Boring!

I've read, listened to, and enjoyed Dick Francis's stories. When Felix took over, I was initially skeptical, but I found that he was almost as talented as his father. This book did not measure up to the usual standards of both authors. "ICED" was boring and disappointing. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen, but sadly after 10 hours, nothing ever did.

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Iced

The most confusing story,you didn't know where you were.It is like two stories being read at the same time. Martin Jarvis is a wondeful narrator ,and did a great job of reading the confusing story.

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it's a novel

I own every book by both Felix and Dick in hardback, digital and audio but I absolutely struggled to finish this one. I felt like it rambled on and I kept waiting for something, anything to happen. Martin Jarvis though, as always did a fantastic job.

Felix Francis Comes into his own!

Where I felt like the memory of Dick Francis was no longer being emulated, rather Dick Francis was being honored. Felix has done an admirable job of emulating his parents work and he's kept the series alive for so many fans even when it's authors were no longer with us however I didn't see much of Felix in those works maybe hints here and there and this performance are effort I shall say I find that Felix has finally come into his own. from the subject matter to the storyline and to the wrap up I believe this is a purely Felix Francis novel. Now I do believe the story was at times pedantic a bit pedestrian if not predictable however I felt that it was so well done that it was completely readable or listenable as the case maybe however with the subject matter it and the reality based situations it just becomes a parent that Felix is in this novel. And I like that. Where I was never going to abandon Felix for emulating his parents work I will now seek out even anticipate his works which I hope he continues to produce and grow with I just wish other authors of his skill level had the same ready-made audience and ability to spread their work with many just as talented writers if not much more talented writers can't even get a decent book deal. That's neither here nor there That's a criticism of the publishing industry and nothing to do with Mr Francis whatsoever I encourage Felix to continue doing what he's doing and to expand upon it If I could suggest any types of changes I wasn't a huge fan of the flashback to character mode I would have rather followed two actual characters' lives than to follow the same life of one character as we did in this book. I would have loved to know more about his girlfriend or other things in his life we could have done the background in one chapter I believe now some would argue that it was essential to keep the storyline moving and keep readers interested to dispense with if you will the information on a piecemeal basis but I believe that to be an immature look and in a way a disrespectful look at the reader. I would have read this book with just as much enjoyment had I only had the present-day character and did not need to flash back continuously to the story that supposedly made the character I could have got that in the first chapter or two maybe one or two lines of flashback as we go ahead but it was way overdone in this book and that led to predictability but it also led to a somewhat narrow plot line I would have loved to learn more about the sidetric nurse I would love to know more about the the lives of other people if you were going to flashback I would have loved some flashbacks into the characters that made him and of course I would have very much enjoyed if he would have contested the will however that's just me I think they overdid the alcoholism a bit they overdid the whole thing I think in a lot of ways however he painted a very real picture of what a young alcoholic looks like and how they suffer and of course a young person with two parents gone and the ways that this person lost his parents might react and similar situations so this is extremely believable don't get me wrong the idea that you need to suspend disbelief to enjoy any of this book is absolutely no dick Francis would have you suspend disbelief on many different ways without attending to but this book is completely plausible back in reality not just in fiction land however I do believe it was narrow now if Felix expands upon this that'd be great but I don't know what they can do with this character it's a standalone novel clearly this character is not going to go on to solve crimes or will he? will he say hmm I figured this out about myself I can figure out crimes but other people? the characters plainly still waffling and doesn't know which way to turn with his life it's not going to get rich from that farm he's not in school like his mom wanted him to be he could learn a lot maybe he goes back to night school while stocking shelves at the grocery store an interns with investigation firm to One Day become his own private investigator? I don't know I think that's a good idea feel like I'm a fan so you contact me you're going to end up with books that are highly marketable if you get my input before you publish next time I know everybody says that but I'm being serious here I can imagine 100 different movies that would have been much more successful commercially had they just had somebody like me go over them before they did the final editing even more so had they had me there to be at least a continuity expert so anyway take advantage of the expertise of the highly intelligent reader I know you won't but that's okay thought I'd throw it out there.

disappointing, not classic Francis. don't recommen

not a traditional Francis book and new format did not work for me. suggest that Francis readers pass.

Watered down Francis genre novel.

Felix Francis appears to pick a disorder or disease state to overshadow the thriller, mystery portrayed in the last 3-4 novels. The protagonist, affiliated with British horse racing, has turns in their life spinning them into a variety of nefarious events. ICED Is the next in this line. Unfortunately, this novel winds along with the protagonist’s success, trials and failures at leaving his past behind. The familiar Francis progression is finding a fascinating opposite sex character, and repeated attempts at the protagonist’s life. The villain(s) pop out of a familiar corner only to self destruct before a thoughtful protagonist has the do away with them!
Pretty much the case here, but we jump tie periods to two critical parts of life. Set in current times, audiobook has a limitation in portraying the time changes.
Martin Jarvis is a standard with Francis novels.

where's the mystery

I've read every book written by Dick or Felix Francis. They are generally entertaining mysteries. I'm halfway through this book and so far the jockey introspection is all there is to it. The only mystery is why I'm still reading it.

Waste of time

I stuck with it to the end. Stupid me. Boring story line about a self-absorbed guy figuring out how to deal with mental health issues. Not what I’m looking for in a Dick Francis novel. Sad that Felix doesn’t find value in the scrappy characters his father brought to life.

6 hours in, I quit

Dreary, dark, plodding, uneven.

The Francis novels have shown a heavier, darker quality since Felix assumed the helm, and while a number of his books are decent reads/listens, this doesn't seem to be one of them. It may be that I just hadn't got to the interesting part yet, I wondered about that around hour 4, and soldiered on. Francis' protagonists are imperfect creatures, often doubt-riddled, with palpable character flaws, but there's generally an engaging appeal - which In 6 hours of listening to Iced I was unable to identify.

Skip this one.