"Στόχος", εκδόσεις Bell.

Στη βιβλιοθήκη μου έχω πέντε βιβλία του Ντικ Φράνσις (εννοείται όλα αγορασμένα από παλαιοβιβλιοπωλεία μέσα στα προηγούμενα χρόνια), όμως είναι το πρώτο βιβλίο του συγγραφέα που διαβάζω. Ο Ντικ Φράνσις φημίζεται για τα θρίλερ μυστηρίου που διαδραματίζονται λίγο έως πολύ στον κόσμο των ιπποδρομιών, και το συγκεκριμένο μυθιστόρημα δεν αποτελεί εξαίρεση.

Ο Τζούλιους Απόλλο Φίλμερ αποτελεί το μαύρο πρόβατο των ιπποδρομιών, όντας ένας εγκληματίας που εκβιάζει και απειλεί ιδιοκτήτες αλόγων, εκπαιδευτές και ιππείς, με τους υπεύθυνους ασφαλείας του Τζόκεϊ Κλαμπ να προσπαθούν μάταια να τον πιάσουν στα πράσα. Ο Τορ Κέλσι είναι ένας μυστικός πράκτορας που θα κάνει τα πάντα για να πιάσει τον Φίλμερ τη στιγμή που κάνει ένα έγκλημα. Ίσως στο μεγάλο σιδηροδρομικό ταξίδι κατά πλάτος του Καναδά -ευκαιρία για διακοπές και ωραίους αγώνες ιπποδρομίας για αρκετούς πλούσιους (Καναδούς και μη)-, είναι ο στόχος του Φίλμερ. Ο Κέλσι θα βρεθεί ινκόγκνιτο στο τρένο (ως σερβιτόρος) για να παρακολουθεί τις κινήσεις του Φίλμερ και να αποτρέψει τυχόν δολιοφθορές...

Σαν θρίλερ δεν μπορώ να πω ότι με συγκλόνισε, μου φάνηκε ολίγον τι νερόβραστο και με ελάχιστες στιγμές αγωνίας ή έντασης. Σε αρκετά σημεία βαρέθηκα έως ένα βαθμό, αλλά η γραφή ήταν αν μη τι άλλο ξεκούραστη και ευκολοδιάβαστη, οπότε συνέχιζα την ανάγνωση δίχως τύψεις. Προς το τέλος κάπως ανέβηκαν οι σφυγμοί, αλλά μέχρι εκεί. Πάντως μου άρεσε πάρα πολύ το όλο σέτινγκ του τρένου και του ταξιδιού, καθώς και η ατμόσφαιρα, οπότε έστω και την τελευταία στιγμή θα τσιμπήσει το τέταρτο αστεράκι. Εντέλει, δεν πέρασα και άσχημα!

Another satisfying mystery from Dick Francis. Although it’s concerned with race horses, it’s a little out of his usual pattern as the protagonist Tor Kelsey is neither an ex-jockey or horse owner. Rather, he’s a rich young man who has knocked around the world for a couple of years and now has a job as an investigator for the Jockey Club. He’s able to blend in and thanks to his deceased aunt, knows a lot about the racing world. He’s sent to Canada to keep an eye on Julius Filmer, suspected of blackmail and murder, who apparently has pressured people into selling or giving him horses because of information he has. There’s a push to promote Canadian racing and a Great Continental Mystery Race Train has been concocted for rich owners with races across Canada. Tor goes undercover as a waiter because Filmer has threatened to sabotage the trip and he wants to keep an eye on him. There are three sabotage efforts, a couple of great races, and a group of actors performing a mystery during the trip. Towards the end Tor helps with the mystery, a sort of Hamlet-like turn, to distress and eventually destroy Filmer. A good read.

This book took a little while to get going, with our hero undercover on a Jockey Club Train right across Canada, and as many characters as an Agatha Christie country house mystery, but the tension built up well the nearer the train got to Vancouver. Usual reliable stuff from Dick Francis

2021 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge-a book you meant to read last year.

Not your typical Whodunit as we know who the bad guy is from the beginning. More of a what and how? No less the enjoyable because of that. As usual horses and horseracing play a large part, but a mystery train takes center stage.

Written along the lines of Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express," only in this book the train trip is across Canada from East to West. The lead character is placed aboard a special train that is carrying racehorses, their wealthy owners, and a few dozen individuals who will go to the three stakes races that will be held in cities along the way. No surprise, there's at least one passenger who's up to no good. Our hero goes undercover as a waiter. Races are run, many dangers encountered, and the question hovers over everything: Can the crook (or crooks) be caught before something very bad happens?

Pretty good! The mystery was well paced. The romance didn’t feel forced. I would have liked more of it but I know that isn’t Francis’s style and that’s just because I like romances. My only real complaint is that there is an insane amount of characters. If you’re picking this up and putting it down over many months it will be near impossible to remember them all. Even if you read a lot of it in one day, like I did toward the end, it will be hard. Lots of advanced vocabulary that was fun to look up.

Dick Francis writes about the world of horse racing with crisp plots and tightly drawn characters that are a delight to experience. The Edge is mostly set on a train in Canada which is bringing horse owners from race to race as part of celebration of the Canadian horse racing industry. It’s a delightful setting and serves Francis well as his hero, Tor Kelsey, attempts to figure out A) how bad guy Julius Apollo Filmer plans to disrupt the event, and B) how he (Tor) is going to stop him from doing so. Along the way we meet a cast of colorful characters and Francis writes the most convincing romance of his career.

This one is running neck and neck for the title of best Dick Francis novel with other greats such as Hot Money and Straight.

Thought before action, if you have time

In this book Francis goes to Canada, and also explains about trains, railways, actors, races and the many ways one can escape justice.

I found it fascinating.

Standalone. 1st person pov. Mild violence. Not steamy.

I thought I read all of the Dick Francis mysteries but I guess I missed this one. Most Dick Francis mysteries revolve around the racing scene in England with the main character being a jockey, ex-jockey, trainer, owner or someone involved or around the sport. In this novel, the main character is an investigator for the British Jockey Club who goes to Canada to follow his quarry on a week-long mystery train ride across Canada that stops at various racetracks on the way in order to promote Canadian horse racing. A nice change of scenery and an inside look at the railway system with interesting characters and good action. A classic Dick Francis that's hard to put down.

I have read this book nearly a hundred times (maybe more) so much in fact that my copy fell to pieces. I bought a second copy, and it is going the same way as the first, thank goodness I have a third copy for when I need it. I cannot bear to not be able to pick up this book whenever I liked and be transported to Canada.

I love the character of Tor Kelsey, a man with heaps of money, but works as an undercover agent for the English jockey club to keep himself grounded.

The jockey club are trying to put Julius Filmer behind bars. A dishonest raceowner who uses intimidation and blackmail to get what he wants (usually other people's racehorses), mainly because he can, not caring how it affects his victims. Tor Kelsey goes undercover on the train across Canada to keep an eye on him, and eventually put an end to his bullying ways.

I always hoped that Dick Francis would write a sequel using the characters of Tor Kelsey and Nell Richmond because I loved them so much, but sadly, that didn't happen. Never mind, can't have everything.

Other people may not share my view on this book, but it would be no fun if we all had the same taste.

One of my favorite Dick Francis heroes, Tor knows how to be invisible in plain sight. As such he is invaluable to the Jockey Club's security branch. But can he ride the Great Transcontinental Mystery Race Train all the way across Canada with the rich sociopath Julius Filmer, without Filmer noticing him? It's the only way anyone can think of to stop Filmer from sabotaging the train. The show must go on as normal, because the press is ballyhooing the train full of rich horse owners.

Read 5 times

I loved this book. To me it was a massive undertaking. I really appreciated the map of traveling by railroad in Canada and also the diagram of the race train innards. It was a big help. All the characters were great, especially Tor Kelsey, the invisible man. I enjoyed the mystery play which played a big part in solving the mystery on the train. Even the villains, Julius Apollo Filmer and Alex MacLachlan, were appropriately villainous. I always enjoy Francis' main characters. They are always likable...and wealthy. Great book, great author!