A MYSTERY SERVED ON A PLATE

Being a few years older than most and with a love of horse racing I've read quite a few Dick Francis novels. In terms of creativity by the author and interest from myself the reader, I would have to say that with intriguing characters and a good plot, this may possibly be his best.

One of the books that I often re-read "the best bits", skipping a few pages here and there, for the most enjoyable read.

Another great story from Dick Francis. Anyone who has attended murder mystery dinner theater will appreciate this interesting twist on a racing novel. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. Who knew the jockey club had its own spy network? The book combines nail-biting suspense with good old fashioned murder mystery humor and some unforgettable characters.

All of his books are great. The hero is always someone who is modest, intelligent and clever, but human. The bad guy is always clearly bad, but the world he paints (usually to do with steeplechase horse racing) is magical. I'd read any one of his books and often do reread them for comfort.

Not your usual Dick Francis mystery!

Tor is an undercover investigator for the British racing authority. Independently wealthy, he pursues his career because of a love of horses and a need to be occupied. He is sent to Canada to try to catch a despicable character who has wrangled his way onto an exclusive train set to take an excursion across Canada. This is no ordinary excursion, as the train carries horses, owners, and high rollers, and there will be stops along the way to participate in very high-powered races.

Lots of good characters, a tidy puzzle, and (of course) gorgeous horses.

Nicely done, Mr. Francis.

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.

Francis does his stuff. His mysteries always relate to horse racing, sometimes tangentially, but in this one it is pretty directly related - Jockey Club security dealing with crooked owners. But with Francis you always get a mashup with something else -- he'll throw in another major part of the plot relating to something entirely different, like glass sculpting, acting, or computer hacking. In this case, he took the normal horse racing mystery and mashed up what seemed to be something out of a Maeve Binchy book - a cross country train trip with a staged mystery. His protagonists always seem to perform above expectations, and that happens here too. It worked for me as a memorable story, although I suspect I won't recall the ending in any kind of detail - the trip literally is the treasure here.

When I started reading books in the adult section of the library in the early 1980s, Dick Francis was already a prolific author and all over the shelves. To this day, his books are everywhere to be found, in thrift stores, garage sales, and hand me downs from relatives. Quite a few of them have appeared on our bookshelves. Yet for some reason I never read any his books until the last few years.

Dick Francis has tons of books and all of the dust jackets are pretty much identical. I really didn't have high expectations, which is probably why it took me 30+ years to finally read one. While all of the covers look the same, of the three I have read, all are quite different.

For this one Dick Francis (which is really ex-jockey Richard Francis and his wife, who's name I have already forgotten despite reading it a few minutes ago on Wikipedia) picked a trans-Canada train as the setting. The Francises really did a lot of research and you really learn a lot about trains, the Canadian railroad circa 1986, and the still famous Canadian Rocky Mountain train route. Combine that with a strong plot that moves along at a nice clip and greatly developed characters and you have a real winner.

I am giving this one 5 stars because I can't think of anything else you would want from a novel. Time well spent.

See Divya's review.

One of Mr. Francis' best. The Canadian map in the front of the book provides some reference. I kept waiting for another "bad guy" to emerge, but it took some time before I realized it wasn't going to happen. There were two, the embittered ex- trainperson (baggage handler) Johnson (Alex Mitchell McLachlan) and Filmer. There are three murders, men who were first frightened into keeping quiet. The hero is Tor(quil) John Kelsey, the 'spy', working for Bill Baudelaire and John Millington - well, Brigadier Valentine Cato, who says, "Thought before action, if you've got the time". Tor became an ordinary waiter on the train, the better to keep an eye on Julius Apollo Filmer, who was deucedly hard to trap! In fact, it took all of the book. Hope to find Tor in another book, in which he gets to Hawaii with Nell!

Note: I REALLY missed Mrs. Baudelaire, and was SO looking forward to meeting her; a big hurrah for Daffodil Quintin! Hopefully she found a suitable partner, instead of that cad Filmer! (Obviously, I became attached to the characters!)

one of the best

I love Dick Francis’s original books and this is one of my favorites. A clever and entertaining book with some humor and a bit of romance.

When my sister told me this was Dad's favorite book, of course I had to read it. She did, too. We both wanted to know why Dad liked this book so much that he read and re-read it.
We’re too late to ask him, may he rest in peace. And I’m no closer to knowing why Dad loved this book in particular. I liked it, too!
I could hardly put it down!
There are a lot of characters, and yet the writing is so clear and straightforward that I was able to keep track of who’s who. So many layers of deception in the story, for nefarious reasons and also for entertainment of the rich people on the train!
I love a book with a map. This book has a map of the Race Train's route across Canada, as well as a very helpful diagram of the train's layout.
I had known for awhile that Dad’s favorite writer was Dick Francis. I don’t know when he discovered these books. When I was growing up, he read a lot of sci-fi. I’m going to read more of Mr Francis's books in Dad’s memory.

Strong Sense of Place email 10/29/21

I'm not alone in finding scary stuff paradoxically comforting, but I also love a comfort re-read. That's why I recommended the 100%-not-scary-at-all Dick Francis novel The Edge for Weekend Getaway. When I don't know what to do with myself — when life is so overwhelming I can't even decide what to read — I turn to Dick Francis. His mysteries are always solved by an amateur sleuth with 24-karat-gold intentions. And the hero fights a genuinely villainous villain, so you can unabashedly cheer for the bad guy's demise. It's a very black-and-white world set amidst the subculture of British horse racing, so you also get bracing fresh air, endless cups of tea, and atypical emotional outbursts.

I love them all, and The Edge is my favorite. Most of the action takes place on a train barreling through the Canadian Rockies, which is why that glorious photo of the Château Lake Louise is in this email. I've wanted to visit Banff National Park in general, and this hotel in particular, since reading The Edge for the first time almost 30 years ago. I realize that by moving to Prague, we moved ourselves a few thousand miles in the wrong direction, but I also firmly believe we'll get there someday — and The Edge is a fun way to armchair travel there.

If you've never read a Dick Francis, you should treat yourself! Your library and used bookstore probably have dozens of them..