Dead Heat | 
 enlarge | Authors: Dick Francis, Felix Francis
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy Used: $0.46
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Avg. Customer Rating:  45 reviews
Sales Rank: 13220
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.6
ISBN: 0399154760
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780399154768
ASIN: 0399154760
Publication Date: September 17, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
After a six-year absence from the bestseller lists, Dick Francis roared out of the gate with 2006's Under Orders, demonstrating once again every ounce of his famed narrative drive, brilliant plotting, and simmering suspense. Hard on the heels of that triumph comes Dead Heat, set against the backdrop of Britain's famed Two Thousand Guineas Stakes.
Max Moreton is a rising culinary star and his Newmarket restaurant, The Hay Net, has brought him great acclaim and a widening circle of admirers. But when nearly all the guests who enjoyed one of his meals at a private catered affair fall victim to severe food poisoning, his kitchen is shuttered and his reputation takes a hit. Scrambling to meet his next obligation, an exclusive luncheon for forty in the glass-fronted private boxes at the Two Thousand Guineas, Max must overcome the previous evening's disaster and provide the new American sponsors of the year's first classic race with a day to remember.
Then a bomb blast rips through the private boxes, killing some of Max's trusted staff as well as many of the guests. As survivors are rushed to the hospital, Max is left to survey the ruins of the grandstand-and of his career. Two close calls are too close for comfort, and Max vows to protect his name-and himself- before it's too late.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 40 more reviews...
 Getting There June 19, 2008
Just finished the book and I must say it is an engaging read. Okay - so it's not "To The Hilt", but it is a good Francis book. I was so pleased that Dick Francis began writing again after his long hiatus. However, I do agree with the people who recognize a change in his writing. The first book released after his return - "Under Orders" was missing something. This collaboration with his son has D. Francis closer to the 'old voice'. As always - the research behind the book is excellent. However - I think what is still missing is the character insight/development/perspecitive that perhaps came from Francis' wife.
 He's back! June 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Loved this book. Max is a great hero, the world of find cuisine provides a perfect backdrop to the crime, and the bad guy truly bad. I hope Dick Francis writes many more books, and the addition of Felix Francis to the mix only makes the books better. Bravo!
Francis is back May 17, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Dead Heat is a really enjoyable read - nearly equal to the best of Dick Francis' mysteries. Like others here, I've read and enjoyed them all. Yes, this book contains classic Francis aspects - and why shouldn't it? The various plots and intrigues are woven well and lead to a perfect ending.
A typical Francis page-turner, this book is unique in the fact that we never spend even a moment with an actual horse. Horses play their part in the book, though, and for someone like me who is around horses all of the time, that was enough.
Hopefully Team Francis has more to come our way.
Dick Francis Cooks Up Another Fine Mystery April 27, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Dead Heat is about Max Moreton, proprietor of a Newmarket restaurant and a rising regional chef - until a catered dinner poisons most of the guests and leaves Max retching in agony, wondering what has gone wrong.
Several aspects mark this fine mystery as vintage Dick Francis:
1) the connection to British horse racing
2) since the hero is not a jockey, the occupation of the protagonist has been carefully researched
3) the hero/protagonist triumphs over adversity by determination and persistence
4) like a well-handled racehorse, the plot breaks out of the starting gate, maintains consistent racing speed and surges to a strong finish for another winning performance.
However, the character of Max Moreton is not the usual stoic tough guy of previous novels. After the first shock, I enjoyed the sensitive portrait of a man who likes to create fine food who, despite the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, takes arms against his sea of troubles. Additionally, Francis surprised me with the character of Caroline Aston. Normally the female characters in Francis's novels are either cardboard characters or lamer than a three-legged mule. Caroline begins by suing Max for poisoning her and winds up being wooed by him. She's a professional musician, a classical viola player and her devotion to her music is vividly expressed. Max and Caroline represent a new turn in the writing career of an acclaimed mystery stylist. I'm not talking about overcooked meat when I exclaim: Well done!
Food Poisoning & Bombs. Let's Pray Dick Francis is Here to Stay April 16, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Max Morton is sick. He thinks it's food poisoning and he's not the only one affected, so he's worried, because last night he was the chef at a black tie dinner event. He's the youngest chef to receive the "Michelin Star" which is a true chefly honor. He not only owns a popular restaurant in New Market, but he also operates his own catering business. So when an environmental health office shows up to investigate the poisoning, he's got cause for concern. The inspector does too, so she shuts down his restaurant, despite the fact that the food had not been prepared at his restaurant and that all of the leftovers are gone.
Fortunately Max still has his catering business. He's catering a function held in the viewing box at the 2000 Guineas horse race when a bomb goes off. Several people are killed, but luckily for Max, he suffers only minor injuries, however the woman who put on the event is badly injured and one of Max's staff does not survive the blast.
Despite this tragic event, Max still has to try and save his restaurant. He discovers kidney beans caused the poisoning. However there were no kidney beans on the menu, nor were they used in anything served that night, so how could they have been in the food? Now Max has to wonder if he'd been set up. He also begins to wonder if the bombing was somehow connected to the food poisoning. Was the food poisoning an attempt to keep someone away from the bombing, if so who? And who was the bomb intended for? These are just a few of the questions you'll be asking yourself as you page through this satisfying mystery.
I've long been a fan of Dick Francis and missed him dearly when he stopped writing. Then when he came back after so long off with Under Orders, I bought it straightaway. Now a year later we have this story. It's good to have Dick Francis back and I hope he and Felix have many more mystery thrillers in them.
Ken Douglas, author of Dead Ringer, Desperation Moon & Running Scared.
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