Rating: 
Summary: Unfolds like a B-grade movie
Review: As I was reading Shattered, I kept envisioning the book being made into a B movie. I could picture the scene changes, particularly those that involve "the relationship," which seemed not to add much to the plot, and the awkward dialog. I am a Dick Francis fan, and as another reviewer said, I await his books. I enjoyed reading this one, but it was not up to his usual standard.
Rating: 
Summary: Another solid entry from Dick Francis
Review: Dick Francis doesn't change much, and thank goodness. His hero, though never the same name, is always the same person. He is always mid - thirties, quiet, competent, moral, and full of steely resolve. Gerard Logan is all of these, and one thing more - he blows glass for a living. Of course, as always, there is a race track tie in. This story includes what Hitchcock used to call "The McGuffin" - the thing that everyone in the story wants but the audience doesn't much care what it is. In this case the McGuffin is a video cassette given to Logan by the valet of jockey who has just been killed in a race. The tape is therafter stolen from Logan's shop, but several nasty types don't believe it and want Logan to give the tape to them. The plot is simple, as it usually is with Francis, but the smooth writing, well etched characters, and wonderful inner voice of the protagonist always make Francis a pleasure to read, and this is one is no exception. And details about glass blowing make this one extra fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Shattered or just lame?
Review: Diok Francis, as I guess everyone knows, is a former jumps jockey who rode horses for the Queen Mother and then became a thriller writer in a second career after he retired from riding. Most of his books, maybe all, follow a formula. The single male hero follows some occupation that in the earlier books is usually connected with horse racing, but in the later books his heroes branch out. The details of that profession are well researched, as for example with the photographer in Reflex, and usually in some way the knowledge of the hero's trade is woven into the plot. The hero gets involved accidentally in some criminal conspiracy. As he tries to find out what is going on, he is invariably knocked unconscious at least one time and beaten up another time. Fortunately he never suffers permanent neurological damage. Somewhere along the line he gets laid. Franciscan heroes do not have time for erectile dysfunction, or Viagra. Francis is not that kind of writer. His heroes' girlfriends get satisfied and they stay satisfied, though we don't get a lot of detail about how this trick is done. In the end, the villain, who is someone unexpected, is unmasked and all is well with the world. There--I have just written a precis of all of Dick Francis' novels. How good is this example of the genre? Not very. What the other reviews here don't tell you is that the plot is extremely lame. If you wanted a horseracing title for this book, there it is--lame. The stuff about the glass blowing is quite interesting, and is actually the best feature of the book. The twist here is that we have a violent, psychopathic, homicidal villainess named Rose. Why she is this way is never really explained. Right at the end of the story she murders an inoffensive police officer, who has done her no harm, in a very nasty way. His death is partly caused by the actions of the hero, though I won't reveal any more so as not to spoil everything. However the hero is hardly concerned as he is more interested in getting nookie from the dead cop's partner. A lot of the plot concerns itself with a highly absurd strand about a videotape that contains stolen scientific secrets that may lead to a cure for cancer. It is all very improbable. Still Francis was somewhere around 80 years old when he wrote this, so it is remarkable that he is still trying to entertain his fans. Good on him. I hope I will be doing as well if I ever reach that age. However, I would recommend reading the earlier books in the series first, rather than this one, if this is your introduction to Francis.
Rating:
Summary: smooth fast read
Review: Gerard Logan is a glass artisan, more generally called a glass-blower. He has what you might call a normal life. But things are just about to get hot when his jockey friend, Martin Stukely, dies in steeplechase accident. From then on, Gerard finds himself involved in a deadly search for a valuable videotape. Martin was the last person who had the tape, now the bad guys think that Gerard have it. And they would do anything to get it. The thing is, Gerard has no idea what the videotape contains, let alone understand the priceless information it contains. Gerard must try to solve the mystery of the videotape, while at the same time trying to survive... I was very surprised to see the low ratings this book was getting from other reviewers. For my part, I enjoyed this book immensely! It might have something to do with this being only my third book to read of Dick Francis' while others have read many of his books. But still, I just thoroughly enjoy the flavor of Dick Francis' books. Especially when you read the first line of his book:
"Four of us drove together to Cheltenham races on the day that Martin Stukely died there from a fall in a steeplechase." Francis just cuts right to the point and begins the story right off, which for me, immediately grabs my attention. From then on, he plunges you into a story worth the read with intrigue, mystery, romance, action, and wit. Gerard Logan is the usual Francis character; young, bright, likable, and clearly a very nice chap. He also is as curious as anyone can be. There is also the usual love interest, in this book the detective constable Catherine Dodd. Beautiful and also very smart, she too is incredibly likable. In "Shattered", there is one magical moment where Gerard is captivated and inspired by Catherine's beauty to make a dynamic glass sculpture. I thought that Francis wrote that part very well. And of course there are the bad guys, whom I won't reveal except that 'beware of Blackmask 4'! But the few of the most enjoyable characters whom I liked were Gerard's bodyguards. There's Worthington a chauffeur who watches over Gerard, the actual 'bodyguard' Tom Pigeon with his three Dobermans, and Gerard's taxi driver, Jim. My only complaint of the book is the bit disappointing ending, I wish it was a bit different. But "Shattered" is still satisfying. As usual, Dick Francis cleverly weaves into the tale a bit of horse racing, steeple chasing. And adding glass blowing into the plot was pretty cool. I must admit that I now find glass making a bit more interesting and fascinating than, I was at first skeptical as to whether you can actual put glass blowing into a mystery thriller. So if you've never read any of Dick Francis' books, I suggest you to pick up "Shattered" if you get a chance. But if you've read any of Francis' other books, I can't honestly tell you how good it is compared to them. You'll just have to see. "Shattered" is mostly for older teenagers and adults, due to some violence, some language, and some innuendo.
Rating:
Summary: kept me entertained
Review: I would give this three and a half stars for the story and one-half star for the bonus of learning a little about glass blowing. I enjoyed the book, but was a little confused about why he didn't have the police arrest the ones that he knew who assaulted him. It would have saved him a lot of trouble, but, I know it's just a book. Never the less, I did enjoy the book. It was just long enough that I could read it in one sitting and it moved right along. The main character's friend dies in a freak accident while riding in a horse race. The friend leaves a tape for Gerard and before he can watch it, it is stolen. Other tapes have been stolen from the home of the victim and more of Gerards. Solving the mystery of the tapes leads to many adventures that keep your interest until the end of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Failed to hold my attention too often
Review: I'm not a huge mystery reader but do enjoy listening to them on my long drive to and from work. This unabridged audiobook had my attention, lost it, gained it backed and would then lose it again. Could be my distracted mind or it could be that it was just wasn't an interesting mystery? That said, there were several things to like. The protagonist Jarrod, an accomplished glassblower, was enjoyable ~ he's this regular guy with a very interesting (to me) profession who finds himself accosted by dangerous types and suddenly smack dab in the middle of mystery concerning a missing video cassette tape. His character and that of his off beat co-workers and surrounding support system were interesting and the detailed look into the world of professional glassblowing was fascinating. Unfortunately, the facts surrounding the missing tape and the sleuthing that follows to discover what the tape contains just didn't hold my attention and I repeatedly found myself drifting off into my own little world and having to rewind the tape during these sections. Maybe a true mystery aficionado would appreciate this one more than I.
Rating:
Summary: Worst Dick Francis novel ever!
Review: I'm not sure exactly how old Dick Francis is; well over 70, I think. For each great mystery writer there comes a day when he can't write a good book any more. I think this book marks that point for Dick Francis, and while I have been looking forward to his approximately annual novels since the late 60's, I am not looking forward to another one. I hope he hangs up his hat now. As always, the premise is great, although this hero has a more tenuous connection to the world of racing than any previous one I can recollect at this moment. Unlike certain other novels, where Francis typically provided fascinating insights into an unusual or interesting profession (the peak for me was Reflex, with its wonderfully well-worked out details of photographic puzzles), the glass-blowing details seem cursory and hardly make the reader care at all. The characterizations are mechanical, the plot hardly hangs together at all, and almost no tension is generated by the story. The writer's mannerisms are in full control here, and I take that as a sign that Francis's imagination is running low on fuel. Francis leaves behind a splendid oeuvre of classic racing thrillers, and I'd like to remember him as he was in his prime. It was sad, for example, as Rex Stout kept writing for a decade beyond his good work. Let's hope Francis doesn't repeat his example.
Rating:
Summary: Not His Best -- Far From His Worst
Review: I've been reading Dick Francis's mysteries for about twenty-five years now. "The New Dick Francis" has been an annually occurring, eagerly anticipated treat, for most of that time. But the last few have ranged from Competent But Not Outstanding to just plain Disappointing; the last Francis i would say that i unreservedly enjoyed was "Decider", with its story about wonderfully vicious family politics and its interesting protagonist. Well, i'm sorry to say, "Shattered" isn't *quite* that good. The interesting protagonist is there -- the glassblowing background is both interesting and unusual, ranking with Kit Fielding, Tim Ekaterin and Sid Halley in that regard, but the story is not all that great. There is just a bot too much air of the benevolent magician pulling a rabbit from his hat for our amazement -- and a few too many rabbits from hats in the working-out of the story. The motives of most of the characters don't really ring true, and the McGuffin -- what's actually *on* the video tape that so many Nasty People seem to want -- has an even more tinny sound. The true identity of a major character, which has bothered Logan for much of the book, while important, is merely stated, rather than revealed through action or characterisation, when it becomes necessary for us to know. But the way to get over thin ice is quickly, and Francis (as usual) certainly can cover dodgy ground quickly. As frequently is the case, the big climax turns around the hero's specialities; in this book the climax is in the protagonist's glass-blowing shop, where, among other things, a glob of 1800-fahrenheit-degree molten glass on the end of a punty rod makes amemorable means of persuasion and weapon. Also, as usual with Francis, it is wise to read carefully all the apparently inconsequential scene-setting descriptions of aspects and tricks of the protagonist's trade. (My only regret along those lines is that the rabbit pulled from the hat in this regard is just a small bunny, not the man-eating rodent from "Monty Python & the Holy Grail", which would have been a bit more helpful.) Also, the love interest and romance in this one are as uniquely Franciscan as any of his books contain -- which means that, as is often the case, he hits us from left field with an amusing and truly romantic affair. Several characters, who -- we are *told*, but not truly *convinced* -- are central to the plot are wonderful eccentrics, and the group of volunteer bodyguards that Logan accumulates as he goes along are both touching and amusing, clearly painted with a typical few deft strokes of the Francis brush. If there are any earlier Francis books you haven't read (with the possible exceptions of "Slayride" and "Trial Run"), i'd recommend picking them up and reading them before grabbing this one. But you should definitely read this one, because, overall, you'll probably enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: A purloined videotape, business espionage, and glass art
Review: Master glassblower/artisan Gerard Logan is at the Cheltenham races when his jockey friend Martin Stukely is killed in a riding accident. He discovers that Martin has left him a videotape for safekeeping, but the tape immediately disappears in a robbery. Various people appear demanding the tape, all disclaiming any knowledge of its whereabouts, and Gerard finds himself caught in the middle. He finds himself between an ugly man-hating woman who wants to physically hurt him, a widow who seems to have a romantic interest, and a woman police constable who ends up in his bed. The plot provides considerable side information on the art of working with hot glass. The author, as usual, has done extensive research on a subject. The main character, Gerard, seems to have considerable financial resources as he has no hesitation about hiring cars and drivers, and seems to have only secondary concerns about money stolen from him. Gerard seems a bit careless about charging into danger, and does not seem to consider the possibility of collateral damage. He finds an assortment of allies ranging from young children to street smart toughs. Overall, it is a good mystery with some surprises. It seems suitable for teenage readers.
Rating:
Summary: Brantley's not so super review
Review: This is, said to be, the last in a long line of thrillers from author Dick Francis. This story centers around a middle-aged glassblower in England. He is, early in the book, troubled by the death of his friend Martin. The jockey dies in a freak accident right in the middle of a race he was shore to win. Martin leaves behind family, friends, and an entire community of race-goers. But to Gerard Logan's surprise he is left a mysterious package that is quickly stolen from him along with a large sum of money.
Francis offers us an array of multidimensional characters. Most fit into the typical "thriller" genre mold. Throw in a couple of nice, seemingly innocent people, with a love interest and a gang of criminals and you have a story by Dick Francis.
Most of the characters are not without their faults, even the main character Gerard Logan has an air of confidence that can easily come off as arrogance. Let's just say some of them wouldn't make it through the final cut of a Walt Disney rendition. Gerard Logan: main character, has a nack for doing a little investigating on his own. Martin Stuckley: A jockey who dies leaving behind a mysterious videotape that a lot of people want. Catherine Dodd: A rugged street cop who quickly becomes Gerard's love intrest. Rose: A petty bitter women out for only her own good. Watch out for this one. All in all the book was an exciting escape, but I would only recommend it to those who find themselves with too much time on the weekends. Other than that I'd leave this one on the shelf.
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