ICED

4 stars out of 5

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. In fact, it's noticeably different; but once I stopped wondering when the pace was going to pick up and someone was going to get bumped off (somewhere around the 30% mark), I realized I was getting into it anyway. And that continued right to the end, after which I shut down my Kindle and said to myself, "Self, that was very well written and a darned good story."

Basically, it's a canter through the life of Miles Pussett, son of beloved champion steeplechase jockey Jim, who died in a car accident by literally taking the brunt of the crash to save his young son. Miles followed in his father's footsteps as a steeplechase jockey, but due to circumstances mostly beyond his control - including unfavorable comparisons to his late father - he quit. But the thrill of the chase hasn't deserted him; now, he gets his kicks on Switzerland's Cresta Run, where he barrels headfirst down a nearly mile-long ice chute at close to 80 miles an hour with little protective covering.

The story is a little hard to follow in that it shifts in time from his steeplechase time seven years ago to the present, focusing on events that shaped (and continue to shape) the person he's become. And clearly, he's carrying some serious emotional baggage with which he continues to deal. The two periods in his life collide when his former boss Jerry Dickinson cajoles him into helping out by taking one of his two horses for a run and saddling up the other before a race. After the race is over the the horse expected to win doesn't, Miles questions the result and doesn't like the answer he finds, but he also isn't sure what to do about it (if anything).

Mixed in between is a look at Miles's ongoing internal struggles - which includes self-medicating with alcohol - that is handled quite well and puts a spotlight on the important issue of mental health. Miles doesn't always make the best choices, but given his life circumstances, he's doing the best he can. In the end, everything comes full circle that really isn't very surprising (well, the "who" of it isn't - the bad guys and gals are pretty easy to spot early on - but the "how" is creative and, in some respects, downright fun.

So IMHO, it's another one well done - maybe more so because it isn't just another formulaic entry into a series. Definitely worth reading!

Iced by Felix Francis (Simon & Schuster, August 2021); 384 pp.