As always, Francis captured my attention from the very first page. This book is a little different for two reasons. First, our hero Link is a famous actor, although he has a background in horse racing since he father was a head lad for many years. And secondly, Link is asked by a friend to investigate why the horses she inherited from her sister and now racing in South Africa are all doing poorly. But what's the same as all the other books (and what makes me keep coming back to them) is that the main character is basically the strong and silent type. He is clever, quiet (despite the fact that he's a box-office draw), resourceful, knowledgeable, and inquiring. He's just a basically a good guy, someone you'd want to get to know better. There's a lot of interesting info about South African gold mining as well as some about acting and promoting movies. I read this quickly and easily and was left wanting more. (Luckily there are a lot more Francis books to choose from.)

I enjoyed this one though it is a bit different than other Francis novels, it works and I liked it. A couple of differences without spoilers are our protagonist is in a loving relationship throughout and most of the action takes place in Africa.

"Edward Lincoln had scaled the Himalayas, survived deadly car chases, defeated scores of assassins. As a film action man he'd even suffered stoically at the hands of sadistic directors.

"After finishing his latest film, he's asked to visit South Africa to discover why a dying friend's horses are suddenly doing so badly on the race track. Unfortunately, this attempt to help a friend soon puts Lincoln in harm's way. From a nearly fatal interview to a dangerous mishap in a gold mine, it seems only luck is keeping him alive.

"But fate has more in store. When the scene in the Kruger wildlife park begins to resemble Lincoln's latest big-screen adventure, even he will wonder what comes next ..."
~~back cover

I really liked this mystery! I like Link's sardonic and jaundiced eye, which kept him out of several very sticky scenes, and allowed him to size up people accordingly. Unflappable, that's our Link. And the characters were all richly drawn and true to life. The plot was great as well; cleverly written so that Link and the reader were never sure there were attempts on his life -- maybe they were just mishaps. Until finally ...

I was a bit surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Normally I can take or leave Dick Francis' books. But this one was definitely stellar!

This book was refreshingly different , the main character was an actor. The author is descriptive enough to make you feel like you are really there with him.

An entertaining adventure featuring a movie star who agrees to travel to South Africa to investigate a friend's string of horses which, for some reason, have not been running up to expectations. Listened to the audio which was narrated by Geoffrey Howard.

Classic Dick Francis

I think it was more 3 and a half stars. I did not like it near as much as In The Frame but it was very interesting. It was a bit slow at times.

I hadn't read a Dick Francis book for a long time and I'd missed this one. I really liked the exotic South Africa setting and havine a protagonist who is an actor seemed different. I also like the details about the gold mine. The plot clicked right along, but after it was all over, it felt a bit contrived with the ending. While I have liked other Dick Francis books, and I won't give anything away but it felt like a story board ending.

I have never been into horse racing, yet Dick Francis’s books have always caught and held my interest. It wasn’t the setting that held my interest, it was his talent as a writer.

Smokescreen, while very good, was not on a par with Francis’s best works. It started off slow and horses figured only slightly in the story. Ed Lincoln is asked by a friend to investigate why horses she owns in South Africa are performing so poorly of late. Most of the story revolves around his adventures there, very few of which are related to horse racing. Much of the story was about Ed trapped in a car left in the middle of nowhere, and that dragged a bit.

It almost felt like Francis threw this story together in a hurry to meet his publisher’s demand.

Still, it was a Dick Francis novel and that made it worth reading.

I see only two more Dick Francis books remaining in my To Read list before I’ll have read them all. And when I finish that second one, it will be a sad day indeed.

What is there to say about Dick Francis? As I think about all of his books (yes, this review covers all of his books, and yes I've read them all) I think about a moral ethical hero, steeped in intelligence and goodness embroiled in evil machinations within British horse racing society - either directly or indirectly. The heroes aren't always horse jockies, they can be film producers, or involve heroes engaged in peripheral professions that somehow always touch the horse racing world.

But more than that, Francis's heroes are rational human beings. The choices made are rational choices directed by a firm objective philosophy that belies all of Francis's novels. The dialogue is clear and touched with humor no matter the intensity of evil that the hero faces. The hero's thoughts reveal a vulnerability that is touching, while his actions are always based on doing the right thing to achieve justice.

Causing the reader to deeply care about the characters in a novel is a difficult thing to do. No such worries in a Francis novel. The point of view is first person, you are the main character as you read the story (usually the character of Mr. Douglas). The hero is personable, like able, non-violent but delivering swift justice with his mind rather than through physical means. This is not to say that violence is a stranger to our hero. Some of it staggering and often delivered by what we would think of normal persons living in British society.

You will come to love the world of Steeple Chase racing, you will grow a fondness for horses, stables, trainers and the people who live in that world. You will read the books, devouring one after the other and trust me Dick Francis has a lot of novels (over 40 by my last count).

There are several series woven into the fabric of Francis's work: notably the Sid Halley and Kit Fielding series.

Assessment: Dick Francis is one of my favorite writers. I read his books with a fierce hunger that remains insatiable and I mourn his death.

When first we practice to deceive

Classic Francis, although I felt it was a slow start until I got near the end and connected the dots. Life imitates art or is it the other way around?

Edward Lincoln is an actor. Having started riding horses on film, he's developed a career in action/adventure films. But he firmly disclaims any resemblance between him and the brave, resourceful characters he portrays on the big screen. He's just a family man earning a living.

He says.

As a favor to a friend, Edward visits South Africa. He checks out the racing scene, visits a gold mine, and does the tourist thing, while discreetly investigating why his friend Nerissa's horses aren't winning. Winning, Hell, they're coming home looking half dead!

All very normal, except that strange and potentially deadly things keep happening. If Edward had been holding the defective microphone when the power went on ...

If a functionary at the mine hadn't insisted that someone hadn't returned from the tour before the charges were set off ...

You're wondering, I'm wondering, and Edward himself is wondering if he going to have to live up to his on-screen image. A lovely adventure, with some exotic scenes around South Africa, as it was in 1971.

To me reading Dick Francis is like eating comfort food. It's nothing fancy, but I know I'm going to love the experience. Francis' protagonists are "everyman" thrown into unusual circumstances, who always find a way to win. This one was no different. Our hero, Edward Lincoln, sees himself as a regular guy who happens to make a living as a action movie actor. He is content with his low key homelife with his wife and kids in the country.

The story takes us to South Africa where Edward has agreed to check out why a friend's horses are not performing as well as they should. Edward grew up in the stables where his father was a head lad, I believe. His dreams of becoming a jockey were dashed when he grew to 6 feet. Once in South Africa, Edward has a couple of near misses and is wondering if someone is trying to kill him as a result of his poking around in the stables.

The climax had me sweating it out right alongside Edward. How's he going to get out of this one? I loved his use of survival skills and his matter-of-fact acceptance of who the attempted murderer is and how Edward is going to catch him.