This is probably the third time I've read this very good Dick Francis tale, set on a special, transcontinental train across Canada. The protagonist is Tor Kelsey, an orphan raised by a racehorse-loving aunt, who in adulthood has traveled much, often working around horses in some capacity. Now he is curiously employed by the British Jockey Club's security division to be an invisible watcher; he attends racing events around the country, observes and takes notes of the people and their connections, and reports anything "interesting."
When a man Tor has been watching drops dead on his way to place a bet, Tor's assignment changes. The man they were hoping to catch doing something illicit, Julius Apollo Filmer, has turned up in Canada--about to embark on a special racing train got up by the Canadian Jockey Club. They want someone to join the train and keep an eye on Filmer, and if possible, stop him from doing whatever he has planned. Tor soon finds a way to join the train but still stay as invisible as possible--by becoming an apparent train steward. The train employees think he's an actor with a troupe performing a murder mystery on the train. The passengers barely see him in his formal uniform. And Tor is able to observe Filmer and keep an eye out for trouble.
Trouble, when it comes, turns out to be sabotage and, maybe, blackmail.
As always with Francis' mysteries, he builds a world around whatever setting he places his characters in. While still about horse racing, this is also a story about railroading, and the people who make the trains ride so smoothly. It is also about the experience of crossing Canada's immense plains and mountains in the comfort of a railroad excursion. Francis writes enjoyable dialogue, with enough narrative to carry the reader along with the passengers on a pleasure trip turned danger ride.
One brief episode relating to a scandal may be disturbing to readers who love animals. Otherwise, this is pretty standard murder mystery fare, except the bodies are mostly off-stage or acted. A fun ride all the same, with the suspense in whether they will catch the villain before he commits new villainy.

V interesting! It's typical Dick Francis - rich young man rejects his background to work anonymously with horses, and is able to observe human foibles because he's not really part of any of the worlds he moves in, and yet he's generally well liked by all and super competent at anything he puts his hand to. This one's difference is in the setting - on one of the trains over the Rocky Mountains - and the opportunities to explore the idea of public/private personas more closely with the drama-within-a-drama conceit. It's fun, even if the mystery with the horses sort of slips into the background a bit.

This book manages the neat trick of being very well written and also incredibly dull. It is mostly set on a luxury train crossing Canada, and most of the narrative involves a description of life on the train. There is very little of the detective work and heroic action that usually features in Francis' books, and very little horsey stuff either. The impression it gives is that Francis was offered a free ride across Canada provided he gave the train a good write up. If so, he certainly fulfilled his brief, and good luck to him. I wish I could get a deal like that.

I own all of Dick Francis' books, & recently re-read them all.
The Edge sticks in my mind as one of my favourites - but when I read a few of the other reviews, I agreed with many of the points other reviewers made about why this is not one of their favourites. Thinking on it further, the train journey and the scenery described are a big part of why I enjoy this book more than some of his others - I have long hoped to do that trip through the Rockies, one day. I also enjoyed the many details of the mini-world on the train; the staff, the actors staging the mystery, and other passenger interactions.

As usual Mr Francis is writing about race horses but this book is a little different in that the horses are crossing Canada on a train! They are accompanied by all the necessary owners, riders and hangers on plus our main character who is a kind of special agent employed by the Jockey Club to keep things on the straight and narrow.

I really enjoyed the whole story particularly the details of the train journey which is one I would like to do. On a safer train though. This one was subject to several deaths and unexpected happenings.

Altogether just what we expect from a Dick Francis' novel - easy to read, interesting characters and lots of crime. Excellent!

Perhaps unfair to only give this 3 stars……I first read this many years ago and remembered it as really exciting - everything taking place on a train across Canada. I decided to read it again, but it didn’t have the same impact, although the ending had a good twist and was exciting. I don’t remember the lack of horse involvement the first time, but the horses on the train are only mentioned occasionally and when they are, it’s only by their race names. I did miss the inclusion of the horses.

I found this book so enjoyable that I just keep coming back to it and reading parts again and again. Why? Maybe the romance of train travel, old fashioned and elegant. Maybe because the main character, while solitary, is noble and likable. I don't think modern books have noble characters very often any more. This guy is like a Bruce Wayne/Batman type: he's independently wealthy, handsome, kind, athletic, strong and silent. Better than Bruce Wayne, this fellow has traveled a bit. The story is a little slower paced compared to the other Dick Francis books, but it's perfect for a leisurely read.

Of the Dick Francis novels I have read, this is the most ambitious, and for me succeeds admirably. It is an attempt to merge his thriller writing with classic detective fiction, using a small group of people in an enclosed environment - a luxury trans-Canadian train journey to take horse-racing owners and their horses to races - which immediately suggests a kinship with famous Agatha Christie. On top of that, this trip includes the performance of a murder mystery alongside an actual killing. The hero, Tor Kelsey, is an agent of the Jockey Club's security service, inserted into the staff of the train posing as a waiter in case of incidents, which duly happen.

3.5 stars

This book revolves around horses. I don’t like horses (or care about most quadrupeds, for that matter). But I do like mysteries and I do like trains, and those are the other two focuses of this book.

We follow Tor, a man who works for the Jockey Club Security Service as a sort of silent investigator, a job that requires covert observation and the ability to connect dots, remember faces and be a fly on the wall. The Service has been trying to nail down a horse-related criminal by the name of Filmer, but to no avail; his trial ended in a “not guilty” verdict. They know he’s bad and it’s just a matter of finding the right evidence. When Filmer unexpectedly purchases a share of a Canadian horse and a ticket on The Great Transcontinental Mystery Race Train, Tor is sent to see if he can’t find the required evidence and stop a new disaster.

“But,” I said, and stopped dead, my mind full of urgent reservations and doubts that I was good enough for a job like that. Yet on the other hand, what a lark.

Pick any sport—car racing, swimming, cycling, skiing, running etc.—add a high-stakes race, and suddenly I want to see who wins. There’s something about striving to overcome an impossible obstacle and winning at the last second, that pulls me in. Personal anecdote: I hate swimming, but I was so pumped watching Michael Phelps swim (I believe it was for his final time) at the Olympics. Like, one second away from yelling “AMERICA! YEAH!” at the tv. I felt a bit silly, but I was very invested in the outcome. I still hate swimming though.

At the close of this story, we get a race and I was hoping for one of the horses to win and it did and I was very happy it won. What’s also nice about the story is the author clearly knew horses (he was a jockey), but I never felt inundated with useless horse knowledge or too much horse knowledge; it was actually easier to follow the horse/race stuff than the human angle.

That’s my biggest issue with this book: there are a lot of characters, and they don’t all have a strong personality. There are the people Tor works for, then we have the horse owners/handlers, then the staff on the train, and the actors performing the mystery during the journey. It’s a lot to keep track of.

I think having a mystery play out on a train ride is a great idea and something I’d love to see in real life, but it adds another layer to an already teetering plot. The fake mystery does become a vehicle for revelations concerning the real mystery: it’s a way to scare the perpetrator and inform the victims in a fairly benign fashion. But I still think it kinda clogs the book.

Because it’s in first-person, Tor is obviously zeroed in on Filmer and what he’s doing and who he’s associating with, both on the train and at the racetrack. This means that people who are already on the periphery are sidelined even more and many of the people are just given a name and one or two traits. This made it difficult for me to separate everyone and I’m glad I read the e-book because I could quickly find a few people to remind myself of their identity. I think most of the characters are given some sort of physical description, but that goes in one eye and out the other for me, so I normally end up relying on someone’s personality to identify them, which is why if they don’t have a distinct one, that’s gonna be a strike against the book. I’m not super wowed by these characters but I do think this book would work really well as a miniseries.

Tor is a likable guy, though perhaps due to his enigmatic and chameleonic job, doesn’t have as defined a personality as I would prefer. He’s adaptable and easygoing and when faced with risk and worry, comports himself well, even with the nerves and fear thrumming beneath his surface. It’s strange that he doesn’t have a vibrant tone, since this book is in first-person. I think one of the points of choosing first-person is so you can completely inhabit the character’s mind and essentially become them. Tor feels distant, as though he’s observing his own actions and tailoring it to be a bit clinical. I think he would be a fun character to watch, hence my desire for a miniseries, but he doesn’t do himself justice in the prose.

Aside from the mystery train aspect, what drew me in to this book is the writing. I knew from the first page that this guy could write. Sometimes the punctuation is a bit wonky and maybe it could’ve been fifteen pages shorter—that’s me being a picky critic—but the author’s English sense of humor and way of describing things is delightfully different.

Filmer’s effect on people’s guts, I reflected, would put any laxative to shame.

She glanced up briefly and didn’t exactly say I was a thundering nuisance, but looked as if she thought it.

I like the time period as well: it was written in the 1980’s, so no one has cellphones or the internet, but it’s just modern enough to have some convenient things available (like small cameras), and yet old-fashioned enough that people have to use their brains and bodies to get things done instead of electronically hacking their way to answers and instantly receiving info via text message.
All the books the author wrote are about horses, but that is not a turnoff now that I know he could write, so I will certainly seek out more of his work.

I enjoyed the story about a villain trying to a train with pedigree race horses traveling across Canada from Toronto to Vancouver. We know early on who is the crook and the invisible man Tor trying to find evidence of his criminality.

The story brought back for me memories of trips to Canada. Toronto, Calgary, Lake Louise and Hells Gate. The details about the train and its mechanics were fascinating. We all know the outcome of the story and Tor lines up all his ducks and Filmer gets his desserts.

Haven't read Dick Francis for probably 15 years - very fun to find one I hadn't read. This is a complicated but really good mystery - horses, of course - setting in Canada - involving owners, criminals, disturbed personalities, and a most satisfying conclusion, not without angst, romance, a troupe of actors and train personnel on the side of good.

Dick Francis is a compelling writer! Brilliant characterization, imaginative scenarios, tremendous ability to create complex individuals that ring true.