the winner in your own van on the television to this village, or to infect him with ticks to stop him even running?” “He’d never do that!” he said. His horror, indeed, looked genuine.“He’s violent and spiteful,” I said, “so why not?”“No!” He stared at me, belatedly thinking. “Who are you talking about?”“John Tigwood, of course.” Lewis closed his eyes.“Benjy’s reward is winning,” I said.“Yours is money. Tigwood’s is the power to spoil other people’s achievements. That’s a commoner sin than you may think. Knocking people is a major sport.”To win by cheating. Ambition for one’s child. Malice and secretly enjoyed destructive power, bolstering an inadequate personality. To each his driving force.’’This focus on malice, that is just hatred driven by envy, forms the core of this drama. More insight . . .“Lewis stared at me, his eyes deep in their sockets.“See, he was like a wild thing. Going on about you having everything so easy. Why should you have everything, he said, when he had nothing. There you were, he said, with your house and your money and your looks and your business and being a top jockey all that time and everyone liking you, and what did he have, people never looked pleased to see him, they turned away from him. Whatever he did, he would never be you. He absolutely hated you. It turned my stomach, like, but I reckoned he might turn on me if I contradicted him so I went along with him . . . and he had the ax with him in his car . . .”‘He might turn on me’, reveals the power, the influence of hatred to control society. One striking explanation was showing that bystanders will never accept that envious hatred needs no cause. . .“Tigwood stared at me with unnerving naked hatred and in a taut white rage called me a bastard again, among other things, repeating what Lewis had told me. I’d never imagined the overpowering strength of his murderous corrosive loathing, not even with his ax’s handiwork all around me. I felt shriveled by it, and weak. Sandy, who had seen so many dreadful things, looked deeply shocked. Lorna swung round at me with loathing of her own.“What did you do to him?” she accused me.“Nothing.” She didn’t believe me, and never would.”Makes for a fascinating, moving and revealing read. Great!

Dick Francis finds dozens of ways to use the backdrop of racing for his novels, showing a truly astounding imagination. In this book, the hero owns and runs a business for transporting racehorses between trainers and racetracks.Freddie Croft is no mere businessman, but an ex-jockey who still remembers with nostalgia the thrill of merging mind and body with a nonhuman powerhouse. Winner of many a race in the past, he's a strategist and psychologist at heart. So when strange things start happening, Freddie is determined to find out what's really going on.It all starts with two of his drivers, who are forbidden to pick up hitchhikers, breaking the rule and ending up with a dead man in the van. While that death looks like a heart attack, the next death is more suspicious. And then Freddie himself, while inspecting his vans late at night, is attacked and almost killed.Freddie's mechanic has discovered hidden compartments bolted under several of his vans. Identifying the mysterious cargo is Freddie's challenge, since at the moment the compartments are empty. He doesn't trust the police, who seem to treat Freddie himself as a suspicious person. But he does enlist the help of the Jockey Club's security organization. The investigator they send turns out to be a sexy (and very capable) woman, a plus for love-starved Freddie.Without being exactly a page-turner, the novel keeps the reader involved by means of the appealing characters and realistic setting. You get a strong sense of what Freddie Croft's life is like day to day, running this somewhat prosaic yet exhausting and complicated business.Originally published in 1992, Driving Force is now back in print, happily for Dick Francis fans.

I won't bore you with outlining the plot; you can get that from the other reviews. This is just a recommendation to read this novel.This is one of Dick Francis' novels with a single protagonist who has to learn a lot about a subject in order to solve the mystery. Dick Francis has written a bunch of books in this style where you feel as if you could get a PhD in the subject by the time you're done reading. His book, Reflex, being the archetype. The education in Driving Force is not quite as intense and the violence/suffering levels are quite mild compared with a few of his books where the protagonist is left twisting in pain for pages on end.The really fun part of Driving Force for me was the incorporation of Cockney Rhyming Slang. I was already familiar with this prior to reading the book, and I'd recommend a brief review of the topic before you start reading Driving Force. I didn't think the author explained this form of slang very thoroughly and he may have assumed that most of his English audience would already have some familiarity with it. If you've never heard of Cockney Rhyming Slang before, you're brief research into it will allow you to enjoy Driving Force just a wee bit more.Enjoy!

This is an exciting book with a satisfying conclusion except for a conversational exchange at the very end. The plot is complex with a large cast of characters. The central figure is a former jockey who operates a thriving thoroughbred transportation business. The owner and his business become caught up in a convoluted scheme involving murder, attempted murder, vicious vandalism, and undercover agents. Of course, there is a love interest as well. This novel would have rated 5 stars except for the unnecessary conversation that ends the story, bringing its over-all quality down a notch. The flaw is that the ending is not more positive and upbeat.

What I have come to expect from Dick Francis. I tightly woven mystery with plenty of action. An enjoyable read.

I have read most of his books but until now not this one. I downloaded it to read on holidays and started it on the plane. Less than a day later I've finished it.

I love reading about horses and the story lines are great. I have read a few of Dick Francis,s books and will continue to read more

As a Dick Francis fan, Driving Force is my favourite. Gripping from the first sentence which covers horseboxes, loveable but flawed employees and a dead hitchhiker, the book touches on horses, business, science, drugs, rabbits, relationships, big trucks (horseboxes, their travel and mechanics). It's packed with action yet the writing is warm and flows easily. I bought several copies for gifts thinking it touches on everyones' interests while being an enjoyable read.

Typical Dick Francis - a good read, now forms part of my slowly growing collection of his novels. Every book of his that I have read so far has a diferent plot, different background (with a common theme of horses somewhere in there but not affecting the plot) and generally speaking the good guys beat the bad guys, which is satisfying! Since I started reading his books I have learnt quite a lot about horses too.

un très bon Dick Francis, qui tient en haleine du début à la fin et donne un aperçu d'un autre aspect de l'industrie des courses hippiques