Really not his strongest, but quite enjoyable. 2.5?

Tor Kelsey, orphaned at a young age, was brought up by his aunt. His aunt loved to go to the racecourse, so Tor is very familiar with horses, racing, and has a wide, versatile knowledge of personalities. Although he is left a huge inheritance and will never have to be concerned about finances, he decides to take employment in security for the Jockey Club, and so the mystery begins.

If Tor seems a little mature and confident for his age, that is simply 'par for the course' in this Dick Francis novel. All of his heroes are bigger-than-life (although not offensive), assured, and have a variety of rare and admirable talents. Tor himself, rather than enjoying an affluent lifestyle, decides that in order to keep his integrity, he needs to keep himself busy. Tor wants to maintain his self-respect; a rare quality in the indulgent ("I have my rights!") thinking of today.

"It isn't so easy," I said slowly, "and don't laugh, it really isn't so easy to be able to afford anything you want. Short of the Crown Jewels and trifles like that. Well... I don't find it easy...I'm like a child loose in a sweet shop. I could eat and eat... and make myself sick... and greedy... and a jelly-fish. So I keep my hands off the sweets and occupy my time following crooks. "

Julius Filmer has already been acquitted in the murder of a stable boy, after threatening and deterring several witnesses for the prosecution. The Jockey Club has learned that Filmer has purchased tickets for the train through Canada that will be making several stops at racecourses along the way, and his purposes are deemed to be neither innocent nor virtuous.

"In the context of ten thousand years, I thought, what did Filmer and his sins matter? Yet all we had was here and now, and here and now was always where the struggle toward goodness had to be fought. Toward virtue, morality, uprightness, order: call it what one liked. A long, ever-recurring battle."

Tor's problem is to discover where Filmer is going to strike next, and so he is given the assignment of catching him 'in the act'. The problem is that no one seems to know what that particular act will be, and Tor has to be both vigilant and 'invisible' to the passengers. Tor is a genius at finding creative solutions for blending into his environment and the reader is entertained by his quick-thinking and inventive disguises.

The plot is complicated with an entertainment-style staged mystery for the passengers, something that I did not always follow (to be honest), and at first felt superfluous. However the author demonstrates his clever plotting when further on in the book, Tor creatively uses the actors in the mystery-play to expose Filmer and bring him to justice (something I must admit caught me by surprise!)

Although not my favorite from the author so far, this novel was more low-key than others of his, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

THE EDGE - G+
Francis, Dick - 27th book

A Great Transcontinental Mystery Race, a glittering rail junket that not only promises the opportunity to race a thoroughbred on some of the world's great courses, but something more: an intriguing mystery to be enacted on board, which passengers will be invited to solve. But included on the guest list is one Julius Apollo Filmer, justifiably reputed to be the most ruthless operator lurking in the racing underworld, and he's planning a strange plot of his own. For Tor Kelsey, undercover security agent for the British Jockey Club, a scenario of imaginary mayhem is about to explode into a nightmare of real and bloody murder.

Francis creates a strong sense of place and I loved the setting of the Candian Transcontinental Railroad, but the story didn't captivate me as much as others have. I also believe this, a number of future books, was where Francis' writing lost a bit of it's edge.

Very good story about a guy who works undercover for the British Jockey Club, looking for problems before they happen. He’s sent to Canada to do his thing on a transcontinental mystery race train.
Gave it an 8 out of 10.

"Racing related thrillers - Tor Kelsey, undercover security operative for the British Jockey Club is on the case. Tor poses as waiter on a the Great Transcontinental Mystery Race Train. The train is mystery adventure across Canada where there are actors posing as horse owners and passengers and people are not what they seem. Their are various stops along the way where the owners will stop to watch their horses race. Tor has been installed to spy upon Julius Appollo Filmer, who is suspected of murder and blackmail in Britain. But attempted murder and blackmail are happening on the train, right under Tor's nose. All Tor has to do is to get evidence to hold Filmer accountable and convince the others on the train Filmer is not the wholesome character he seems. "

Exceptional read. Very well written. His characters are fun, believable, and well rounded. The plot is solid. Even though going into it I knew next to nothing about horse racing, it was still immensely engaging.

Classic Dick Francis. Like Louis L'Amour, his heroes are always the same person just by a different name--at least the same personality, intelligence, sense of right, and just plain goodness in a not so good world. But that is okay and doesn't detract from his books in any way--somehow makes them comforting. This mystery is particularly interesting. It is just fun to go along with the hero on a great train ride across Canada, getting to know good and bad people, and watching how, as usual, the hero ties it all up at the end. As with all Dick Francis' mysteries you feel good a the end. Francis lets you know that many people are very evil and do evil things. But good is right and good finally conquers and we can believe that it always--eventually--will.

This was my first DF read in probably five years. I enjoyed the story line and the characters, left me hoping for a sequel, but did not happen. It was an easy flowing fast read. I also enjoyed the location for the story, a Transcontinental train ride across Canada, who knew, with an on board murder mystery group of actors, hitting very close to home. I think this is the start of my newest reading theme, mysteries set on a train, and I have several already in mind.

I have read and enjoyed all of the DF - Sid Halley mystery series. The Edge was written in 1988. My next read of DF was written in 1962, towards the beginning of his writing career.

It is very rare to find a bad book by this author. This is one of his worst. It is shockingly dull. Literally nothing develops in the story for 200 pages as you accompany a boring group of people on a long train ride. A lengthy denouement (so atypical for this author) strings out the misery for another 30 pages after the story is completely finished. The "play with a play" is **cringe**.

Terrible.

3.5✨
Hamlet, horses, a fake train mystery, a real train mystery, emergency flares, the invisible man, bears...and our antagonist and protagonist are respectively named Julius Apollo and Titmouse.
I don't know if it was supposed to be a comedy as well, but it was entertaining.

Dick Francis has a highly successful formula for writing mystery novels that always have something to do with horses. What sets this one apart is that it’s set on a train that is crossing Canada. Francis’ description of our beautiful country’s scenery had such an impact on me that visiting Lake Louise ended up near the top of my bucket list.

My second Dick Francis novel and so enjoyable. Inevitably about horses and racing, however, most of the action takes place on a train called The Great Transcontinental Mystery Race Train. Have you ever been to a murder mystery dinner where the guests join in the fun of solving the crime? Well, put it on a train traveling across Canada, coast to coast, for a couple of weeks. Add in 20 odd couples, the horse owners (and I do mean odd), jockeys, train employees and the protagonist, Tor Kelsy, undercover security operative for the British Jockey Club sent in to expose the villain, Julius Apollo Filmer, along with an on-board cadre of actors to move the drama along and you have the perfect concoction for a fast paced and intriguing "who done it".