Pulse
A Dick Francis Novel

What Worked: 1) I'm pretty sure that this is the first Francis book with a female protagonist, certainly in Felix's books and probably in his fathers books. It was a change, and not a bad one but it wasn't well done (more on that below). Still, it was a nice change and it would be good to see more f......more

Dr Rankin a female doc thinks she's made a mistake when cocaine addict dies so when no one claims him & he did an Elivis at racecourse she set out to find out who hell he was? But 'others' don't want her to know & if she is not careful she too could end up on the slab. Following Dick His famous jockey......more

2.5 or 5/10 - overall not too bad For the first time, Felix/Dick Francis has a female protagonist. And she is not a jockey, she's an emergency doctor (although does also work at the racetrack, thus forming the obligatory racing connection for these novels). Unfortunately, she is neurotic, depressed a......more

I have been reading Dick and now Felix Francis books for decades and they have a certain formula which always makes for a comfortable read. The characters are always flawed or in some way disadvantaged but always immediately engaging. The books are typically first person and each chapter ends with a......more

I do enjoy the horse racing theme of the Francis books, but this one has a doctor as a protagonist, and she has several irritating personal qualities, as well as the whole book is filled with medical inaccuracies that it was really hard to read. I suspect if I was in law enforcement I would find man......more